DM: Geokhan
Caslech, Cober, Ildan, Joule, Ogis, Oogway and Valorean (yours truly).
We set out on my carriage from WMC to vanquish a legendary Tree of Death which had been haunting the northernmost area of the Neathy woods, thanks to Joule’s totemic blessing we made it to Gwendolynn’s garden in record time. We spent the night there, inquiring about our target. We were informed that the tree was capable of manipulating the weather, and had some means of blanketing it’s grove with illusions. The plan to simply dig trenches between said grove and the rest of the forest and set it all alight crumbled then. After blessing the party with sturdiness, thanks to Bahamut, Gwendolynn allowed us to make use of her tree portal, leaving our vehicle behind in order to do so. Even on foot, after coming out the other end, we were merely a couple of hours away from our prey.
Finally noting the gnarled trees, my divine senses noted the whole area as desecrated. Following some discussion about how to proceed, with myself demonstrating that setting a conflagration would be impossible, we boldly entered the wicked grove, looking for the wicked-most tree therein. Immediately finding one, and shooting it with our spells, as soon as they collided the tree proved to be illusory. What’s more, blights, little sentient evil plants began to swarm us. We managed to keep this onslaught away from our back-line effectively, while keeping illusions of the tree at bay with our salvos too.
Caslech and Cober’s feathered familiars managed to identify some kind of colorful frogs which seemed to be the source of the illusions, and we set about dispatching each as they were discovered. Halfway done with the blight issue, there was a primal roar and the biggest bear I’ve ever seen appeared. Ildan faced it head on like a true paladin should.
Complications happened when the Tree made the grove’s roots attempt to ensnare everyone of us, then explode in growth, turning the grove into a jungle, then sent out poisonous clouds at our movement hampered folk. Ogis soon dispelled both effects while Joule and myself turned to render Ildan help with the massive ursine.
After dispatching it, and with most of the blights and the psychoactive toads killed, we found the actual tree on the edge of the grove, where it unloaded all of it’s necromantic magics on ourselves. Eventually our resolve proved stronger than it’s foul magic and we prevailed.
Investigating the remains, we discovered a dozen of deceased children beneath the trunk of the foul tree. Our arcane prone companions theorized that the children needed to be put to rest, lest the horror rose again. Ogis and myself set to the task of sanctifying their last rites. It was a Lich tree.
When we returned to Gwendolynn’s tree, she noted that the named Tree of Death was likely a creation of Hags, who hunted these children and bound their souls to suffer and die on it’s trunk, binding their souls in anguish to it, until we freed them.