Eoni looked back at the boy and recognized his embarrassment.  In all fairness, the Witchwood was quite spooky and having spent days searching on his own, she wasn't surprised that the giant glowing trunk and barking dogmen had driven him to retreat.

Without the support of the others, she'd already have been marching quickly in the other direction.

If she'd just passed the stump under almost any other circumstances, one woman in the group would not have thought twice about it.  She would likely have mistaken it for any number of things, and even if she did correclty place it as what was once a tree, she would have reasoned that trees fell all the time.  It was just a fact of life.  Of course, today Aldara was not merely passing by, she'd been led here by a young apprentice in need of assistance.  And, well, this stump did warrant some looking-at.

Like the other adventurers, her attention is fixed on it.  She seems to expect something to come out at any time, and almost reaches for a dagger at her hip when one of her companions, a Dwarf, mentions noises.  She'd only begun living by her wits recently, and was doing poorly at it.  After one incident where she nearly boxed somebody senselss after they bumped into her, she had to work to check herself.  To put herself at ease, she reassures Liamm.  "Well, if spirits pointed you here, I'm sure they're here.  Only very foolish ones would lie." Needless to say, it is very clear that she does not seem too convinced of her own words.

 The trail that led them to the clearing with the large tree was without incident, and that was just fine with the Warrior. He did not like the feel of this place, it made him feel closed in, and something could be behind every tree. As for the clearing itself, it was a perfect spot for an ambush. Whatever those dog faced things where, with the pointed sticks, there could be many of them, laying in ambush, or so thought Marklin.

 His companions did not bring confidence to the Warrior, well, except for the Dwarf of course, his kind made for good warriors, handy to have in a fight. But the rest of his companions, women for the most part, he hoped they had more to them, and then met the eye.

 Marklin himself, he was a man of average height and looks, no winner of beauty contests this one. He usually had to pay for the company of a woman, but that was fine with him. His leather armor had brass studs sewn into it for added protection. The weapons that he carried, where three javelins, a mace at his belt, dagger and spear. His former lord had thought swords where for the gentry, not a common soldier like Marklin.

 He currently stood in the brush near his companions, taking the measure of the place, as he leaned upon his spear. “Nay, I like it not. We need to be careful, as those creatures might still be skulking about the area. Let’s skirt the clearing, staying to the trees, and get a better look at all angles.” He offered in way of counsel to the group.

The girl's eye movements stop; she cocks her head to one side, as if using her ear like a bug would use its antenna . . . searching, questing . . .

[Private to DM Pawn: OOC: Let's use that "Hear Noise" skill, see if Valthur was hearing something, or if he's just talking. :)]

"Of course the blasted mushrooms would be in the stump, wouldn't they," Valthur grumbles under his breath. "I mean, why would I expect them anywhere else but in the most vile, foul smelling part of this god forsaken forest?"

Having spoken(or rather muttered) his piece, he draws his sword and moves cautiously along the edge of clearing as the fighter suggested.

After a moment Sarah shakes her head softly.  Then, she realizes that at least one in the party is separating from the group.  She looks at him for a moment, then the group, then to the departing figure.

But she stays with the group.

Sarah hears nothing unusual, save for the ambient noises of the surrounding forest and the occasional crinkling of dead leaves as Valthur skirts the perimeter of the clearing.

Valthur skirts along the edge of the clear in order to get a better look at the tree from all angles. The dwarf does not spot any obvious alternate entries similar to the small fissure on its eastern side. The tree is about 60 feet tall, though it appears to have been much taller at one time, its upper portion likely having fallen down long, long ago and decomposed into the rich soil.

It's possible one could gain access to the tree by climbing up its sides and finding entrance at its sheared-off top, assuming it is hollow throughout. But there is no way to be certain without scaling the tree.

The clearing around the tree is marked by several smaller saplings and shrubs taking root here or there, but none have managed to grow much taller than man height. Those few saplings that have taken root seem quite anemic and blighted. These are not healthy specimens growing in the wake of this taller, much older tree. Rather, the clearing seems to have tainted the surrounding land, a sickness radiating outward.

As Valthur is perhaps grumbling over this mission, he steps on something hard and decidely not "woodsy". Glancing down, the dwarf spots a javelin. The javelin is crudely crafted, well by dwarven standards at least, with a shoddy bronze tip. It's a serviceable weapon, just not particularly noteworthy.

Feeling a little less skittish after Valthur decides to trek ahead, and not wanting him to be alone in his exploration, Aldara follows the dwarf.  As she does, she draws a gleaming, silvery dagger - just in case something comes up.  She knew how to use the implement, and had several more on her person for throwing, but sincerely hoped that she did not have to use it.  She, too, keeps her eye out for anything unusual.

Well, more unusual than the colossal, overgrown dead tree.

Eoni decided to follow Aldara.  Nothing untoward had befallen the dwarf and she suspected that remaining in the bushes as she was would not further their goals.

"Come with us," she said to Liamm as they set off after Valthur.

From a different angle, the tree wasn't as imposing as it had initially seemed.  She kept some distance between them as they moved and relied on her staff to push through the leaves and grasses.

It was strange that the clearing had not been overgrown in the time it had taken for the upper portion of the tree to fade away.  They had not encountered any tree so large during their journey thus far and wondered what kind it had been to grow so large and if there might be others strewn about the forest.

 Seeing the Dwarf suddenly start off into the greensward,Marklin followed him,as they scouted the fringes of the clearing. He carried a spear in one hand,a round shield upon the other. He wore a helmet with a nose guard, that was a common soldiers protection.

As more people approached the tree Sarah followed suit.  Her hands are now under her cloak, but in the same position as before: each grasping the opposite arm.

She eyed the tree, but made no comment about it.

[Private to DM Pawn: OOC: If it matters to you, Sarah won't offer to climb the tree unless and until someone (1) asks her to do it or (2) a discussion is started by someone else that someone should climb. :)]

Liamm hadn't initially noticed some of the party members beginning to skirt the edge of the clearing, being completely transfixed on the opening, perhaps expecting something terrible to burst out of it at any moment.



Eoni breaks the trance. "Yes...yes, Ma'am," he stutters while quickly following suit.

 As the group plodded through the woods, for Marklin was certainly no Ranger, as his booted feet stomped along, cracking twigs and such. But for all that, he was a Warrior with some battle experience, he had fought bandit's that had been raiding his Lord's land a few months back. He was even involved in a God's honest skirmish with another minor Lord. Something to do with a creek and water rights, or some such. That was the first time Marklin had slain another. The fool had all but run up on Marklin's spear and impaled himself. All the Warrior could do was watch the other slowly slide off and expire. The fact that Marklin heaved up his morning rations, was something he had been reminded of for weeks afterward, by the jests of his fellow Men at Arms.

 His eyes where constantly moving, as he searched for anyone or thing that might want to ambush the little band. He held his spear in an overhand grip, ready to either throw or stab downward at a foe. When the Dwarf stumbled across the crudely made javelin, the Warrior tried to look  the harder into the green that surrounded them.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:42, Fri 16 Sept 2016.

Valthur takes a knee for a closer look at the javelin at his feet. He picks it up and rotates it under a watchful eye. "Poor craftsmanship, but sharp enough to do a number on you if you weren't paying attention." He stares again at the mysterious gigantic stump. There is certainly something unnatural about it, and as much as he wishes to simply turn his back on it and walk away, he knows he has a job to do. And a well-paying one at that.

"All right," he sighs. "Creeping around the outside of this thing isn't getting us anywhere. Let's get on with it." With sword at the ready, he steps directly toward the stump and fully into the clearing.

Eoni let the dwarf get a dozen paces ahead and then followed.  She hoped that Liam was right and that what they were looking for was just inside the stump.

"Stay with me, Liamm," she said to the boy, motioning for him to follow.

  Marklin frowned at Valthur, but kept his own counsel,this time. He would act rear guard for the group.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:11, Sat 17 Sept 2016.

Having completed a a brief examination of the cleared perimeter around the ancient tree, Valthur leads the party toward the fissure at the bottom of the tree's eastern side.

The fissure itself is large enough for even the tallest party member to pass through without too much difficulty, but first, Valthur and the others peer inside.

The faint purple light provides trace illumination within the massive confines of the hollowed trunk. No hint of light trickles from overhead, where the walls of the great trunk race to dizzying height beyond the party's vision. The air is thick with the smell of molded wood and rot.

The source of the hazy purple light is clear once everyone's vision adjusts to the darkened interior. A massive sheet of small mushrooms sprawls across the center of the hollow. The circular patch must be at least 50 feet across, doming slightly at its centermost point. The odd curves of the crescent-shaped caps make it easy to identify these as moonsong mushrooms.

With the aid of his infravision, Valthur notices additional details which escape his human companions...

Off to the north, a tattered series of wooden planks and a twisted knotted rope are spiked
into the wall of the tree to form a crude rope ladder. The ladder trails upward for 30 feet, then disappears over a thick wooden shelf that stretches in a semicircle along the north, west and southern walls overhead.

A large fungal shelf clings to a portion of the floor and wall in the southwest. The fungal
blooms along the shelf have wide ridges and wrinkled caps, and appear pale compared to
the moonsong mushrooms glowing softly in the center of the hollow.

OOC: Everyone roll a Listen or Hear Noises check (d6).

23:15, Today: Marklin rolled 1 using 1d6 with rolls of 1.  Hear noise.

22:21, Today: Sarah rolled 4 using 1d6 with rolls of 4.  Hear Noise (1-2).

Marklin periodically hears faint high-pitched chirping emanating from somewhere within the tree's hollow. The chirps sound vaguely like pulsing whistle blasts, albeit at a very high frequency and not easily perceptible.

It is difficult to locate the source of the high frequency chirps, but the sound was not heard until the party peeked into the strange tree.

OOC: In addition, any character who is successful in their hear noises check will hear the same thing.

"Liam," Eoni asked, squatting down to examine the iridescent fungi.  "Are these the moonsong?"

She thought they were the right ones from their description but had never seen any herself.  They were quite pretty.  She felt bad that Liamm would have to spoil the smooth blanket of fungi in order to harvest what the alchemist needed.

 Marklin looked around the area with as much care as possible. He heard a buzzing sound,and that just put him more on edge. "Does anyone else heard that weird sound?It really kicked up when we approached this bloody overgrown twig. Watch,  yourselves." Said as the Warrior took a tighter grip upon the haft of his spear.

 He would move with care towards the crude rope ladder to see what there was to see.

Liamm nods. "I think so, Ma'am," he whispers while fumbling with the buckle strap of his leather satchel.

"I've only seen real ones a couple of times, but they look like the ones I saw."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:32, Sat 17 Sept 2016.

The faint purplish grow emanating off the assumed mound of Moonsong mushrooms does not provide enough light for one to see what they may or may not be stepping on, or into for that matter. Marklin takes a few steps through the fissure and his feet sink several inches with each step, the interior of the tree filled with what can best be described as a rich, lush woody mulch and compost mixture.

Such environs are less hostile to Valthur, who is able to see in darkness, but the others are presently operating at a huge disadvantage.