The crow squawks as the short hurricane blast catches its wings and nearly folds it in half, snapping its neck.
(+2 to notice unusual stonework)
"There's something in the water..." Mathine calls out nervously as she moves to stand between the fox trap and the shoreline, brandishing her sword and shield in readiness.
Thinking to himself “what would Torag do?”, Bolkvar came to the conclusion that Torag would fortify his position. So he set about doing just that.
Watching Bolkvar manipulate the earth to create a cover brings a thought to Oryn's mind: "What about using my air skills to make it harder for whatever is in the water to smell us?"
Oryn designates Mathine, Kali and Rao as the beneficiaries of his Basic Aerokinesis class skill.
Oryn whispers "By Gozreh, may the wind hide my new friends."
Kali tries her best to coax the animal into sitting still so she can treat it's wounds, tossing it some dried meat from he rations so it won't bite her.
"Agree, I have no plans to be something's dinner.
Oryn starts to head back to the treeline putting some distance between himself and the lake.
"I don't think that will stop whatever is in the water Bolkvar. We should resume our search for the oldest tree and leave this place. Kali, we better take the fox with us if we want it to survive."
The fox is too weak to put up any sort of struggle as Kali scoops it up into her arms and joins the others in retreating from the lake shore.
Moments later, two large snakes, each at least ten feet long, slither out of the water and surround the now empty trap. They coil on the shore, sniffing the air with their tongues, but seem confused by Oryn’s air trick. After a few moments, they return to the water empty-bodied.
Once clear of danger (the archer cleared out of there), Kali is able to properly tend the fox. It will take some time (at least a week) but she should be able to nurse it back to health if you can find some means of transporting the poor creature.
As the group walked back, Kali kept the injured fox firmly in the crook of her left arm while she would occasionally feed it small pieces of her rations with the other hand. She was not really paying attention to where the group was walking, intent as she was on caring for the creature.
As the group leaves the lake area Oryn asks Bolkvar "Do you think this tree we are looking for is close enough to reach before we need to make camp?"
”Can’t say. Probably safest to stop for the night. Especially as the archer is still out there.”
It’s still only mid-morning. Are folks really wanting to stop for the night?
”...is what I would have said if it wasn’t mid morning. Let’s push on.”
(+2 to notice unusual stonework)
You continue on, Kali distractedly tending to the fox as you proceed. Her ministrations would slow you down, but Bolkvar is already doing that anyway.
Shortly after midday, as you seek out a comfortable place to have your lunch of rations, the forest suddenly thickens with undergrowth. Pushing through, you cone into a clearing that takes your breath away.
The dense trees and thick brush of the forest give way, parting seemingly in respect for the titanic darkwood tree that dominates this clearing. Several times taller than a temple minaret, in one direction the obviously ancient tree reaches into the sky with branches like a giant’s arms, while in the other it plumbs the earth with roots thicker than a man’s waist. Its limbs broad and strong, its bark thick and so richly colored as to almost be black, and its leaves the size of bucklers, the giant thing is less a tree and more a cathedral of boughs and branches. A sense of peace and calm seem to radiate from those branches.
The tree is 300 feet high and fairly easy to climb (DC 12). You don’t see any moss at ground level, but there could be some further up in its branches.
Oryn stares up at the immensity of the tree "Whoa, this is one tall tree. A lot bigger than anything I've ever climbed before, but with Gozreh's help, I might be able to get what we need.
Oryn starts to take off his studded leather armor "I volunteer to go and get the moss for Miss Laurel. Anyone else want to climb the tree?"
Once he has finished taking off his armor and setting his backpack down on the ground next to it, Oryn sighs "Here I go!"
Climbing the tree doesn’t even require rope and grappling hook, but the rope does give him some extra security. It takes a DC 12 Climb check (which Oryn can match by taking 10) to move at one-quarter speed (15 feet per round), or a DC 17 Climb check to move at half speed.
Anybody else going up to help Oryn?
Oryn will switch his Basic Aerokinesis to himself and Rao pushing the air up and away from the tree's trunk.
Being not built for climbing, Bolkvar kept watch from the ground.
Mathine elects to stay on the ground with Bolkvar, keeping watch for any signs of trouble.
Oryn and Rao get up about twenty feet before Oryn notices that three partially-eaten humanoid bodies have been tied to a branch another 60 feet up above you. Oryn is about to point them out when a serpentine creature (with arms!) slithers out of seemingly nowhere, or perhaps from the other side of the tree, charging at Oryn!
Slithering like a large snake, this creature has the head of a dragon and a pair of clawed arms to help it move along and grasp prey. A sickly green mist wafts from its open maw. As it bites into Oryn, part of its body wraps around him and holds on tight the creature turns and prepares to climb up higher into the tree.
Oryn and Kali are up first. Oryn and the creature both have the grappled condition.
Oryn screams as the pain of the snake-like monster rips through him. "Aaaaahhh!! Help! A monster has grabbed me!"
Oryn thinks of his possible death and recalls his encounter with the tornado. He decides to use his Air Blast on the creature in hopes that the attack will force it to let him go.
Oryn's blast of air snaps off twigs and big pieces of bark, which pummel the creature, opening several small gashes along its sinuous hide. He definitely hurt it, but not enough to make it let him go.
Kali and then the creature.
Bolkvar held his hand out, and willed a shard of stone to appear. He held his hand out and the projectile shot out at the beast which was gripping his comrade. He prayed that the shot would hit the right target...
Despite the direness of the situation, as the creature attempts to carry Oryn up into the tree, Oryn’s cloak catches on a branch, and the former farmer pops free of the monster’s clutches. The creature moves up 20 feet, preparing to charge again.
Everybody is up. Creature is 40 feet from the ground, so if you don’t have extended range, you’ll have to climb up into the tree to take a shot.
Right, thanks, he does have extended range.
Bolkvar expertly threads his fist-sized rock up through the branches to catch the creature right on the snout. It looks very wounded now.
I’m guessing that Kali will eschew attacks to keep protecting the fox, and Mathine has no ranged options at all, but that still leaves Rao, who is thirty feet away from it.
Ya, That's my plan unless people stop dropping. You guys got this!
As the pain continues to rack through Oryn's body, a deep seated fear overcomes him. He desperately searches for the potion he bought from the church in Falcon's Hollow but quickly realizes that he left it in his backpack which is sitting next to his armor and spear both on the ground.
Not knowing what else to do, Oryn aims another Air Blast at the creature whose jaws have tore a huge gash in his left shoulder. A pleading shout to the sky "Gozreh, guide my strike!" and Oryn looses his aerial assault.
Oryn’s blast tears through the branches, catching the creature full on, pelting it with bark and twig and strong pressure waves that knock the thing from its perch and down to the ground below with a sickening thud. The creature lies still while shreds of moss, torn from the branches by its fall, softly float to the grass below.
Oryn breaths a sigh of relief at the sight of the monster falling to the ground. He hesitates before doing anything else in the tree ensuring the monster does not rise up and attack the other members of his party. When it becomes clear that the monster is indeed dead, Oryn continues his search in the tree for any additional monsters.
Barring any additional threats, Oryn winces as he struggles to climb down the tree . When he reaches the ground, he breathes "Thanks everyone, I thought I was a goner. There are three dead bodies hung up in the tree - they look like they were partially eaten by that creature. My grandfather always taught me to respect the dead. I think we should give them a proper burial."
Fumbling around in his backpack, Oryn finds his potion of cure light wounds and drinks it down.
Feeling less pain, Oryn returns to the tree and carefully climbs the tree in an attempt to lower the bodies down to the earth.
Once they are down, he asks Bolkvar "Would you please help me dig the graves for these people? When we get back to Falcon's Hollow, we should inform the mayor and the Church. The priests should perform the proper burial rites for these poor souls."
Once the bodies have been properly respected, Oryn re-dons his armor, grabs his spear and swings his backpack over his right shoulder. "Ouch! This shoulder is still tender."
Seeing the moss near the dead creature, Oryn asks "Mathine, would you please check that moss and see if you think it is what Miss Laurel asked us to retrieve?"
”Aye, lad. Glad yer alright. If ye can get yon bodies down, I’ll give ‘em a grave.” He began working on that, moving the earth to make individual graves so each body might lie with proper respect.
At the mention of bodies, Mathine joins Oryn in struggling up the tree, leaving behind her shield but keeping her sword strapped firmly to her hip.
You have no trouble retrieving the bodies and burying them.
The moss that fell down, and plenty more that Oryn and Mathine can find in their efforts to cut down the bodies, definitely matches the description of Elder Moss. You have your first ingredient!
It's only midday, but folks are injured. Do you wish to camp here for the night and heal up or press on?
"So this is the moss there's so much fuss about," Mathine muses, holding a soft patch of it in one hand and examining it closely. "I'll take a closer look at these poor souls," she adds, "and see if they have anything that would identify who they may have been. That way we can try to contact their families. After that, I'm glad to help lay them to rest."
Examining the bodies, Mathine comes to suspect that these men were hunters. Their clothes had the look of rough sleep and days spent in the rain. Though she guesses that they had been hanging in that tree for weeks, the thick foliage of the massive tree kept their equipment quite dry. The following items are still in good shape: 2 light crossbows (each with 10 bolts), 1 masterwork quarterstaff, 2 short swords, 1 masterwork short bow, 1 suit of hide armour (the other two suits have been hopelessly chewed), a signet ring of a flaming hawk, small purses containing coins (19 gp, and 38 sp total), and 8 days worth of rations, still wrapped in their oiled paper with Jaks' Emporium stamped on the side.
Oryn watches as Mathine carefully examines the bodies for things that would help identify the deceased. To Mathine "Are you OK with hanging onto the things that would help identify these people? Normally I would say we should wait for someone from town to protect the graves from robbers, but we can't afford to stop - there are people back in Falcon's Hollow that are suffering. We need to push on."
To the whole group "If everyone is ready, we should continue our trek through the forest. We still have two more ingredients to find: some sort of pickled tree root - known as Rat's Tail and the mushrooms."
Unless someone mentions a reason to stay, Oryn asks Bolkvar "Are you OK with continuing our journey? If so, please lead the way."
Kali had started humming quietly at the fox as the fight started. As the question about the moss, Kali said "Let me take a look."
She continued with her humming as she looked at the moss and said "yes, that's it. Take about half of it, since we'll need to make a large batch of the antidote."
Mathine opens up her pack and starts putting the dead men's effects inside. She feels something prickly on her hand as she puts the first item in, and a little bit of looking reveals that somebody has put a cluster of three holly branches, complete with red berries and bound together with tree roots, into her backpack.
You have yourselves a quick lunch underneath the Elder Tree, then pack up and move out towards the second target on your map: the witch's hut. It takes several hours of walking through the forest, with a bit of back-tracking after you realize you must have missed it, before you arrive at another clearing.
Whereas the clearing around the Elder Tree was the obvious result of one massive tree overshadowing all others, there doesn't seem to be a reason why this clearing should exist. The sounds of the forest become suddenly distant as the trees part, opening into a small, almost perfectly circular glade. The nearest stands of pine, eyln, and darkwood—all typically sturdy woods—twist away from the cl earing, as if bent by some impossibly strong wind or seemingly in an attempt to flee despite their paralyzed roots. At the glade’s center squats an ugly cottage, little more than a pile of twigs, shoots, and ivy stacked upon mud walls. From the thatched roof dangle bundles of gnarled roots, old dried beast carcasses, and knucklebone bangles, all clattering together like gruesome wind chimes. A dozen small thatched fetishes—each shaped like a tiny man, imp, or rearing serpent—stand propped in the yard, keeping guard before a rickety plank door.
"Of course. I've a strong back - lifting and carrying doesn't bother me." As she begins to pack the dead men's effects into her bag, she feels a sudden prick and withdraws her hand to find a small drop of blood on one finger. Sucking on her fingertip, she looks inside and finds... Holly...that's a druid thing, right? Or was it a good luck charm? Or for healing magic... "Kali? Did you put this in my bag?" she calls out, holding up a cluster of three holly branches tied into a tidy bundle.
"You...don't really think she'd curse us, do you?" Mathine answers Rao as she moves immediately to withdraw the rations from her bag. As she does, she again sees the bundle of holly sitting where she'd left it at the top of her rucksack. "Would this help? Is holly a thing that witches use?" she answers, holding it up.
Looking over the hut, Oryn wonders what things may be lurking inside. Determined not to fall into another trap, Oryn is very cautious and tries his best to see or hear something about the inhabitants.
Not seeing/hearing anything does not make Oryn feel any better.
"I don't know anything about witches. Maybe we should try and talk first and see if there is someone inside. After what happened with the tree I am nervous about going in."
Oryn hopes someone in the group has a plan as this place looks like it may well be what Miss Laurel was talking about.
"I think I recall Miss Laurel mentioning the witch's name as Ulizmila."