- Kitty with dice
- The tree they plant immediately start to grow and get bigger.
- Soliana still doesn't know that this has happened as she's still in the library with Nym on who they might get to come and build a Teleportation Circle.
- Niniel zaps her obsidian kraken broach with Shocking Grasp and she speaks in kraken Tongues for a second.
- Her Kraken Book gets warm. There's a message from the Kraken in there, "The Emissary does well. Our power grows. Soon we will walk the land."
- Niniel write back asking if he's happy about this tree, the ice demon in the locket, or something else.
- After the tree and book stuff are done, Niniel, Poetry, and Caleb head to Father Powell's cottage to spy via talking to plants.
- On the way, they talk to the townspeople who are very enthusiastic about the current situation and are excited for the new magic tree.
- They are browsing the shops near Father Powell's cottage to try to watch and see if he is there. Caleb sneaks over and peeks into a window and sees him inside doing chores like cleaning candles.
- Caleb looks around to the best of his ability to see if there are any signs of Morgion, but he doesn't see anything.
- Niniel and Poetry go into a nearby bakery and buy some bread and cheese and pastries and go sit under a tree between the temple and the "parsonage" and Poetry casts Speak with Plants on the tree they are sitting next to each other.
- The Oak Tree tells Poetry that Father Powell talked to some people about how they needed to work harder on the thing. The tree directs her into the forest, the opposite direction to the garden they are building for Chislev.
- Caleb has a very boring stakeout where Father Powell does nothing untoward.
- They head back to the manor to get Soliana from the library and Zemma from the blacksmith shop.
- From there, they sneak through the wood to the area they think they need to go, and Zemma finds a path from the temple out into the woods.
- As they follow the path, the trees and forest get darker and more overgrown.
- Niniel and Zemma are hearing a tapping that is coming from a variety of directions.
- Niniel casts Dancing Lights. With the glowing lights, the sounds stop, but now there are glowing orbs reflecting the light in eye kind of locations, but there are no pupils.
- One of the lights approaches it, and the thing is very large, holding onto the top of a tree. It looks like a monkey crossed with an insect. It has very large claws and its back is covered with chitinous plates with glowing orbs embedded in the plates.
- Poetry offers some cheese to one of the beings, and it does not want the cheese.
- Niniel offers it some bread, and it starts to climb down from the tree and approach her.
BATTLE WITH MORE SCARY ABERRATIONS IN THE FOREST
- Niniel casts Hold Monster on Aberration1 and it is Paralyzed. Then she runs behind a tree and summons her Tentacle next to A1 which smacks it for 15 cold dmg.
- Poetry summons Ember behind A3 who immediately throws a Flame Seed at A3.
- A1 fails his Wis ST.
- Soliana casts Tasha's Caustic Brew (4th level) on A3 for 21 acid dmg. She takes a step back away from it, but as it's shaking from the damage one of the orbs on its back falls off and becomes a swarm of larval worms.
- The Larval Worms1 immediately moves over and attacks Poetry for 9 piercing dmg and now she is poisoned until the end of LW1's next turn.
- Zemma runs up to A1 and Rages (claws). She claws it for 24 slashing dmg. Zemma takes 7 acid dmg from the creature's blood. Another ball of Larval Worms fall off right at her feet. Zemma then claws the swarm of worms and deals 10 (5) slashing dmg. She then misses clawing A1.
- LW2 start crawling up Zemma's legs, but then can't bite through her tough skin (yet).
- A3 takes 22 acid dmg and another swarm is formed (LW3). (The Aberrations are apparently called Tree Stalkers. Very gross.)
- A3 moves to flank Zemma with A1. It claws her for 8 (4) slashing dmg and then stabs her with its proboscis for 22 (11-4) piercing dmg and 26 necrotic dmg. Zemma is now poisoned until the end of A3's next turn. It then shakes and more LWs (4) off its back.
- LW3 also misses biting Poetry.
- LW4 moves to Niniel and misses.
- Caleb moves to flank A3 with Zemma and stabs it for 69 piercing dmg (Crit!! Noice!!) and Caleb takes 10 acid dmg then he Disengages and comes back to guard Soliana.
- Niniel Misty Steps away from the worms to a spot behind Soliana and next to a medium-sized tree. She then casts Eldritch Blast on A1 for a total of 10 force dmg. Then she steps farther behind the tree.
- Poetry casts Burning Hands down her own legs onto the worms. LW1 and Poetry both take 5 fire dmg, but LW3 takes 11 fire dmg. Ember then moves to Poetry and Fiery Teleports her 15' and they both take 2 fire dmg. Poetry is no longer poisoned.
- Soliana casts Wither and Bloom (5th level) centered on the big bunched up group dealing 14 necrotic dmg at A1, A3, LW1 through 3 and Zemma regains 44 HP.
- LW1 moves to Caleb and starts to eat his legs, but Soliana Silvery Barbs them and they miss.
- Zemma claws A1 for 19 slashing dmg and Zemma takes 8 acid dmg. Zemma then claws LW2 for 9 (4) slashing dmg. She misses the third strike.
- LW2 still can't seem to chew on Zemma.
- A3 takes 25 acid dmg and dies!
- LW3 swarms Soliana and bite her for 24 piercing dmg.
- LW4 swarms Caleb and bite him for 12 piercing dmg. He is now poisoned.
- Caleb Disengages from the worm swarms and runs over to A1 and stabs it for 63 piercing dmg. Right in its brain! It's dead now! LW5 and LW6 drop off its back as it falls dead.
- LW5 misses Caleb.
- LW6 bites Caleb for 15 (-7 from the tentacle).
- Niniel casts a Careful Sickening Radiance on everything ignoring her friends. All the LWs take 29 radiant dmg. LW1, 2, and 3 are dead. Niniel then uses her bonus action to tentacle LW6 for 6 cold dmg.
- Poetry casts Scorching Ray at LW4 for a total of 20 fire dmg. LW4 is dead! Ember then runs over and grabs Caleb and Fiery Teleports him 15 feet away and LW5 and LW6 each take 5 fire dmg. LW6 is now dead. Ember takes
- Soliana runs forward to about 10' from Zemma and then drop Wither and Bloom on Zemma so that LW6 dies and she regains 11 HP for the cost of 1 Hit Die.
END OF BATTLE
- Niniel allows the breeze to carry away the miasma of her Sickening Radiance.
- The group continues down the path with Caleb scouting quietly ahead. A short walk up the path Caleb sees something glowing just off the path.
- Soliana begin ritually casting Identify on the altar. It also has the symbol of Morgion. It looks very freshly constructed. The symbol of Morgion is painted onto the altar in blood. The Identify spell notes that the altar is humming with Conjuration magic. Soliana fails to Dispel the effect with her last 4th level spell slot, but she succeeds on her second attempt with a third level slot.
- After some discussion, Soliana does a Sending to Nym asking her to meet Niniel at the temple.
- Niniel waves to Father Powell through the window as she walks past and he comes out to talk to her. She notices that he has some blood on his sleeve. He claims to have snagged his arm on the door. Niniel believes that he doesn't care about the missing people, but she can't tell if he's lying about having cut his arm on the door jamb.
- Niniel gathers Nym and guides her through the woods to the battle site and then brings her the few more minutes to the altar site.
- Niniel has another look at the shoe prints Zemma found, but she can't tell if they are Father Powell's.
- Nym collects a sample of the blood.
- Once Nym is done, Poetry casts Polymorph on Zemma turning her into an elephant who makes short work of smashing the altar.
- Poetry lets the spell fade, and they walk back to town and the manor. (An elephant wouldn't fit in the dense woods.)
- 2,700 XP ea for 53,200 XP total ea.
