The Cursed Tree (Recap)

We set out for the woods once again. Bigsticks, the Firbolg had experienced a disturbing fog deep in the forest and implored us to investigate. What happened last was near my mind from the beginning – How many of our comrades would return from that cursed place? Who would fall on the way?

Alas, we set out. Along with myself, Bigstick convinced Therren, Baradin and Peter to come with us. Having another von Sneak with me into the woods made me uneasy – Having an adolescent action-before-thought firbolg with us, even more so. We headed for the wolf cave first. From there, we hoped to be able to locate the fog and investigate further. On the way, we came upon a stone circle. Civilization must have been in these lands longer than we thought, for Baradin, the dwarf he is, could tell us that these stone works were ancient. They turned out to be an old druidic puzzle, punishing failures with strikes of lightning – naturally the rash Bigstick manages to get his fingers zapped, solidifying my fears. After this, however, we solved the puzzle and the center stone opened before us, revealing some treasure, along with a spell scroll written in druidic. Therren told us, that this would allow him to dispel magic, should it be necessary.

We moved on to the wolf cave where we located the fog. Continuing further north we were assaulted by swarms of rats. Their eyes purple like the wolves we fought some weeks back. We slew them easily, but the fact that the curse remained concerned me deeply. We went north from there, deeper into the fog. In there we met… pixies… of all creatures. These seelie fey were acting strangely. Off from their usual almost chirping mood, they were scared from reason. After some effort at calming the creatures, they told us that something evil was happening at the center of the fog.

So we went in deeper. Dodgy creatures of light met us in the deep fog. Creatures calling us out to play – promising us the knowledge we needed if we followed them. We almost followed them, but voices of reason spoke amidst our group and we gathered ourselves. We kept moving north. After a while, the fog thinned and we came upon a pair of wounded elves. We quickly ran to them and I put my best effort to patching them up. They could tell us, that they had been attacked by ravenous wolves than lived in a nearby cave. The wolves…

We learned that one of their companions didn’t escape, but might still be breathing. By the spirits – we couldn’t just leave someone to that fate. We rallied each other and we rallied the elves. Our young Firbolg was set to protect the most heavily wounded of the elves. Needless to say, he took this task upon him with some degree of interpretation. The battle was harrowing, but we had learned much from our last endeavor and made short work of the beasts, saving the life of the elf in the process.

The elves were grateful, and told us, that if we ever came upon one of their villages, to ask for one of their elders, named \*\*

Due to the thinning of the fog, we realized that we had missed our mark, and we backtracked a bit, quickly coming upon a fog so dense, we could only be near the center of the phenomenon. A dart came out and hit me in the neck. The next time I opened my eyes, the fog had lifted, and sprites were upon us. Later, I learned that Therren had used the magical scroll to dispel the fog. We quickly offed the sprites and found ourselves in front of a massive tree – its crown covering a huge clearing. The fruits of the tree in a plethora of colors – but tending to the darker ones, some even sharing the purple color we’ve already seen in the cursed beasts. As we closed in on the tree, a forest spirit stepped out from it. We recognized it as a dryad, however, the beauty that dryads are known for was long lost on this creature.

It did something to Therren, who started talking us out of actually fighting the creature. For the rest of us it was very clear though! It turned out to be more difficult than anticipated. The creature stepped into one tree, appearing at another at the far end of the clearing, only to step back into that tree and reappear far from it as we closed in. Roots sprawled from the ground, binding us to the spot and more sprites came upon us with their poisoned needles. Things were turning dark fast, and as cursed beasts entered the clearing, I decided that something rash had to be done!

My companions might tell you, that what I did was wrong – unnecessary even – but having faced this curse before, seeing my friends fall around me, I saw no other choice. I threw down what cloth I had in my backpack at the tree and smashed my oil lamp over it. With the might of the spirits, I lit the oil and set the tree ablaze. Looking up, it seemed that the battle had turned – whether from chance or from my acts, who can really tell? Like, really?

The conclusion was clear at least. The tree burned fast and strong, and as it died, we saw corruption draining from the dead dryad and beasts around us. Even the tree seemed to improve, just before the last twigs charred.

A somber group at this point, we returned to town – at least confident that we had dealt with the nearest threat for now.

Conclusion:

200 gp worth of coin and gemstone

10 gp worth of Obsidian (stored)

215 experience pr. player

Knowledge of Elven villages in the woods and improved relations with these.