The Pod-Caverns of the Sinister Shroom (Game Thread II)

[JadedDM]

Despite their best efforts, neither woman can pinpoint exactly where the strange noises are coming from. There is definitely something unnerving about the sounds, though. It's difficult to put one's finger on. It is like listening to the dead whispering in the nightmares of the living. The party gets the impression that if they could hear the sounds more clearly, it would merely be the gibberish of the mad.

All Jerrard can deduce from the trees from a distance is they are fairly young oak trees. Likely, they'll never grow to full height in this cavern, and one wonders how they survive without any sunlight. Does the glowing moss above somehow compensate or is magic involved? A closer examination may reveal more about the trees.

"Maybe whoever runs this place is trying to make a garden?" Shay speculates.

[Breila]

Babushka laughs a mirthless laugh. "Yes, these caverns are en experimental garden. Someone tries to grow plants without sunlight, how unnatural." She shudders. "And that's the more harmless part of what he or she is doing."

She turns to Locky "Do you have something, larger than an arrow or sling bullet, that we can throw into the cavern to see if it will be attacked in any way?"

[Jenara]

"I have ALL sorts! She pulls out a ball of string, a lump of rock and a bottle of red wine. She puts the string back into a pouch, admires the stone, and hefts the wine bottle.

"Will this do? One of you men will have to throw it. It seems rather strange that she could carry the bottle as it is.. "I think its a Elven Red..

[Jerrard]

Jerrard waits to see what happens with locky's bottle, he has no doubt that it will leave a red stain on the ground.

"I believe this is just as Shay describes, a Garden, a dark and macabre one, but a Garden nevertheless." He smiles, obviously finding the whole idea funny.

"The vines may well produce light. I doubt it is enough to allow the chemical reaction to grow the trees... What dark magic is at work here...?" He strokes his beard, staring at the trees. "I will throw the bottle." He takes it, throwing the bottle into the cavern as Babuskha suggested. [ooc:Thaco 19,1d20=15+1, hit AC 3.]

[JadedDM]

The bottle flies through the air and shatters on impact when it hits the ground, among the trees. The moment after the sound of the glass breaking, the strange noises immediately cease. The cavern is now deathly quiet, save for the gentle babbling of the river.

Shay puts his hand on his sword hilt, unnerved by the silence.

Just when the quiet was beginning to become unbearable, the angry muttering returns, much louder than before. The party even can hear some of the words clearly, like "blood," "hate," and "kill."

The trees all begin swaying, the angry muttering reaching a fevered pitch, sounding almost like a harsh buzzing at this point. The words seem to crawl into the party's ears and wiggle about in their minds, as if the tendrils of madness were reaching out and trying to embrace them.

One of the trees, the middle one in the third column, rips free of its prison, its roots crashing through the pottery, shattering it. Upon the tree's bark, a face begins to form: two eyes and a mouth. The face is twisted with madness and reflects an eternal torment that knows no release. Silently screaming in agony, the tree lurches toward the party violently, waving its branches threateningly as it approaches.

Combat begins!
Party Initiative: (1d10): 4.
Enemy Initiative: (1d10): 5.

(Party wins initiative, and so goes first! The first tree is about 10 feet away. The remaining eight are swaying and muttering, but remain stuck in their pots for the time being.)

[Jenara]

Locky fires the piece of Granite she has in her hand from her hoopak at the advancing tree, then a second bullet.

(Thaco 15, dmg 1d6+1
Roll 12 & 9, 5 & 3.)

"I don't think this is a garden!"

[Breila]

Babushka fires a stone with her sling 1d20, 1d4=[16], [2].

[JadedDM]

The girls quickly let loose their stones, which strike at the crazed tree, chipping away at its bark. The two of them together actually manage to harm the monster. Once their volley is over, Shay draws his blade and moves in. However, he is not so lucky. He thrusts his blade right at the tree, but instead of gutting it like a creature made of flesh and blood, his blade is merely deflected from the creature's tough bark. Shay curses as a wave of numbness goes through his arm on the impact. Obviously, this creature will require a slightly different tactics.

=====================

Locky attacks the Mad Tree for a total of 8 damage.
Babushka attacks the Mad Tree for 2 damage.
Shay attacks the Mad Tree (1d20): 5. Miss.

(OOC: Only Jerrard left to go this round, then it's the tree' turn.)

[Jerrard]

Jerrard pauses while the others act. "Axes and fire." He shouts as the others react..

He sends off tantrills of magic at the creature (fires magic missle, don't have a phb to hand so i'll let you roll the dice jaded!).

"Shay, fend it off with your torch, pass me one if you have another. Girls, behind us, retreat to the entrance, less can attack at once!"

[JadedDM]

"Kalith karan, tobanis-kar!" Jerrard chants, and two missiles of pure energy are discharged from his fingertips and crash into the Mad Tree, blasting off significant chunks of its bark off and even knocking off a couple of branches. However, it still lives despite the onslaught.

The tree slams down a limb at Shay's head, but the rogue quickly drops into a somersault and evades. "I don't have any torches, just a lantern!" he says, looking back to the wizard. This was a costly mistake, for while his guard was down, the tree struck a second time, bashing Shay across the head. The thief fell to the ground, blood leaking from a nasty gash in his forehead. Quickly shaking off the dizziness and nausea, he gets back to his feet, sword at the ready.

The other eight trees are still struggling to free themselves, but have not done so yet. At least for now, only the one tree is still a serious threat.

=================

Jerrard casts Magic Missile against the Mad Tree. (1d4+1 x 2): 7
Mad Tree attacks Shay (1d20): 9. Miss. (1d20): 14. Hit. (1d8): 7 damage.

End of Round 1. Round 2 begins!

Party Initiative: (1d10): 8.
Enemy Initiative: (1d10): 10.

(OOC: The party wins again. Lucky! You guys get to go first.)

[Jerrard]

Jerrard strikes at the creature with his staff, blocking the creature from getting closer to Shay.

"Locky, help Shay, heal him if you can!" He kicks at the broken bits of tree. "Bab, use the tree to make a torch."

[ooc: Thaco 19, dmg 1d8. Roll 14, dmg 4]

[Jenara]

Locky leans over Shays fallen body, invoking the power of paldine.

[ooc: cast cure light wounds, roll 1d8=7]

She keeps her Hoopak ready to defend Shay if required.

[JadedDM]

With a solid 'whack' from Jerrard's staff, the Mad Tree sways and then creaks as it falls backwards to the ground.

However, the party's victory is short-lived. A series of cracking sounds bring the party's attention back to the other eight trees. Three more have successfully pushed their roots through their pots, and in moments they will be free and ready to attack, as well.

Meanwhile, with a simple light touch and a prayer to the Platinum Dragon, Locky heals Shay completely. Even the nausea and dizziness vanish instantly in a wash of warmth that spreads over his body. Blinking in surprise, he smirks to the kender. "Don't think I'll ever get used to that."

==================

Jerrard strikes the Mad Tree for 4 damage. It is killed.
Locky casts Cure Light Wounds on Shay and he recovers 7 HP.

(OOC: Babs and Shay left for this round. I'm waiting for Shay's action, because I want to see what Babs will do first.)

[Breila]

Babushka gathers some of the loose branches from the floor. With her firebuilding skills, she lights a bonfire to supply torches and burning "staves" for her comrades to fight the trees.

She rakes her brain. Somehow, she remembers stories of spirits or souls trapped in trees and how they could be freed. Jerrad's shout of "Axes or fire!" was along the same line. But what was it again?

Roll for INT or WIS (don't know which one applies): 1d20=14 (INT failed, WIS success)

[JadedDM]

Babushka does recall stories about 'sentient trees' known as treants. They are said to live out in the forests, though, not underground. Furthermore, they are said to be good and gentle folk who mostly just wish to be left alone. They would never attack without reason and can often speak a myriad of languages. These twisted creatures, however, seem to have little in common with them.

Using her wilderness survival skills, she uses parts of the dead tree as kindling to get a small fire going. If these things are treants, the stories say they are terrified of fire. On the other hand, if they are not...the party could quickly find themselves overwhelmed by these things!

Shay grabs one of the firebrands with his free hand and backs away. A moment later, three of the trees break free of their pots and start slowly approaching. They don't appear to even notice the fire.

=====================

Babushka starts a fire.
Shay picks up a firebrand and goes into parrying mode. His AC improves from 6 to 5.

Round 2 end. Round 3 begins!

Party's Initiative: (1d10): 1.
Enemy's Initiative: (1d10): 2.

(OOC: Party wins again! Three of the Mad Trees are approaching. The other five are still struggling to get free from their pots. I'm going to treat Firebrands like clubs (1d6 damage) that offer a +4 to hit and +1 to damage against the Mad Trees. Picking up a firebrand is a free action, but if you don't have a free hand you must drop something first. Sheathing or putting something away properly will take up your round. We'll assume there are plenty of firebrands to go around.)