After a quiet night at your estate in Krezk (perhaps you took time to clean up the attic?) you set out in the morning toward Yester Hill.

https://www.dndbeyond.com/atta.../700/600/761/031.jpg

The trail through the foggy forest breaks wide toward the south and you see a hill covered with dead grass and cairns of black rock. West of the hill, the land, the woods, and the sky vanish behind a towering wall of fog.

Dark, ominous clouds gather high above, and a single bolt of lightning strikes the hilltop. Without moving. The lightning is suspended in time.

There is no living soul present here.

Y2 You continue up the hill. Dirt trails run along two concentric rings of cairns that encircle the hillside. Each cairn is a ten-foot-high mound of slimy black rocks.

Y3 You continue up the hill. Atop the hill is a wide ring of black boulders and smaller rocks that collectively form a makeshift wall enclosing a field of dead grass. The frozen lightning strikes the very center of the hill, which has been turned to glass. Evidence of the powerful ritual that must have taken place yesterday.

(You may
1 search area 3 for clues
2 check out area 4 - a grove of trees covered in black slime
3 check out area 5 - the wall of fog to the west

"...clearly something important happened here," said Ceila.  She attempted to investigate the area of the ring of stones for clue.

Investigating 3; Perception roll is 20

Vyktor had taken some time to tidy up the mansion. It needed no small amount of upkeep and long-overdue maintenance, not to mention a thorough cleaning. He meant to speak again with the Burgomaster about finding some help in these regards. After a time, he found a bed and tried to get some rest. Sleep pounced upon him nearly instantly and though his slumber was filled with strange and terrorsome dreams, he awoke feeling much better physically.

~~~

At Yester Hill, the wary warrior ascended with a sense of unease in the pit of his stomach. The bizarre lightning effect was a bit unnerving, and Vyktor found himself half wincing in expectation that tremendous thunder was about to sound in skull-splitting fashion!

"I don't know that important is the correct word Lady Greendoor, but I would agree that it was at least significant..."

He assisted her in exploring the ring of stones.

Chokahr had slept poorly. He wasn't used to houses that big, or that looming, and missed the sounds of the forest seeping through the tent's cloth, back home. Though in all fairness, the strange sounds coming from the local forests wouldn't really have soothed him either, had he chosen to rest outside, instead of curled up under the dinner table near the fireplace. Since the morning, he had opted to dull his grumpiness and back ache by sipping from a small flask he had scavenged in the mansion's kitchen and filled with Martikov wine. By the time the party reached the Yester Hill, the flask was empty, and his mood greatly improved.

Chokahr sniffed the air with caution. Moss, plants, wood, earth, a hint of decay... those were the normal smells of the outdoor. The pungent smell of ozone near the eerie lightning strike felt slightly more alarming. As for the black slime, he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was... yet. While his companions were exploring the top of the hills, the barbarian walked towards the slime-covered trees and carefully prodded the black mass with a twig, sniffing cautiously.

12:36, Today: Chokahr rolled 7 using 1d20.  Suitable skill check (-1 for Investigation, +1 for Nature).

Between the storm and the grim ceremonial site, the hilltop of Yester struck Jun Jia as foreboding. The charged air held the tension that gripped the accursed land. A land so corrupt that Druids reflected its dark sway. She shook her head in regret for the people doomed to live in Strahd’s land..

Then, Jia walked around the ring of stones. She cleared her mind as she walked the concentric ring, walking the circle mindfully. She observed the area with clarity, taking in each detail that she saw. Jia pondered the arrangement of the stones, noted outstanding details, and looked for any details on the stones. She also avoided contact with the black slime.

OOC:

11:28, Today: Jun Jia rolled 19 using 1d20+4.  Perception.


 

AT THE CIRCLE:
The ring of boulders that surrounds the field is 250 feet in diameter and ranges from 5 to 10 feet high. 12 graves in the circle 50' in from the wall, seemingly far too fresh to be a coincidence. You keep your distance, but curiosity might get the better of you?

The stream of pure electricity is too bright to look at for more than a second. The closest you can get it 20' before the metal on you begins to heat up too high to be safe. You determine that the lightning itself-while most definitely the result of the ritual-is no clue about what the ritual did.

Eyes on the ground, you see massive footsteps in the mud, and upon closer inspection determine that this is some sort of construct that must be about 50' tall and made of wood. Of course, that depends on if you are aware of such constructs and how they may come to life at all. Davian had mentioned that his seeds, stolen by the druids, give life.

---

AT THE TREES:
A thirty-foot-tall plant creature sticks out of the tallest blackest slimiest tree. The creature resembles a dead treant with green light and black tar seeping out of it. Three tree creatures all slowly move, they range in height of bush to vine to sapling.

Chokahr hears a mighty voice whisper from the ground beneath the center tree, "Long have I waited. Long have I waited, for one who is worthy. My spear hungers for blood. Retrieve it, and rule these mountains in my stead, just like the mighty warriors from the early days of the Whispering Wall. It waits below the Gulthias Tree. She has been corrupted. Purify.”

The tree blights snaps to life and charge at Chokahr.
All 20' away
Needler AC12
Twig AC13
Vine AC12

At the sight of the animated trees, Chokahr spit a gob of wine-infused snot and drew his hammer with a devious smile.

"Warm-up. How nice," he cheered, while his tail whipped out of his shirt, ready to interpose itself between the assaillants and him. He jogged up to the shambling attackers and brought down his weapon with a mighty roar.

Initiative 4
Free: Rage, manifest tail (+1d8 AC vs. first attack)
Move: towards closest foe
Action: Draw hammer, attack, hits AC 23 for 11 damage (bludgeoning)

By the way, since the beginning of the game I totally forgot that Rage gives some damage resistance...

Vyktor shielded his eyes from the intense light. Such a thing was inexplicable to be sure, but then again such was the case in much of this dreadful realm. He carefully sidled closer to the closest grave with his rapier at the ready. He leaned forward to see what might lie within...

OOC: Did Vyktor hear the kerfuffle start with Chokahr? If so, his attention will turn in that direction.

he did mighty roar, so perception or passive dc14

The noise interrupted Jun Jia’s examination of the stones. “Wait.” Jun Jia heard the commotion from the woods. “Did either of you hear that roar?”


OOC:

My PP is 14.