Area description:
The Sapphire Mountains are among the tallest of the land, reaching far above the clouds.

Key Locations:

The Sapphire Mountain Range: Their peaks are perpetually covered in glaciers and snow which reflects a brilliant azure blue when the Sun shines. The valleys however have a very different look.

The Jeweler’s city: Once a small mining town, this place has exploded in the past decade into a bustling metropolis, specialized in
the procuring and refining of the crystals found in the valleys nearby.

The Institute: A small but renowned institute focusing on magical transmutation has sprung up close to the city limits. They are
always willing to trade with passing adventurers.

Crystal Mining Camp: A larger mining operation at the fork of one of the red rivers. Here brave workers use pick axes and
hammers to beat the ever growing crystals to a transportable size. Many a man has however strayed too close to the viscous
liquid and found himself at the core of a freshly formed crystal.

Rumors of the summit: There also are rumors of a location close to the summit of Mt. Garnet, the tallest of the Sapphire
Mountains, though stories vary wildly from a crystal castle to a cave filled with riches and from a kingdom in the clouds to a
simple hermits hut. Either way, unnatural things seem to be afoot beyond the clouds.

Location background:

Ruby red waters flow out of the mountains like the blood of mother Gaia herself. Every living thing it touches is covered by rapidly growing ruby colored crystals. Trees, shrubs and animals alike. This phenomenon is comparatively young, having first appeared some 10 years ago.

Adventure hooks:

Ruby Red Murder: A prominent blacksmith is found murdered in the town square after having been seen in a heated argument with a mage from the local institute. Will players stand by and let the land’s justice be served or will they investigate. Not all may be as it seems.

When players first enter the area, the surreal color combination becomes apparent. If a mage is in the party, he/she will easily deduce that this cannot be following natural laws and must be connected to a spell of some kind. The scale needed for something like this is however unthinkable. As they approach the city, the guards are polite, they often see adventuring folk here. They direct you to the local tavern where players can hear a loud argument between two patrons. One, a young man in wizarding robes, the other a sturdy old man with a blacksmiths apron. They argue over the rights to a particularly large and pure ruby red crystal that had been found the day before. One argues the right of the mages to any unusual gems that has been agreed upon between the city council and the magus enclave but the other refuses to hand it over, as it had been found by workers on land that traditionally had belonged to the blacksmiths family, even before the city was founded. The argument escalates at which point a sturdy bar wench separates the two with threats of being barred from the tavern. Both men leave and the group can spend the night recovering from the trip. The next day, the town is in uproar, as the blacksmith has
been found in the city square, brutally murdered. The gem is nowhere to be seen and the young mage has been apprehended as
prime suspect. The laws of the land are strict and death awaits the man if nothing is done. The party may begin its own
investigation as to the events and uncover that maybe, not all is as it seems.

An Unknown Danger: Local miners have gone missing along one of the most profitable stretches of the crimson rivers. The local
council has pot forth a fund as reward for anybody who may investigate and remove the threat from the already dangerous work.

This plot sees players head for one of the many springs from which the viscous red liquid flows. The closer they get, the more
surreal the surroundings become. It is clear that whatever caused this, it happened fast. You see animals frozen within the
crystals...deer, birds...Upon reaching the spring, players notice movement beneath the crimson liquid  a large crystalline serpent
emerges and immediately attacks. Blunt attacks deal extra damage while bladed weapons and magic deal reduced damage.
Once slain, the beast slides back beneath the surface but a tooth has broken off and players may collect it. This can be made
into the focus of a magic staff, a spear tip or a dagger. Players must choose.

The Heart of the Mountain: Players attempt to climb the sapphire mountains to explore and investigate the realm above
the cloud barrier. While restocking in the city, they find an old guide who will not join but can give important advice as to
which areas to avoid and which are safer. This depends on the groups conduct with the man.

Once the journey continues, players will have to brave the mountain. It is colder here and the rocks are less stable than one might expect. Without the guides advice, skill checks become harder. With the guides advice however, players can follow an easier albeit still treacherous path. When they reach the clouds, players must protect themselves with blankets and masks, since the clouds will slowly build up ruby crystals on anything they touch. As such, players must hurry else they become encased. The crystallization process can not be halted and so the blankets and outer wear might have to be sacrificed. This, the players know only when treating the guide nicely. Once above the clouds, the group will spot different weird animals. Large crystal butterflies hover over the icy stones while massive house sized mammoths wade through the snow, their fur dotted with precious gems of all sizes and colors. The mountain has become much flatter up here close to the summit, nearly ending in a plateau. Players can collect samples and hunt the beings up there. Upon killing the first animal however the mountain will shake and rumble and a massive crystal dragon will emerge, challenging those that disturb his utopia.  If players do not attack the animals and instead only collect what is on the ground, the dragon will emerge and speak to the players. It will speak of the time that a warrior used dark arts to rip its heart out and bury it under the mountain. It is the source of the red liquid. Players can agree to help the dragon get its heart back which however will stop the flow of crystal liquid, destroying the local economy. If they help, each player can choose to transmute parts of their body to crystal which will act as the original limb but with extra durability and strength. Should players refuse, the dragon will let them go peacefully but players will down the line hear news that the amount of liquid increased drastically, catching many in the town and transmuting them. The area then will be classed as too dangerous to enter by the local lords.

Creatures:

Crazed Crystalline Animals: The ruby crystals infect all that touch the crimson waters. Animals that are in early stages of infection
are hyper aggressive as the roots of the crystals cause immense pain. Creatures in this state may include but are not limited to
foxes, wolves, boars, stags, bears, badgers etc. While they do not gain additional attack power, the crystal growths make them
sturdier than their non-infected counterparts.

Crystal Butterflies: The crystal butterflies are docile and pose neither a threat nor resist being captured. The gemstones that
make up their body will break apart, killing the creature if taken from the summit. They still will sell for a hefty sum

Crystal Mammoths: While not fully made up of crystals, large clusters of different colors can be spotted growing on their fur.
They are docile giants but will defend themselves if attacked. They are immune to magic and take normal damage from
blunt, slashing or piercing weapons. Their tusks are made of multicolored crystal.

Crystal Stags: Skittish creatures that prefer to flee than to engage when threatened, they nonetheless have a devastating
charge attack that utilizes their crystalline antlers. While they take no magical damage, all other damage types act as normal.

The Boss:
The Crystal Serpent: Upon reaching the spring, players notice movement beneath the crimson liquid  a large crystalline serpent emerges and immediately attacks. Blunt attacks deal extra damage while bladed weapons and magic deal reduced damage. Once slain, the beast slides back beneath the surface but a tooth has broken off and players may collect it. This can be made into the focus of a magic staff, a spear tip or a dagger. Players must choose.

The Crystal Dragon: If players decide to antagonize the master of the mountain, they will be in for a dangerous fight. While blunt weapons will do regular damage to the creature, all other weapons are all but useless. Its breath weapon with quickly begin to crystalize any surface it hits and may also infect players.

Challenges and Rewards:

Weapon material:
The crystal serpent’s tooth can be fashioned into a focus, a spear or a dagger. It provides additional poison damage and despite being non magical in nature according to those who view it, seems to act like a magical weapon when normal weapons would cause reduced damage.

Treasure:
The ruby red crystals would fetch a handsome price elsewhere in the world but the mining and trade are under strict supervision of the local lords. Stealing some crystals would result in trouble.

The gems from the mountaintop shimmer in a myriad of colors. They can be sold, used in magic items for great potency or as materials for rituals. As the laws only govern the trade of the ruby red crystals below, the party technically is in the clear when collecting them.

The meat of animals hunted on the mountain top has magical properties. It heals itself slowly when cut and may, given enough time and exposure to mana, reform the original animal in full. When consumed, spell slots are refilled and wounds are healed almost instantly.