W1-491, The All Fruit Job

A contract given to the Vanguard by Vanir to destroy the All Fruit Tree.

## Entry

The Vanguard arrived at the human village of Elnu, a quaint settlement full of simple-minded livestock with the party comprising of the following individuals:

* Doc, Warforged Medic and Pugilist, Commander
* Brains, Illithid Arcanist and Psionic, Chronicler
* Maker, Dwarvern Warrior and Expert of Humanoid Cuisine, Treasurer
* Sharkbait, Shapeshifting Human Warrior
* Flick, Half-Elven Pyromancer

Upon arrival, we noticed a small scuffle between locals and foreign mercenaries. The opposing parties were each confused about the reason for their hostilities, and the Vanguard elected to ignore their quarrel.

With the mayor of Elnu preoccupied, the Vanguard pursued any potential sources of information at the local inebriation facility. Maker befriended the owner of the establishment, and received relevant intelligence regarding the grove. Additionally, he critiqued the human's mind-numbing concoction, and provided a far more potent selection of his own creation. Maker allowed me access to to his thoughts and emotions to experience this drink, and I found the experience pleasant. Of worthy note, Doc provided a placebo drug to a local addict.

Our travel to the grove housing the Tree of Fruit were uneventful.  A set of two human guards protected the entrance to the grove, and insisted the Vanguard should not have access to the grove because we presented arms.  We circumvented this hiding our weapons through magical means, and proceeded through the gates unimpeded.

The grove itself quick proved dangerous as wild fauna attacked our group, possibly because we had re-armed ourselves. Alternatively because these are wild and base creatures with very little notable intelligence.  Shortly after dispatching the plants, a fey creature arrived speaking druidic non-sense.  Negotiations broke down quickly, and the creature was eliminated by the Vanguard. The smell of blood brought Shark Bait to a distant location which held our quarry. The caterwaul of an emotional parental unit gained our attention, where we discovered they misplaced their child in a stream.  Said stream contained an entrance to the system of roots which lies beneath the tree.

Deciding to follow the lost child, we also entered the root system where upon we discovered an elderly man suspended by tree roots, and the lost child not far away.  My attempts to understand and read the elderly man's thoughts were unsuccessful. Doc and Shark Bait successfully freed the human child from her restraints, and safely delivered the adolescent to her parents.

Interrogating the Druid that lied beneath the All Fruit Tree revealed the human was once a companion to Archwizard Asmovia. The value of this creature's brain, between it's knowledge and nutritional value, will likely prove invaluable. The druid also confirmed the existence of an escape route behind a puzzle door. Surprisingly, the druid proved itself capable of logical thought, and agreed to aid our endeavors when it discovered it's jailors were operators for Asmovia. The druid proclaimed we would need to burn the tree to ash, and then backtrack to eliminate the druid before both he and the tree regenerated. I anticipate devouring its brain.

Per the Druid's recommendation, Flick lit the roots aflame, and the tree responded with violence. Expert coordination and maneuvering allowed the group to eliminate any threats, and escape the growing inferno. The group rested, and explored other paths along the root system. The escape route was secured by a predictable druidic puzzle featuring concepts related to the cycle of life and death, which was quickly deciphered with a simple Comprehend Languages spell. The escape room itself featured an arbor capable of transmutation magic, and a treasure trove containing gold and a magical quarterstaff. I successfully discovered how to access the teleportation magic, which placed me miles away from the tree.

After I navigated the grove and returning back to the group, we agreed to rest and maintain a watch while waiting for the flames to subside.

Roughly 5 days passed before the flames died, but a patrol arrived before we could eliminate the druid. We split up; one group ran interference, the other me killing and consuming the brain of the druid. Both groups were successful in their endeavors, but we were discovered. A point of order must be made that the druid, upon facing death, was tranquil and accepted his fate as I wrapped my tentacles around his head and extracted his brain. This made for a very unique flavor that I shall relish for years to come.

We fled our pursuers out the nearby teleportation room which was concealed by the druidic puzzle door. To escape, we started multiple fires amongst other things. They were easy livestock to trick, simple in their goals and motivations.

Upon retreating to Elnu, the group attempt to acquire the services of the local mercenary group for it's own purposes. This was unsuccessful. My attempts to intimidate the mayor into joining Asmovia's empire were unsuccessful, but we did discover useful information. The mayor betrayed his marriage contract, and fathered multiple spawn with a local herbalist. This is considered a shameful act in society, apparently. Nonetheless, the Vanguard negotiated to acquire land belonging to the bastard child under agreement the child would join the vanguard. Human cultures refers to this as an absolute win. The child contractually requested he participate in the next contract before selling his property, and the Vanguard obliged.

Contract W1-491 took 2 weeks to complete, in the year 491.