Gavril continued to read his Manual of Quickness of Action trying to have enough study to receive its bonus. The rest of the party attended to healing and then they determined that four members would need Restoration spells to remove the strength damage the Shadows had inflicted.
After that was put to rest they began identifying the magic items. The potions were all of Cure Serious Wounds while the short sword was a Luck Blade with one wish remaining. The white gem sporting diadem was a Kineticist's Diadem which was of no use to any of the party. The mouth of the heavy, dark iron cauldron is shaped like a monstrous maw and is large enough to accommodate a single Medium creature. It was determined to be a Cauldron of Resurrection, which could either perform Raise Dead or Resurrection on a single medium or smaller creature. The cost was heavy at 5,000 or 10,000 gold worth of materials but if one of the party happened to die it could come in handy.
A rest was then had in the "hole in the wall". No one had Night Terrors and Agna was still with the party as they peered outside at the suns setting into Lake Hali and the dark moon appearing in front of the buildings of Neruzavin.
Spells were memorized, a quick meal was consumed and Ciprian then ferried the party to the floor forty feet below. The only apparent easy was to advance was a passageway to the south. Small alleys led in many different directions but the party was still loath to squeeze through one of them. Erevel and Gavril, as usual, led the party south. Ciprian was bouncing off the walls, zig-zagging down the passageway. A false passage led to the southwest but the main route continued until the basalt walls widened to form an artificial gorge. A massive, twisted willow tree stood there. A strange azure moss grew in patches over and in between breaks in its ebony bark. Beyond the tree and in the distance to the south, the ravine rose and flattened out as the basalt structures give way to an entirely different landscape—as if this were some environmental demarcation point.
A low pitched drone suddenly filled the gorge. As Gavril passed Erevel he noted that she was staring into space emptily and did not note Gavril's presence. This was not entirely unusual from Gavril's point of view.
Armania took no action as Ursina cast invisibility on herself. Agna stood still and Ciprian tried to identify the tree but found he could recall nothing. He then yelled at Armania who did not respond so he then began a Countersong to the drone. Finally Erevel also stood stock still which was confusing to the party.
The tree moved toward Gavril, which shocked Ursina, how does that tree move. A wave of negative energy surrounded the tree and Gavril felt a loss of Charisma. Gavril was slammed and grappled by the branches. Armania was still silent as Ursina cast Flame Strike on the tree but found it probably had some resistance. Agna continued to stand still as did Erevel. A concerned Ciprian pushed off the canyon wall moved beside Armania. Seeing no reaction he slapped her across the face eliciting a swift reaction. The tree pulled Gavril to its trunk and dropped him into its gaping maw Gavril was battered around inside the tree as it moved off toward Erevel.
Gavril continued to be battered around but attacked from inside, the monster was difficult to hit and did not take all the damage Gavril wanted but he was making progress. Armania drew back her hand to attack Ciprian but stopped herself before going through with her intent. She then sized up the situation and moved to a likely spot where a lightning bolt was cast followed by a quickened Magic Missile. The lightning also seemed to be reduced in damage but of course the missiles were effective. Ursina moved down to attack the tree but found she could only do minimal damage. Agna, still under some effect was unmoving until Ciprian rushed to her and slapped her. Erevel was still out of the fight. The choking cloud of spores appeared around the tree and Ursina felt her constitution drop and she was fatigued from the effects of the inhaled spores.
Gavril, still within the maw, cut himself out and fell at the roots among the cloud of spores. Armania switched to Dragon's Acid Breath and found that this damned tree also had resistance to acid. Another quickened Magic Missile was still pleasing. Ursina moved around the tree and slapped Erevel awakening her from the lethargy. Agna entered the fray but her attacks were reduced, Ciprian, noting the resistances swung with Deafening Song Bolt which did its full damage. Erevel attacked but found the creature was very difficult to hit could even block an attack, and reduced her damage somewhat. The Night Willow then attacked Erevel, Gavril and Agna with her slam of branches. Erevel was grappled and pulled toward the monster, looking down into the maw that Gavril knew.
The heroes in the cloud continued to have issues with breathing and fatigue but they continued the fight. Gavril could now attack a multiplicity of times but many of them missed. Armania just used regular Magic Missiles at this point, while Ursina hurried to apply healing to Gavril. Agna continued her assault and Ciprian doubled down with Deafening Song Bolt as Erevel flailed at the branches holding her. Erevel then found herself dropped into the gaping maw where she was battered around but Gavril applied the finishing touch to the monster tree.
The party was trying to recover the magic but the cloud persisted and they were hampered by its effects. At last they freed a suit of armor, a staff and a sack. The corpse had a platinum pendant set with blue sapphires around its neck. The skeleton was not recognizable as any humanoid creature the party had ever seen.
DM's Notes: The party earned 12,800 XP for the night and now have 713,654, the next level requires 890,000.
No comments:
Post a Comment