"I believe we're due for starting a few forest fires..." Mordecai comments upon hearing the scouting report. The very thought brings a gleeful smile on his face.
So what's it to be?
If we're fighting it, give me the plan, and I'll roll up some initiative.
From a decent ways off, though not so far as his fire-readied friends, Treegart calls to the slayer of delivary boys. "Hello mighty member of the forest. Am correct in assuming you are now free. Free now that the tree-slaver Jurak is gone?".
"Only a tyranical treant would ever try to enslave a might assassin of the woods. Only a mighty , such as yourself could properly create such a crown as you have from these bodies."
Xeram remains quiet, as Gertrart and Taeral try to smooth talk the giant treant.
The loud wind rustles through the trees. You can hear the creaking and groaning of tree limbs in the distance. All of this combines to form a cohesive, yet indecipherable pattern.
A DC 20 Linguistics or Knowledge (nature) will identify that this is the language of the Treants. Naturally, if any of you speak that ancient tongue then no check is needed.
"The Elder Tree speaks in Treant I believe, but it is difficult to make out. I must remember to have Faustus make me some scrolls of comprehend languages when I return."
"I can't make it out either. Do you sense hostility?"
Deprecatingly he adds, "I'm sorry Mastertree. We do not understand."
Xeram addresses Mordecai, yet keeping his sight at the forest.
"Are your fingers eager to put it to the torch, as much as mine, if the talk won't yield result?"
You're a couple hours out by horseback.
So, you send the horse across? Well, the horse is as smart as you are, it senses the danger and veers off to the south trying to get as far from the malignancy as possible.
"I guess we try again tomorrow. Now we know where the danger lies, we can make a new route. At the very least, we can make sure our caravans know what to avoid."
"That horse was a little smarter than I gave it credit for... hmmm."
"I will make Faustus work through the night, so we can return with two scrolls tomorrow. I think we can exploit this situation by routing our messengers around this creature and even using it as another defense for The Horn. I will find out what Faustus knows of this creature."
"So no itchy fingers." Chephren finishes saying, as he looks to his colleagues.
I can't imagine it would follow you back to town. It seems to have found a pretty good place to do whatever it is doing.
As for the Comprehend Languages, don't you think Tongues would be more appropriate.
Gertart looks at Mordecai "Tomorrow then."
Tomorrow he makes the same greeting as today and attempts to aid Taerel in his sweeter tongue.
Errr, in what language?
"Great Master of the Woods, we return to speak with an Elder of the World, one Mightier than the foul treant Jurak, tree-slaver. Will you speak with us?" Taeral says from a distance, is voice sounding like the wind moving through the trees. As he speaks he will make gestures of pointing to specific dead bodies that were our messengers and motions for them to come back to our location/group.
"The tree has agreed to talk with us and allow us to retrieve one body, because we destroyed the treant Jurak."
Turning to the guard...
"I suggest you go to that body and bring it back to us. That one carries vital information that would look poorly on myself, if it fell in the wrong hands."
The treant voice responds, "who is it that returns and speaks my ancient tongue and claims to be responsible for having killed Jurak, who you label properly as the tree slaver?"
The guard is convinced and he goes forth to retrieve a body.
"You send me an offering of like kind to that which I have previously killed in this area?" You hear a crunching as the guard cries out in surprise and alarm. "What is it that you want from one so mighty as me?"
As soon as the guard screams out, Taeral says to the others.
"The guard's sacrifice was intended gentlemen, the Ancient Tree asks what it can do for use. I am going to tell it we plan on returning the Horn to it's previous infernal glory and ask it to help guard the Horn from the vile Mitrians while the process continues. If those goody-goodies continue to plague us, we can throw their bodies to the Ancient One as we kill them. What say you?"
& safe passage for us. We also offer to leave the entire area to him in the turn of two seasons (three?)
Hearing no other comments Taeral continues speaking to the treant, the sound of leaves rustling coming from his lips.
"Ancient One, we endeavor to call forth Vetra-Kali and return the Horn to it's infernal glory of past. The followers of Mitra although, seek to stop us and we seek your assistance in thwarting their attempts. Will you join us at the Horn and guard the approach. We will provide you with additional offerings of both follows of Mitra and creatures of goodness for this task. What say you to this accord?"
In Treant: "Hopefully some of them will put up more of a fight than this last one, but slaughtering the followers of Mitra is something I can devote myself to. Lead me to my new home, and you have an agreement struck!"
"Are there any gems, coins or other objects remaining from the ones you have absorbed their nutrients from here?"
(or any great wyrms who might also aid our venture?)
Treant: "There are baubles here that do not interest me."
You can freely approach and find: 200 gp jade necklace,
a ruby ring worth 350 gp, and 48 gp in mixed coin
Xeram couldn't follow the foreign tongue conversation, but when Taeral announced the result, he smiled.
"A fine outcome, your speech-craft is to be commended."
Taeral recommends that the Ancient Tree takes a position near the stair entrances to the Horn. He explains that the cavern entrance is guarded by the boggards and they need to be able to come and go as needed. Inside the Horn proper, we have access to the teleportation devices to come and go between levels or even out of the Horn. This leaves our biggest weakness, in his opinion, as the three stairway/physical entrances.
You have no such follower at this time, but perhaps one could be procured.
The treant is called The Hangman Tree, with no real name. We can make one up?
Ok, pressing forward to week 11 then shall we? With the turning of the tree over to your side, regular passage of supplies have been able to begin again. And things have been proceeding.
On Wednesday of week 11, you are informed by the boggards that their caves were somehow infiltrated during the night. Several boggards were killed by bladed weapons. No trails have been found.
The next day, a similar thing occurs at your main gate.
In fact, for 4 days running some unknown agent has been probing your defenses, killing off a couple of your minions, and then retreating.
It is clear that you are under some form of assault.
"Darn, who or what could have been doing this?"
Xeram ponders the question, but goes to consult Faustus.
"Faustus, is there a way to set a magical alarm of sort, that warns our forces of a stranger coming?"
"Taeral had me create two stones of alarm, but they are a variant version I had learned about a few years ago. They have the ability to detect an invisible intruder. The spell used in their creation only lasts in 10 minute increments, so crafting an item with the spell is very effective."
"I can cast additional alarm spells that will last through the night that will fill in gaps of the stones of alarm, if that is your desire."
It's pretty random, no pattern.
There are only a finite number of entrance locations though.
"I can speak with the spirits of the slain, in case they saw their killers. Other than that, we should create more traps and alarms on the entrances, and perhaps double the amount of patrols."
Next day, Mordecai prepares three Speak with Dead -spells, and uses it on the recently found corpses.
Gertart will take a place of entry that hasn't yet been struck and keep his own watch there for the villain (well for the antagonist since I am the villain. :)
Ok Mordecai, three different corpses, feel free to make up choices of candidates for this. And then you get 3 questions each, so fire away!
Xeram will craft some explosive runes on potential entrances, where Faustus could cast the alarm spell.
To clarify [Entrance > Faustus's Alarm> Explosive runes]
Ok Mordecai, three different corpses, feel free to make up choices of candidates for this. And then you get 3 questions each, so fire away!
Mordecai prepares a corpse of one boggard, and a guard from the main gate, and someone from inside the Horn.
"1. Did you see who killed you?"
"2. Where were you when you were killed?"
Let's go with the boggard...
1. "Yes"
2. "I seen three of them. A scary dwarf with an axe. A pretty elf with a sword and a bow, and a short gnome with no weapons."
3. The corpse points right to the ground, "I was killed right here."
The main gate guard:
1. "I saw two elves and a dwarf. The elves both seemed very natury, and the dwarf, well, he was a dwarf, what can you expect from such as he?"
2.
3.
The guard from inside:
1. "No, I didn't see them, all of a sudden, I was held by magic. I couldn't move a think, couldn't even call for help. Then I heard some breathing behind me, and I died."
2.
3.
What questions 2 and 3 for the guards would you like answered? I believe they all died right where you found them, so don't squander question 2 on that again!
"Where were the enemies coming from?"
"Were the killer talking anything about their plans?"
The main gate guard:
"The dwarf and one of the elves came up the path very rapidly and attacked us, but the other elf stayed back shooting arrows at us."
"They didn't say anything during the fight, but as I lay dying they urged each other to hurry, so they could get inside and scout briefly."
The inside guard:
"They came up from behind me as I was walking my post."
"Before they killed me there was briefly a discussion between them of asking me what I knew about 'the Ninth,' but they quickly decided not to chance that I might scream out, so they just killed me."
"Then, let's sort out what the dead told us.
There at at least 4 culprits, a gnome, a dwarf and two elves.
The dwarf and one elf like to fight up close, another likes to stay at a distance, an archer type, or perhaps the caster...those nature loving types like bows.
An unarmed gnome, well, there was this unarmed man a while back, that we fought."
Gertart draws up some maps of the place. Only the first room at any given entrance is accurate to shape & none show correct defenses. He stamps them with alchemical silver & asks the casters to study it.
As an after thought he adds, "Voidwing & her clutch agreed. Will lair in this area on [night of new moon]. Area to be vacated of all personnel by [last night]."
A copy is given to each entrances guard.
He then sees if he can track the villains* from the path the guard mentioned.