"Your language, Sir!" Eoni responded reflexively with a scowl in Marklin's direction.  There were children present!

Returning her attention to the blood moss, she carefully peeled off a large slab and ducked back out of the limb.

"Liam," she said to the boy, poking at his specimen containers, "which of these bags is for the moss?"

Sarah stops a moment; then shaking her head as if rising from a deep sleep, her face grows angry.  Furiously, she launches another dart . . .



16:06, Today: Sarah rolled 14 using 1d20 with rolls of 14.  save vs. spells (14).


16:07, Today: Sarah rolled 15,2 using d20+2,d4 with rolls of 13,2.

"Marklin, you fool. Can't you see what you're doing?" Still convinced that Marklin is attempting to take the life of a defenseless fair maiden, Valthur grabs the fighter around the waist and wrestles him to the ground. He only hopes he isn't too late.


01:08, Today: Valthur Ironhelm rolled 18 using 1d20 with rolls of 18.  tackle Marklin.
OOC: sigh - I knew my luck would change sooner or later... wish it was later.

All Aldara can manage is a disgusted grunt at Marklin's verbiage.  Mercenaries, pfaugh!  "Children, and ladies!" She hurls another dagger at the creature whining at her companions...

06:18, Today: Aldara rolled 12,4 using 1d20-1,1d4 ((13,4)).

...and prays to the deities represented by her companions, and Ioun, that she hits her mark!

Marklin throws another javelin at the dryad, striking her in the upper leg. She cries out in anguish and doubles over in pain, her dark eyes staring sadly at the trespassers at the edge of the hollow. She reaches out a hand and places it on the tree and silently mouths an incantation before wailing again, "Won't somebody save me???"

In response, Valthur tackles Marklin roughly to the ground, the dwarf getting the better this time. Vathur pins him to the ground, despite the fighter's protestations.

Eoni tries to draw an answer out of Liamm, but he does not initially respond. Glancing over to make sure he is still there, she notices he has a starry-eyed expression one moment, the next becoming angry. The apprentice explodes in rage and charges at Marklin.

"Leave her ALONE you savage LUNK!!!" he roars before kicking the fighter in the head. "Or I will stomp your head in again!" A considerable change in demeanor for the lad, to be sure, but he seems quite serious about his admonishment.

"Help me...." the dryad wails.

OOC: Marklin is tackled to the ground, with Valthur pinning him down. Liamm kicked Marklin in the head for 3 points of damage.

Fallen Dryad
AC: 5
HP: -12/xx


PC       AC   HP   9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0 - 1 -2 -3
Aldara   8    4/4  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 20
Eoni     8  10/10  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 20
Marklin  6    3/9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 20
Sarah    6    6/6  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 20
Valthur  4  18/18  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 20
Yhus     6   8/10  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 20

[Private to GM:

  HD       9   8   7   6   5   4   3   2   1   0   -1  -2  -3
Up to 1    10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  20  20
1+ to 2    9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  20
2+ to 3    8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20
3+ to 4    7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19
4+ to 5    6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18
5+ to 6    5   6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17
6+ to 7    4   5   6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16
7+ to 9    3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15
9+ to 11   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14
]

PCs are UP!!!


This message was last edited by the GM at 08:06, Mon 09 Jan 2017.

 One moment, Marklin was upright, the next moment, he was prone, with a Mad Dwarf holding him in a grapple. To add insult to injury, the Warrior was struck in the head by a boy. He saw stars, a moment, then his temper totally frayed.

“Traitors!.”

 This word exploded from Marklin, as he reverted to the only weapon that was designed for close quarter fighting, ready at hand. The Warrior suddenly had a dagger in his right hand, as he stabbed at Valthur’s face.

14:10, Today: Marklin rolled 7 using 1d20+1 with rolls of 6.  Dagger attack against Dwarf.

(FYI: Marklin is wearing a helmet, the kid might have a broken foot.)
This message was last edited by the player at 19:18, Sun 08 Jan 2017.

Seeing Marklin now turn a dagger against Valthur, Liamm rushes to the dwarf's defense and kicks at the fighters hand, attempting to jar it loose from his grip.

"He's gone mad! Eoni, help!" he screams.

OOC: Hit Marklin for 3 points of damage and Marklin must make a STR check to hold on to the dagger.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:37, Mon 09 Jan 2017.

"Liamm! NO!" Eoni shouted at the boy as she threw aside her staff and moss to lunge after the boy.  She didn't know what had overcome any of them but she couldn't let him continue.

She grabbed Liamm by the belt with one hand and his torch hand with the other before the boy had the idea to club Marklin with the flaming brand.  She then tried to pull him back from the opening and away from the commotion.

Eoni Daflin rolled 14 using 1d20-1.  Pull Liamm back from Marklin.

23:26, Today: Marklin rolled 2 using 1d20 with rolls of 2.  Strength roll to retain dagger.

Despite being kicked roughly by Liamm and wrestled by the dwarf, Marklin retains his firm grip on the dagger.

Eoni rushes in and restrains Liamm, pulling the young apprentice away from the grapplers. A chaotic scene to be sure.

Valthur does his best to restrain Marklin, trying to get a grip on his dagger wielding wrist. "Marklin, listen to me. You're under some sort of spell. Something in this wicked tree is playing with your mind. Snap out of it! Try to focus."


OOC: What irony!

Sarah stays out of the fray and continues peppering her target with darts.

06:46, Today: Sarah rolled 19,2 using d20+2,d4 with rolls of 17,2.  Throw Dart (15 to hit).

Strange sorcery has come over the party, causing strife within their ranks. Valthur and Marklin roll around on the mulchy floor fighting over the right to plunge a dagger in the others' heart, while Liamm is forcibly restrained by Eoni who now has the lad bundled up in her arms. Liamm struggles against Epni but is mindful to not fight his way free from someone he greatly respects.

Meanwhile, equally unphased by the boys' behavior, Aldara and Sarah do what they can to try to take out the dryad. Sarah throws another dart, this one striking the fey humanoid in the throat. With a wooden hand she grabs her throat and struggles to speak, but can form no coherent words, only a string of watery babble.

Then, the fire in her eyes is extinguished, all signs of life fading. The fallen dryad is slain.

In response, Liamm and Valthur begin to regain control of their senses, though the feeling of sadness of the loss of their friend may never truly fade. Such is the way of fey magic.

OOC:

Fallen Dryad
AC: 5
HP: Dead


PC       AC   HP   9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0 - 1 -2 -3
Aldara   8    4/4  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 20
Eoni     8  10/10  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 20
Marklin  6    3/9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 20
Sarah    6    6/6  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 20
Valthur  4  18/18  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 20
Yhus     6   8/10  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 20

[Private to GM:

  HD       9   8   7   6   5   4   3   2   1   0   -1  -2  -3
Up to 1    10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  20  20
1+ to 2    9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  20
2+ to 3    8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20
3+ to 4    7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19
4+ to 5    6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18
5+ to 6    5   6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17
6+ to 7    4   5   6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16
7+ to 9    3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15
9+ to 11   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14
]

Sarah skirts the area where the wrestling occurred to retrieve her darts.  She says nothing to the participants.

[Private to DM Pawn: OOC: And while there, see if there is anything of interest to a greedy person such as me.]

Like her quieter companion, Aldara goes to retrieve her daggers.  "Could this thing be what caused the corruption?" She looks at it, a mix of sadness and revulsion crossing her features.  She'd heard of faerie creatures that lured people into their abodes...

Feeling him relax, Eoni turned Liamm around and gripped him by the shoulders.

"Stay here," she ordered the boy sternly.  She looked into his eyes for a moment to confirm that he'd given up on his task of braining Marklin before releasing him.

The Sister of Avandra left the boy and rushed to the moss covered form standing over the fallen wood woman and began peeling away the moss in hopes of revealing the face of Yhus.

  The matter seemed to be over, but Marklin was not sure in the nine hells had just gone on. “Get off me. Now!” The Warrior snarled at Vulthur, as he did his best to win free of the Dwarf’s grip.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 03:41, Tue 10 Jan 2017.

Valthur slowly wakes from a hazy sort of dream. Was it a dream? He struggles for a moment to get a grip on what is and what isn't reality.


The fighter's disgust seems real enough, and he takes that as a positive sign. His senses begin to sharpen as he releases and sits down next to the fallen warrior, but he is still confused and left to wonder what he was doing on top of him in the first place. An argument. Marklin was doing something terrible, wasn't he? Or was that a dream?

He opens his mouth to ask what happened, but then just shakes his head.

In the aftermath of the conflict, Liamm falls to his knees, doubles over and begins to sob as he struggles to come to terms with what just happened. Such rage welled up within him, the sudden loss of that emotion is difficult to bear.

Eoni steps free of the emotional apprentice and rushes into the velvety hollow, stepping over the fallen dryad's body to get at the lump under the bloodrose moss she believes to be Yhus. Tearing away the moss, Eoni finds a mass of rotting wood beneath, vaguely shaped like Yhus, but entirely inhuman. The cleric's facial features are present in the wood, his face caught in  a blank-faced stare gazing out passively. The tree seems to have claimed him!

Meanwhile, Sarah and Aldara enter the hollow to retrieve their daggers and darts, finding them with little effort.

At the far end of the hollow, Sarah discovers a finely crafted wicker basket, inside which lies a small fortune of coins and other curiosities. The thief stoops over it for a moment before Aldara notices the cache of treasure as well.

[Private to Sarah: Sarah has an opportunity to pocket a very nice silver necklace set with a pendant and gemstones before Aldara sees her, if she wishes to.]

As the fallen dryad lies dying, a strange feeling washes over the party. Some indefinable energy courses through the heart of the great tree, as if the tree itself were letting out a great sigh of relief. A light wind swirls about, stirring leaves and debris – but carrying with it a sweet smell of fresh, clean air, a vast improvement to the stale, rotted smell pervading the massive hollow. It is quite possible the source of the rot and decay was the fallen dryad at your feet, her form withering away to little more than mulch in a matter of seconds. In less than a minute's time, all that remains of the fallen dryad are a gnarled wooden staff carved with runes.

Gleeful chirps and chitters are heard below, in the direction of the Moonsong mound. Apparently the grigs have noticed this change as well.

OOC: Within the wicker basket are 250 gp, 1000 sp, and a carved wooden bowl filled with 11 faintly glowing acorns.
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:45, Tue 10 Jan 2017.

"Oh Yhus," Eoni sighed, lightly tracing the lines of his wooden features.  "May Pelor see your brilliance and accept you into his light."

She looked into the blank wooden eyes and tried to remember if he'd said anything about his family, where he was from.  They should know how he'd died.  How he'd tried to follow a difficult path.

And how when he was most in need, no one had been there for him.

 Marklin was hurt, as he staggered to his feet,and then glared at the Dwarf. " What in the nine hells where ye doing, Valthur? I was trying to slay that damn thing, and ye where trying to stop me. Why?"

 The Warrior reclaimed his spear and shield. "Does anyone have anything to help me? I'm hurt." Said as he leaned upon the spear.

Valthur was still confused about the recent events and struggled to put together his thoughts. She was beautiful, and yet by killing her, the foul rotten stench seemed to disappear. How could the beauty of that... whatever it was be responsible for the rot and decay they had experienced?

It was no use. None of it made sense. Valthur just shook his head and dug out the potion of healing that was in his backpack. Still without a word to say, he handed it to Marklin.

It takes a while for Liamm to regain his composure and the young boy has difficulty even making eye contact with Marklin, so great is the shame over his actions. With a little prompting, he eventually pulls out a specimen bag and harvests some of the velvety moss, the last of the three fungii the party was hired to retrieve.

The boy stares at the pile of mulch that was the dryad and mournfully says, "Can we just leave now? I want to go home..."

The boy, and the adventurers for that matter, got what they came for. And more. A simple mushroom hunt indeed. As for what could go wrong? Lots.

They ran afoul and were riddled by fey right from the outset, they snuck into a giant owl's nest on a foolhardy quest to make amends with said fey, carnivorous fungii, zombified kobolds, a drug-adled kobold sorceror, giant spiders, and a dryad to boot!

Several party members almost died on several occasions and one actually did. Well, sort of. I guess Yhus is still there, trapped in a tree. Liamm can only hope he didn't suffer.

The boy tries to push those thoughts out of his mind. His only thoughts now on making it safely back to Drellin's Ferry. Hopefully his master would be satisfied. An awful lot of trouble, all things considered.

***

The party gathers up the dryad's treasure cache and prepares to return to Drellin's Ferry. The journey back through Witchwood is relatively uneventful, each member given over to their own private thoughts while remaining wary for danger along the way. The sun begins setting over the western horizon just as billows of smoke are seen in the distance, the landscape transitioning to arabale land on the outskirts of Drellin's Ferry. Passing through small farms, the party spies a cluster of buildings along the river ahead: Drellin's Ferry.

Their first true adventure complete, these men, women and dwarf have learned much about themselves and each other. Tested to the limit, they have emerged, victorious, in these Realm of High Adventure...

OOC: Congratulations all around!
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:46, Wed 11 Jan 2017.

The party first returns to Ologeon's hovel and adjoining workshop, Liamm clearly happy to put the dangerous business of adventuring behind him. Perhaps a little angry his master put him in harm's way, but thankful to have had the company of the adventurers. No telling what horrible things would have happened to him had he gone alone, but likely nothing pleasant.

Ologeon gratefully receives the adventurers into the chaos and musky stench of his hovel, wide expectant eyes gleaming when Liamm produces three stuffed sacks full of mushrooms.

"Wonderful! Wonderful indeed!" he beams. "Such rare, precious things, these. Well, at least these days. There was a time not too long ago mind you, before the Wood got dangerous, when you couldn't walk ten paces without trampling them underfoot..." he says with a wistful expression.

"But, don't just humor an old man's stories, surely you haven't the time? No. You couldn't. Quite right" he says while taking and placing the proffered sacks on a cluttered shelf next vials and vats of other oddities.

The alchemist retreats to a far corner of the hovel, ducks behind a screen and kneels down to pick something up. When he is standing again, he has a lockbox in hand, which he places on a workbench. Retrieving a key from within he folds of his soiled robes, he unlocks the chest and dutifully retrieves a sum of 300 shiny gold coins, just as promised.

"A fair wage for a fair job, I say" He turns over the 300 gold coins to the party, to distribute as they wish.

"Do call again, in two weeks time, for a few elixirs which you might find very useful in your line of work. A bonus, as it were," he says, now glancing at his young apprentice, "for seeing to young Master Liamm's safety. He looks to be in one piece and no worse for the wear!"

Eoni frowned but kept any reply to herself.  They were far from unscathed in their completion of his task.  Yhus had not returned with them.