The words of, apparently ignored, threat to the dog died on the old Seeker's lips. Those lips, attached to facial muscles that were anchored to bone, parted at the jaw that ran them went slack.

"Uh... Hmmm... Praise He whose walking stick taps unceasingly beside Eternal Footsteps along the Trail towards... towar-... uh... Honor to the... uh... Thank the Wanderer but that was a nice shot!"

He just stood there, sling draped from his hand and the release resting on the floor of the hall.

Chomper snorted bits of gore and goo and licked the nastiness from his large teeth.

"Maybe I haven't lost it after all..." Regdoc the Seeker murmured to his hound.

Finally blinking several times and swallowing to reset his grim visage, Regdoc turned to help the fallen and wounded.

Amalrik backs away, disengaging, opening the battle area to others.

The vine from the former Iffy turned vine thingy tighten around the goblin shaman as she beats it with Mistah Wong, making an incredible racket.

"HEY HOOMANS!, Goblin in trouble over here, HELP!"
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 11:54, Sat 23 Mar 2019.

Brodd staggers to Yagi's aid, swinging his club with his one good hand.


08:52, Today: Brother Brodd rolled 17 using 1d20. to hit.
08:52, Today: Brother Brodd rolled 5 using 1d6. damage.

A solid THUNK between Iffy’s shoulder blades brings the crunch of vertebrae. The root system fails out of her mouth and shrivels.

”Thanks.” with a final groan she slumps over.

Brodd checks her out to see if she is alive.

Iphigenia breathes no more.

"We'd best check out the chamber where these things came from. There may be more of them, so be careful, but we may find the source... which should be destroyed. When the fires die down above us, we can bury our dead." Regdoc said with a sympathetic note in his voice. Iffy may have been a criminal, but she'd been selected to be part of the team, and she'd never crossed any of them. It was a shame her path to redemption had come to an end. "Not all Paths lead to Everlasting Light..."

Regdoc snagged Chomper's collar and then poked his head through the door at the end of the hall to see what was beyond where the zombies had come from.

It’s a long walk to the other end of the hallway. The air grows more acrid and smoky as you continue. You notice a distinct rise in temperature.

The hallway opens to a huge chamber. The ground is wrought with concentric circles of gleaming tunes that have deteriorated over time. In the center of that circle, about 50’ in diameter is...

Well, perhaps /was/ is a better word. Something massive, tree-like and charred. It shivers it its death throes as sparking branches fall from its trunk. Even the trunk itself is glowing from the fire that burned its way through blackened ceiling above into the heart of this cursed property.

As you watch, the trunk collapses against the far wall and crumbles, leaving only silence of shifting ash.

Thud watches Iffy's death with obvious emotion. When the tree-thing dies, he moves over and kicks its ashes vigorously. "That's for iffy," he proclaims.

He then searches the whole area for treasure. No point in leaving a stone unturned, as they say.

Yagi is greatly saddened by Iffy's death and uses Mistah Wong to pray for a safe passage for the bald headed lady.

Brother Brodd prays over Iffy's body for safe passage in the afterlife.

Regdoc circled around the outside of the chamber with Chomper by his side in case more of the strange plantzombies should show themselves. He looked at the glowing runes to see if he might discern their meaning or purpose. With the toe of one trail-worn boot, he began to sift through the ashes at the perimeter, not getting too close to the trunk yet, but being methodical in his search.

Amalrik slaps his fist against his heart, saluting Iffy as a fellow warrior. He silently bids Crom look after this one, she died defending the others. H silently picks up her body She deserves a warrior's burial pyre. I will see that it is done.

"It would foul the air, what do you breath when the air is full of smoke. Think about that for a moment. A cairn would be better, cover her under stones. If you choose to burn her body, take her out when we leave. That and what do you do for wood?"
This message was last edited by the player at 16:19, Sun 24 Mar 2019.

Einhard hung his handaxe on his belt and walked over the creature with his spear still lodged in its chest. He placed his foot on its ribs and yanked the spear free. He approached Brother Brodd and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I am very sorry that your friend perished in the battle. I will be sure to tell the Baron of her bravery and valor. She deserves a proper burial, but this may not be the proper resting place for her. I will help carry her out of here."

Einhard looked at Alietra "If we can find my horse, we could use that to carry her body to a proper place of interment. Any ideas?"

Sasar was upset with the whole undead from the roots strange encounter.

Remaining quiet, he helped Thud look around the area for any treasure or things of interest.

Digging around, they find the electrum circle engraved into the floor. Any wizard can till you about the prized properties of the right mix of gold and silver for conducting magical energy. The heat has caused the metal to boil and come loose from the floor. Clearly it’s oroginal enchantment is no longer active. It’s still hot to the touch, but long stretches of the metal can easily be pried from the floor with a blade and broken into manageable pieces with a hammer. By the time you gather it into a pile and douse it with water so the heat steams away you have 100gp worth of metal.

"Shall we take Iffy out now, or build a temporary cairn to hold her safe from the vermin of this place?" Brodd says to the others. "I say take her out now while her body is in better condition. We can come back."

"We need to press on to find my missing niece. I am sorry your friend is dead, but she was a criminal. Yes, she deserves a proper interment, but I suggest we carry her out of here, and bury her somewhere on the property, and then move out." Einhard adjusted his armor to ensure all the straps are secure.

"I've been silent for most of this journey so far. This detour to the winery was beneficial in that it provided an opportunity to see if you have the skills necessary to accomplish the tasks at hand. But, I do not want to explain to the Baron that we could have saved Starshell if only we hadn't taken a couple of days to return a dead thief to be buried in town." Einhard kneeled down and lifted the thief's lifeless body in his arms.

Brodd nods agreement. "So be it."

The lady that emerged from the shadows to aid you seems to have vanished as fast as she came.

Furthermore, Ipheginia's possessions seem to have been claimed.

Furthermore The silver wire that wrapped around her set of lockpicks has been wrapped around her right wrist, the wire twisted together at the top in a pattern that reminds you of an open lock.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:25, Mon 25 Mar 2019.

"Wasn't there someone else here a few minutes ago? I thought I saw someone attacking the zombies from the other side, but, I don't see them any more. Have they fallen, is someone else hurt?"

Meanwhile... Chomper and Regdoc continued their search of the chamber.

OOC:

• Are there any more doors, halls, rooms branching off from the chamber where the tree died?
• Can Regdoc discern anything further about the purpose of the room and the reason the tree had grown up through it?
• Anything else to see or do down here, or have we exhausted our possibilities?
• Did any of the zombies have anything on them? A shield perhaps?