”Hey, Grumblejack is still here!” yells the ogre, as he gets up and in a rapid succession of attacks unleashes his earthbreaker against the tree.
But the ogre has been cursed, and none of this attacks works.
Sidious goes to work carving the tree.
Eldred swings, chopping at the downed tree in frenzied strokes.
AoO and
Round Attack 1 and
and
Round Attack 2 and
Hearing Sidious' call for fire, Agrippa draws the wand he took from that pesky wizard from Balentyne. He aims the wand and says the command word, causing a pea sized spark to emit from it and detonate some 60' from him, catching the two southern treants in its blast.
Reflex DC 14 for half.
Round 6
Johan staggers back from yet another colossal blow from the tree. He lets the power of this god flow through him. His face distorts. His lower jaw distends with an audible popping and his teeth grow into long sharp needles.
;
Eldred attack the fallen tree with tree fast and precise sword swings, each removing a chunk of it.
Sidious, don’t lose time, and brings down his Sickle at the tree Grumblejack cannot hit.
Johan takes a step back and cast a spell, the northern tree tries to disrupt his attempts, but offer no real danger.
as his spiritual sword, finally is able to hit his enemy, just moments before fading into nothing again.
Grumblejack once more, cannot hit anything.
Agrippa takes his fallen foe weapon and utilizes it to burn the trees.
+50% fire vulnerability
+50% fire vulnerability
None of the trees were prepared for that, their leaves burning as Jurak screams in pain.
Wodin grits his teeth, fury burning in his eyes. He pulls his shield off his back and fits it to his left arm, then punctuates his advance with a mighty blow of his axe.
Haste (+1 to hit, +1 AC, extra attack)
Power Attack (-2 to hit, +6 to dmg)
The shield + haste brings his AC to 27
Wodin, the fearless, without an ounce of worry for his own safety, throws himself in the talking tree.
However, before he reaches it, the battering ram crushes him against the ground once more, as bone breaks, armor are ruined and blood splatter everywhere.
With no one to threat the Treant, he moves always from the party running into the forest in opposite direction of the party, mingling with the other trees.
==//==
The northern tree tries to get up once more.
And attack Eldred once again
Hitting the con man once more, but not enough to bring him to his knees.
==//==
The southern tree attacks Sidious
and this time, Sidious faith did nothing to prevent the blow.
Round 7-
Ordered Initiative-
Treant: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19
Villains: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14
Active Effects-
Everyone - Bless 6/60
Johan, Wodin, Grumblejack Sidious - Haste 3/5
Map-
Notes-
Action-
Wodin curses as he sees the inevitable strike of the treant's massive limb, taking the blow straight to the face.
Unlike the previous time, however, his wounds still ooze.
AoO
Crit confirm?
If that doesnt bring it down?
Attack 1
Attack 2
Fireball it again! Don't let it get away!
Before the tree as any change of getting up, Eldred finish chopping it down with a might swing from his sword.
Given that the tree goes down, Eldred moves next to Wodin and setting up a charge next turn.
Agrippa levels the wand and says the command word again, firing another peanut sized burst of flame at the retreating Treant. Reflex Dc 14.
Seeing Wodin take such a vicious hit Sidious steps 5' back to where he was and calls upon the healing power of his deity and channels evil to heal his party.
Round 7
Johan vaults over the broken and bleeding Wodin to engage the remaining animated tree. His shield is raised high trying to avoid the same fate as the dwarf.
Bless ( +1 to hit)
Haste (+1 to hit and AC)
Protection Judgement (+2 AC)
Total defense ( +4 AC)
Outflank teamwork feat (+4 to hit)
AC = 30
HP=22/60
Edited to account for Sidious' channel ( Aku, did you add in Johan's 2 HPs of healing from last round - could make the difference between alive and dead very shortly. gulp)
Jurak tries to get away from the flame, but again is unable.
From his position, he grab a huge piece of masonry from a nearby ruin throw it at Agrippa as it moves a fit further away.
it fly’s in a perfect arc, hitting the mage as he finishes casting his spell.
==//==
The tree facing Sidious, do something that none of you were expecting! It moves trampling everything on it’s way!
On it’s path Sidious, Abraxas, Grumblejack and Agrippa.
However, after it walked his path, it starts taking root again, as if it had lost it’s awareness.
Round 8-
Ordered Initiative-
Treant: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19
Villains: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14
Active Effects-
Everyone - Bless 7/60
Johan, Wodin, Grumblejack Sidious - Haste 4/5
Map-
Notes-
Action-
Powered by Agrippa magic, the ogre lauchs two more attacks.
==//==
Grumblejack does not wave, as the tree comes in his direction, as he brings his hammer down on it.
Once again, he is unable to hit the tree, as it tramples him, he fall to the ground, broken and says ”You un’s have it…” as he passes away.
As Sidious' channeled energy washes over him, Wodin's wounds turn to stone once more. Still at death's door, however, he remains splayed on the ground, his weapon laying harmlessly at his side.
[dice=Reflex]1d20+5
Jurak tries to get away from the flame, but again is unable.
From his position, he grab a huge piece of masonry from a nearby ruin throw it at Agrippa as it moves a fit further away.[dice=Atk]1d20+9
[dice=Dmg]2d6+15 it fly’s in a perfect arc, hitting the mage as he finishes casting his spell.
Given the tree is returned to its inanimate state this round, and seeing his companions all being down, he starts fumbling in peoples packs looking for wands of cure light wounds, starting with the pack of the priest.
Eldred search for some wand, as Johan take his and start healing his fallen allies.
Fortunately, no one died, even tho some egos were trampled.
This was a hard battle, but in the end your enemy was able to run from you. However, you got the feeling that this was not the last you saw of it.
Finally you can contemplate the place.
The great stone spire, rises some hundreds of feet high , the trees surrounding it, gigantic in stature, seems to be nothing in comparison.
Walking around it, you find ruins of what once appear to be the entrance to it.
A boulder rests in the smashed top floor of a three‐storey stout, stone watchtower. A nearby rotting catapult appears to be the culprit. The remains of a thick, reinforced wooden door lie scattered on the wide, stone steps leading up to the entrance. Bits of broken weapons and armour litter the otherwise intact interior.
Past the tower, scattered blocks of obsidian, inscribed with the iconography of an evil deity, surround the foundations of a once proud archway. A few outlying buildings remain relatively intact.
The entrance seems to have crumbled in most of the parts, and it leads down to a series of dark caverns.
Sensing its near impossible to get out of the way of the tree Sidious attacks hoping to bring it down.
After being trampled he falls but does not bleed further.
Invisible, Abraxas follows the treant, easily keeping up with his fly speed of 50'.
Heal and hunt it down fast! We need that thing dead lest it summons allies! It heard mention of the Dark Father!
Once conscious Sidious expends 3 channels to heal the group, saving only one in reserve.
I'm gonna get you a big arse sword Grumblejack - a good one! That hammer just looks mean. In the meantime how's about we hunt it and make sure it's dead dead dead?
Eldred gathers up his bow at the end of the healing and gives huge wand back.
Johan madly gnaws on the trunk of the last killer tree, then realizes its just a normal tree.. crickets chirp.. he straightens up and looks around sheepishly.
He moves around the clearing, healing the wounded and gathering everyone together.
Agrippa---------4/40
Eldred----------34/63
Johan-----------24/60
Sidious---------4/49
Wodin-----------4/69
Grumblejack ----??/??
Once all are conscious and not in danger of imminent death Johan addresses the knot. Gruff and direct as ever, he says, We have some choices here: We retreat partway back to town, pitch camp and spend a day recovering - and contemplating on our failure here; or we burn through most of our magical healing to restore our strength and push on. Either way, once we have recovered, we need to decide whether to strike into the Horn,[b] he gestures to the spire before them, [b]or track down that cursed tree and finish it for good.
Abraxas follows the Treant. I do not think it can elude him. Sidious then casts his Cure Serious spell on Wodin. [/b] I think we can heal up well enough to continue. [/b]
I wish to use the Treant's bark as spell components. Let us find this thing and slay it. Agrippa says, obviously peeved at being attacked by giant rocks. The nerve of some beings, throwing rocks at him!
Once conscious Sidious expends 3 channels to heal the group, saving only one in reserve.
Agrippa---------29/40
Eldred----------59/63
Johan-----------49/60
Sidious---------29/49
Wodin-----------43/69
Grumblejack ----+35/??
Johan grins and the knots eagerness to hunt down the treant. Lets be at it then.
Sidious casts Infernal Healing on himself and concentrates on Abraxas for a moment.
Once most of his wounds are patched up, Wodin gathers all his belongings. "Yes. Tree has much to be looking of forward to. Am going to build home from stump when am done with him..." the dwarf growls, cracking his neck and gripping his waraxe.
He then attempts to help Johan track the big talking tree.
Aid another survival
The knot gets ready to move in less than a minute.
Abraxas, following their quarry, convey the general direction and speed the tree is traveling.
The trails is a fresh one and is really easy to follow, the treant seems that was more concerned in get out of this place that anything else.
As you begin to follow, Sidious is aware that bit by bit, Abraxas is getting farther away from him. From that, he knows that the treant is moving faster than the Knot, and that at this pace, you’ll be able to follow him, but only after it stop, if it stop, you’ll be able to catch it.
We're getting drawn deeper in... I say we keep this up for a few hours then see what that gets us.
Wodin nods at Eldred's suggestion. "Tree can run, will die tired," he bites out.
It may be a tree but its still a living being. We can run it to ground like any other wounded prey Johan presses on doggedly.
You start tracking the treant, walking down it’s trail path, in a quarter of one hour, Sidious know that his empathic link with his familiar is about to end
After walking for some hours , Johan determines that the treant settle down in a walking pace. It has lead you around the horn, and comparing to the map you found, it’s going in the Lake of Skye direction.
Agrippa says irritably The damn thing will come back. It was guarding the Horn.
You deems the hunt dangerous and unnecessary, and with some protests from Agrippa, you move back to the horn.
The trip back is uneventful, and it is late night when you reach the horn entrance again. The moon shinning overhead gives you a partial illumination, but it is nowhere near enough for any of you, except Wodin, that can see in the darkness.
The great stone spire, rises some hundreds in the dim light of the night, the trees surrounding it, gigantic in stature, seems to be nothing in comparison.
Walking around it, you find ruins of what once appear to be the entrance to it.
A boulder rests in the smashed top floor of a three‐storey stout, stone watchtower. A nearby rotting catapult appears to be the culprit. The remains of a thick, reinforced wooden door lie scattered on the wide, stone steps leading up to the entrance. Bits of broken weapons and armour litter the otherwise intact interior.
Past the tower, scattered blocks of obsidian, inscribed with the iconography of an evil deity, surround the foundations of a once proud archway. A few outlying buildings remain relatively intact.
The entrance seems to have crumbled in most of the parts, and it leads down to a series of dark caverns.
Eldred will make a careful search of the outside and its environs.
I recommend we make sure this place is safe and check if there may be additional clues.
Wodin nods. "Is looking of safe, but to check is for best." He heads off to scout the area, waraxe resting on his shoulder.
Eldred and Wodin searches the tower, the nearby ruins for anything useful or interesting.
Whatever secret it may had, It was long found and don’t offer anything of value.
From the ruins tho, you are able to gather that the first attack on the horn was swift and brutal, almost no damage was done to nearby structures, and from that you concluded that the defenders did not had time to mount any resistance.
As you explore the ruins, a fog begins to form in the place, it feels malevolent and evil, as if someone or something trying to reach from a faraway place.
With nothing left to explore on the outside ruins, the party read into the cave mouth.
This broad open cave is the only visible entrance to the lower caverns. The many stalactites, stalagmites, and columns of wet living stone resemble nothing so much as fangs contained inside a large loathsome grin. The cave is covered by countless pools of standing fetid water and ubiquitous slicks of mud that make the entire surface of the maw count as difficult terrain from the entrance to the dotted-line more than forty feet in.
Agrippa casts Darkvision on Eldred using a scroll he prepared earlier. This should aid you Master Crofter.
My thanks Sir - I had not expected such but it is thrice welcome.
Eldred moves silently through the darkness exploring, asking that the dwarf and the others hold back 40ft.