Rudy Wellingham

Rudy had done everything right since he was born. He was a good son, worked hard and cared deeply for his family. He went to Remon's Academy a bit earlier than most, and for two years was a very successful student. Although his innate magic was weaker than most, he had an incredible aptitude for chemical formulas, general knowledge of magic and applying said knowledge into the creation of magic items and potions. This lead him to be an incredible artificer, learning almost everything he currently knows in just two years of studying at the Academy.

However, the entire life that Rudy had been building up until now would be broken the moment Rudy woke up in the Feywild, with no recollection of how he got there. Not long after waking up, Rudy also came to the conclusion of two facts that would affect his daily life from now on: He was no longer in his own body, meaning the most likely cause was that his own soul was swapped and placed into this new body, and that said body suffered from a sickness whose origins were unknown to Rudy.

Majority of his spells are flavored to be chemical concoctions with a bit of added magic into them. Instead of simply producing a fire bolt from his hands and shooting it, he may combine items that are highly flammable into a jar and throw them at a creature. His whole deal is using both magical and physical properties of items and organisms and extracting said properties to create magical effects. A spell that deals acid damage may be the combination of a bombardier beetle and ants. A spell that deals frost damage may contain a specific bug in the DND world that when combined with a seemingly common item, such as iron, creates a freezing effect. In short, his “magic” is all about knowing the properties of seemingly unmagical items and using them to crease seemingly magical effects, or simply extracting the innate magic that everything has and repurposing it for his spells.

Rudy personally believes that each and every thing in the world has some degree of magic, even if it not shown. Magic is necessary in living beings, as it is part of what allows them to live. Some creatures have a greater affinity for using their innate magic in order to cast spells. Rudy believes that each classe's usage of magic is as follows:

• Paladins use their oath as a way to catalyze their innate magic. Ceasing to follow their oath means they no longer believe in it, and therefore do not believe in their spellcasting abilities.
• Wizards use old knowledge of magic. They use special words ( verbal components ) as well as gestures ( somatic components ) To channel their own, innate magic.
• Druids do not always use their own magic, but instead channel the magic of the land. This is not always the land they are currently in, but may be one they are familiar with.
• Rangers do the same as druids.
• Clerics are given help to channel their magic by the god they follow.
• Warlocks learn magic through their patron. They essentially skip the major steps in learning magic and simply dive right in. This is why they have few spells, and also why their spells are always at the utmost level possible. They didn't learn the steps in between level 1 and 5, but simply went to the highest their patron was willing to teach. A patron doesn't simply take the warlocks magic away, but they close the doors to the knowledge that the warlock had previous access to.
• Sorcerers are quite simply born with more innate magic than other people, and with a great capability of controlling it. They are, in essence, the most magical magic class.
• Bards channel their magic through performance.

This may not all be true, and it is certainly not proven. It is simply the conclusion Rudy could best come up with as to how each class channels magic.

A Thick Sturdy Journal that has travelled far. It contains mainly journal entries regarding Rudy's thoughts and the daily events. Every couple pages a drawing of one of Rudy's creations or a formula for a chemical or potion can be found.

All magic item formulas are kept in the Journal, and there is an occasional sketch of the area Rudy is in.

If anyone were to read the journal they would the first half of said journal to be nothing but schematics of the devices Rudy would use for his spells as well as infusions. Simply put, by closely inspecting the journal and being intelligent enough to understand the schematics any creature would know most, if not all, of Rudy's class abilities and spells.

Rudy first met the party at around entry 68

Entry 1:

I'm starting this diary mainly to keep myself sane and keep track of everything that happens. Aditionally, If i am to die whoever finds this diary will be able to figure out my story.

Three days ago I woke up in the Feywild in a completely different body. I had been walking around until I found a town, although everyone spoke a weird language other than in the tavern, where I am currently drinking at the tavern in hopes that i will regain some sense before my kidneys explode. Maybe if they do i'll return to my body.

Entry 2:

Shouldn't have drank yesterday, I feel like shit now. There's something wrong with this body, I've felt it since I woke up 4 days ago, but I cant quite pinpoint its source or effect. Maybe I'm just imagining things.

Entry 5:

This guy is terminally ill, Im sure of it. This morning I realized bits and pieces of my skin were rotting. I knew this body felt wrong.

In other news, my head is cleared enough now to properly analyze my situation. I don't know what brought my soul into this body, nor what this body is doing in the Feywild to begin with, but i'll try to find any leads as to how I may get back into my original body. I have never heard of any magic that would simply allow forcing a soul into an unknown body.

For now my priority will be either curing or at the very least delaying this sickness.

Entry 10:

I miss my family, my college, my home. I hope I can get back to them soon. The only consolidation I have is the magic in this place. While the land istelf doesnt feel…“right”, It works wonderfully for working my spells as well as chemicals. Looks like i'll be able to keep busy.

This morning I realized there's an eye growing on my upper arm. Must be a symptom of the illness… Cant say ive heard about any illness leading to eye growth. I need to keep this monitored as well as work on a treatment as soon as possible.

Entry 20:

The rot has considerably spread more around my body, and my back is almost to the brim with eyes. I hope this body has enough to let me see it through.

Through some quick reverse engineering using my blood I was able to create a vial that would considerably slow down the effects of this disease as well as diminish the pain. It wont stop the disease from getting worse, and I wouldnt be surprised if it eventually adapts to the treatment.

Entry 60:

I've heard rumors of the hag of Nightmares being killed. If theres anything responsible for my soul being in this body it must be a hag. My best chances of finding one is finding the party that killed the hag of nightmares, as they may be looking to kill yet another. Finding them and sticking with them in their travels is currently the best bet of either finding a cure for the disease or outright returning my soul to my original body.

I just hope they are decent people.

Entry 68: I found the party, and they agreed to letting me stick with them for the time being.

The land here is odd… The trees appear to be souls trapped inside, but I was told it would be impossible to tie a soul to a living thing… it could be tied to whatever happened to me, but I cant find anything else. Need to do more research in order to get any complete findings.

Entry 70:

I sapped the energy of the tree and put it into a ring. Mr.Gimblehorn said that the memories of the soul are all scrambled and hateful( I felt that hate too ) these seem to be victims of the war. Regretfully this does not hold any clues to how I can get back. However, I do find this incredibly interesting. One, whoever did this must be a truly powerful individual to do so on such a large scale. Second, its not just souls in the trees, its fragmented souls. All that remains are the hateful thoughts and feelings due to the injustice done to them while they were living.

Whatever energy is out into the trees is sapped away to another place in this land. If i can pinpoint said place i can find whoever did this to the trees. They may have been the ones who put my soul into this body.

Entry 72:

Mr.Gimblehorn tells me that the previous owner of this body wasnt sick, but that he was a wonderful person. He says that this body was taken from existence by a deal with a devil. She took his parties names and now he is his eternal slave. She is the god of live and death. Very much not good. If it was her that put my soul into this body then going back to my original one will be incredibly hard. Of course, not impossible, just infinitely more difficult than I previously anticipated.

On a side note, I believe the party has taken a liking to me. I'll try to keep myself useful, as they may well be the only chance I have at returning. They also seem like a colorful bunch, and overall, seem to be good people.

Entry 73 :

I lost my seeds. The soldier that took it had an indentation in its shoulder pad. I will never forget this soldier till the day I die. The potion I have obtained is very…complicated. Im not sure what its going to take for me to figure out what it is, but I doubt I can do it with my own abilities. If only I could contact my college profesors… Truly an incredibly interesting day. The unicorn almost killed us and all we had to show for it were 3 things, the seeds which I no longer have, the mysterious potion that appears to be actually an incredibly complicated compound, and a spell scroll of a magic I cant completely wrap my head around.

Unicorn said that the only realistic way of helping the land is by having the person who did this to it or someone of equal power do something about it. Sigh.

Entry 74:

I have done something outrageous. Something I never thought I would. Im too ashamed to even write it on my journal. I know it might seem small, but the damage it could have done to who i did it to might have been incredible. Im honestly thankful I was caught doing it. I dont know whats happening to me, maybe its this place, or the stress, or fear that I might not make it to my body in time.

As the writting goes on, the letters get shakier and uneven. Some signs of tear drops can be seen on the edges of the page.

Im scared. I truly am. I know I dont show it, but every day I wake up im scared that this sickness will not allow me to wake up the next morning. While I can not feel the pain that this sickness causes me, I know that it is only a matter of time untill I die.

I dont want to die.

I miss my parents. What would they think if they saw what I did?

the handwriting becomes once again clear and stylish. this addition was done some time after the last

On a side note, I finally haveve some time to rest at Checkpoint town. I'll attempt to create potions while im here as well as get some rest. Ill do any arrangements necessary to make sure I am useful to the party while out of comission

I need to remember one thing while I am here. While this land may seem to be a much larger improvement compared to where we came from (and it is), it can only look like this likely because energy is being sapped from the other end. This is by no means safety. The only difference between here and there is that the other side didn't hide its nature, but I think this side does.

Entry 75:

Another day alive! No changes in my condition as of yet. I was a bit out of it while the party was doing things though, but I think it might just be exhaustion from travel. The parties conversation with the major were wonderful and informative. However, the major himself seems to always upcharge his items and down charge his offers. I understand its all business, but I wish he'd been more honest with us.

I am, however, 100% confident that he has a ball of scrying. I don't think it'll be cheap, but I am determined to get it one way or another. Didn't really get a chance to talk to him myself, but I plan on doing so tomorrow. Hopefully I can also obtain insights into the liquids and the mysterious potion. I sadly don't have any valuables on me that I might be able to use in order to buy or trade for the crystall ball, so I must either offer some information that he might be interested in or do quests. Aditionally, I may also be able to craft or have something crafted of great value that I can sell to him. I also do hope that I can have some time to learn to craft potions of healing.

Other things happened throughout the day, but In order to keep todays entry short I'll limit myself to this:

Mr.Micker gave us some juicy rumors:

• There is odd weather at Buubelton right before their “big” celebration. The Actors and perfomers that got hired were all scared off due to some elephant that showed up, most likely the same elephants that I had encountered a while ago. They all have taken refuge at different places, so it will take a long time for anyone to find them

I had a Conversation with Raishin. From it, I am lead to conclude that not only is Raishin hiding something regarding the whispy liquids, she also knows something either about a group of drow's that have been on the move recently. From talking with Tami and Annaise I also believe that they share my conclusions. We must be careful of Raishin

Mr.Micker said the liquids/scales were something “Not meant to be”, which leads me to conclude the following:

• Drow are creating some sort of biological weapon

• likely because of their losses from the war

• this biological weapons “blood” is the same vials I have found

• it contains an elements incredibly similar to drow blood. mayhaps not the same, but very very similar

• Raishin knows something about all this, and she refuses to tell us

Gimblehorn saw today the full extent that my condition is having on this body. He reacted much better than I expected, which truth be told is a relief. I hope this body doesn't experience more symptoms, and truthfully, I hope It doesn't get any worse than It already is.

“I will do great, horrible things with that ball”

Entry 76:

Morals are complicated.

The Oblex insists that she is in no way different from a human or other similar creatures.

Just as humans slaughter cows, butcher pigs, and prepare chicken, the Oblex must consume memories and with them souls.

Just as humans and other creatures fight for their independence, equality, and ideals, the Oblex wishes to do so for intelligent monsters such as itself.

Just as nations battle each other, consuming each other in hopes of achieving power and status, the Oblex wishes to create a nation for intelligent monsters.

Just as we all often use power instead of diplomacy to achieve our goals, the Oblex is prepared to do so.

I understand the party's concerns regarding the Oblex's actions, but I cant help but feel their bias. The Oblex is not doing anything that is knew, unknown or unheard of. If anything, it is following the exact example that all other intelligent creatures have layed out. Why should we stop the Oblex, if we havent even stopped to consider every other nation and force in this world? There is no “good”, or “evil” when it comes to power and ideals. Only conflicting, sometimes perpendicular and other times simply divergent ideals and goals.

Of course, that is not to say that causing harm and evil is good. I wholeheartedly believe each and every person should aim to help each other in times of need and times of health.

• * But is that not what the Oblex is doing? Fighting for what it believes is right, for the people that are similar to it? It is all too complicated. I wish the world was as straight forward and unwavering as a chemical formula. Either way, my life will be short as a human. I will not live to see kingdoms rise and fall, I may not even live to see wether the Oblex fails or succeeds. Especially if I cant cure this disease of mine. My time is so short. What must I do to ensure I am never forgotten? ON OTHER NEWS. * There seems to be a Pain speaker in a cellar underneath the tavern. What the hell is that sort of creature doing here? I have only read about them in books but regardless, the mere existence of one is concerning and even more so if it exists BENEATH the town. The librarian told me that the liquids are greatly concerning. They are, in some way, tied to an incredibly powerful creature that can be found inside the feywild. She refused to elaborate further, as she explained that doing so would be risky. “I can not say its name nor elaborate on it because it is IN the feywild. Do you understand what im saying?” Simply incredible. while risky, researching this in further detail could lead to world shaping findings. I must be careful. Entry 78**

Got around to testing the vials I was given from the cellar. While there is too little in them to test them properly, the least I could do was testing the smell. Needless to say, the results were not what I was expecting. Both me and Gimblehorn can't smell anything in specific from them, Tami and Anaise, however, did. In fact, it smelled so strongly and so horribly that they took damage from it.

The only difference between Gimblehorn, me and them is that they are Fey.

I don't think I need to say how concerning this is. I had already some suspicions that whoever was creating this was making some kind of weapon, but now it seems much more like a reality. This could easily be further developed into a lethal biological weapon to kill the Fey of this land.

I have too many thoughts regarding this to put them into my journal. Raishin knows about the liquids but she lied to me, the librarian said the creature related to these vials is so powerful its name shouldnt be spoken, Drow are somehow related to this. All I ever wanted was to go home.

Far too many things come to mind and truthfully, attempting to organize them into paper will be a waste of time until I consider my findings.

…

On a side note, I almost died today again. Im slightly concerned about how calm I am about it. Things were so normal untill just a bit over two months ago. With everything happening, coming close to death just…Isn't that big of a deal. Although I did get my crystall ball today, which is a huge plus.