Session 6 - The Second Wave
General Summary
As the eyes in the forest neared the clearing, the group prepared for another onslaught. A trio of bears burst through the treeline and began attacking the party, psionically paralyzing Olut, and meddling with Prince's mind. As the mentally sound members of the party brought down the remaining bears and broke their allies out of their stupor, Lerissa began searching deeper into the woods as a fog descended over her thoughts, focusing her vision on a dim blue glow deep into the forest beyond. As if possessed, she silently marched into the woods, leaving the rest of the party behind. Prince was the first to notice and chased after Lerissa, following her several hundred yards into the trees before she finally snapped out of her trance and recognized what she had been doing. A tug in the back of her mind still drew Lerissa deeper into the woods, but she and Prince decided to return to the clearing and regroup before investigating the blue glow.
Upon their return, they found Liber investigating the corpses of the fallen bears, in the process of poking out the creature's electric-blue eyes. The Bugbear Thurk asked the group about what they saw in the forest, and Olut explained that he feared that the problem had not been entirely dealt with. Confident that the immediate threat was dealt with, the goblins returned to their camp, leaving the 5 adventurers in the clearing together. Lerissa was the first to bring up the group's plans moving forward. She explained that she was hesitant to claim the stolen weapons until the problem was dealt with entirely, and suggested that they investigate the forest further before returning to Burmery. Olut was worried about how long their detour would take, wanting to get the weapons back to Burmery quickly, to win favor and prepare for the message from their smuggler contact. Liber broke the tie, intrigued by the magical goings-on in the forest, and interested to learn more. With their plan of action determined, the party returned to the goblin camp, and after explaining their predicament to Rofmol, set up their tents and rested.
In the morning, Rofmol was the first to greet the party and gift them with some small tokens of the goblin's appreciation. Olut immediately claimed a hat that could summon various vermin, and two pendants of protection that were distributed to the other party members. Expressing his gratitude for the gifts, Liber turned the conversation to the day's plans and directed the group out of the camp and into the forest, with a goblin tracker named Brox in tow. Brox led the party through the woods for near an hour towards the glow from the night before, until he reached the limits of his local knowledge and bid the group good luck in their continued exploration. Lerissa took over navigation, relying on an instinctual pull deeper into the trees. Olut was the first to notice that the path around them seemed to be more lush and overgrown than the surrounding woods and that a unique type of flower was growing at the base of many trees they passed. Liber picked a flower, and brought it to his nose. The smell reminded him of a distant memory of a room full of books in his parents' home, and when he mentioned the scent, Prince disagreed, explaining that the smell was certainly not of a library, but instead the forests near his childhood home.
After several more miles of hiking, a great tree stood in the middle of a clearing before them, its roots diving deep into the center of a shallow pond. Blue butterflies covered the branches of the tree, flitting between the branches as the party approached. Liber immediately summoned a magic hand to scoop water from the pond for investigation, determining that it was simply pond water. Lerissa floated to the top of the tree and sat in the branches, allowing a butterfly to land on her arm. Olut catch a fish from the pond and began preparing it for lunch, taking note of its strange internal anatomy. Liber waded into the pond and to the base of the tree, chopping at the trunk with his handaxe, sending a shower of butterflies into the sky. Following the shower of bark as it landed on the water's surface, he noticed that the fish had all but disappeared from the pond around him. Stepping back and observing the base of the tree, Liber discovered a hole in the trunk below the surface of the water as a fish swam inside.
In a flash, Liber had dunked himself under the surface of the water and stuck his head through the hole, opening his eyes into a similar pond, but with a strange purple hue covering everything he could see. As he pulled himself out and resurfaced, he explained that the base of the tree was some sort of portal. Thinking they had found the source of the strange blue creatures, Olut began to prepare a tinderbox to burn the tree down and stop the spread. Liber was quick to stop him, anxious to continue exploring this new space beyond the tree and learn more of its origins. He offered to enter the hole at the base of the tree with a rope tying him to this side, and Prince volunteered to join him while Lerissa and Olut watched the ropes. The group began preparing the setup while Olut finished his fish, and as Liber and Prince waded into the water with ropes around their waist, they told the pair remaining on the shore to pull them back if they hadn't returned in 5 minutes. With their plan in place, Liber and Prince dove into the water and swam beneath the tree.
Emerging on the other side, the pair found themselves in a pond the mirror image of the one they had left, with a purple light with no source illuminating the world around them. Where previously there had been flowers dotting the clearing mushrooms stood, and the butterflies in the tree were now glowing insects. As they reached the shore of the pond and stood, much to their surprise they found themselves to be completely dry. They had barely time to recognize that fact and take in the rest of this alien landscape before a voice from the treeline startled them. "You've finally made it. But what of your friend?"
Upon their return, they found Liber investigating the corpses of the fallen bears, in the process of poking out the creature's electric-blue eyes. The Bugbear Thurk asked the group about what they saw in the forest, and Olut explained that he feared that the problem had not been entirely dealt with. Confident that the immediate threat was dealt with, the goblins returned to their camp, leaving the 5 adventurers in the clearing together. Lerissa was the first to bring up the group's plans moving forward. She explained that she was hesitant to claim the stolen weapons until the problem was dealt with entirely, and suggested that they investigate the forest further before returning to Burmery. Olut was worried about how long their detour would take, wanting to get the weapons back to Burmery quickly, to win favor and prepare for the message from their smuggler contact. Liber broke the tie, intrigued by the magical goings-on in the forest, and interested to learn more. With their plan of action determined, the party returned to the goblin camp, and after explaining their predicament to Rofmol, set up their tents and rested.
In the morning, Rofmol was the first to greet the party and gift them with some small tokens of the goblin's appreciation. Olut immediately claimed a hat that could summon various vermin, and two pendants of protection that were distributed to the other party members. Expressing his gratitude for the gifts, Liber turned the conversation to the day's plans and directed the group out of the camp and into the forest, with a goblin tracker named Brox in tow. Brox led the party through the woods for near an hour towards the glow from the night before, until he reached the limits of his local knowledge and bid the group good luck in their continued exploration. Lerissa took over navigation, relying on an instinctual pull deeper into the trees. Olut was the first to notice that the path around them seemed to be more lush and overgrown than the surrounding woods and that a unique type of flower was growing at the base of many trees they passed. Liber picked a flower, and brought it to his nose. The smell reminded him of a distant memory of a room full of books in his parents' home, and when he mentioned the scent, Prince disagreed, explaining that the smell was certainly not of a library, but instead the forests near his childhood home.
After several more miles of hiking, a great tree stood in the middle of a clearing before them, its roots diving deep into the center of a shallow pond. Blue butterflies covered the branches of the tree, flitting between the branches as the party approached. Liber immediately summoned a magic hand to scoop water from the pond for investigation, determining that it was simply pond water. Lerissa floated to the top of the tree and sat in the branches, allowing a butterfly to land on her arm. Olut catch a fish from the pond and began preparing it for lunch, taking note of its strange internal anatomy. Liber waded into the pond and to the base of the tree, chopping at the trunk with his handaxe, sending a shower of butterflies into the sky. Following the shower of bark as it landed on the water's surface, he noticed that the fish had all but disappeared from the pond around him. Stepping back and observing the base of the tree, Liber discovered a hole in the trunk below the surface of the water as a fish swam inside.
In a flash, Liber had dunked himself under the surface of the water and stuck his head through the hole, opening his eyes into a similar pond, but with a strange purple hue covering everything he could see. As he pulled himself out and resurfaced, he explained that the base of the tree was some sort of portal. Thinking they had found the source of the strange blue creatures, Olut began to prepare a tinderbox to burn the tree down and stop the spread. Liber was quick to stop him, anxious to continue exploring this new space beyond the tree and learn more of its origins. He offered to enter the hole at the base of the tree with a rope tying him to this side, and Prince volunteered to join him while Lerissa and Olut watched the ropes. The group began preparing the setup while Olut finished his fish, and as Liber and Prince waded into the water with ropes around their waist, they told the pair remaining on the shore to pull them back if they hadn't returned in 5 minutes. With their plan in place, Liber and Prince dove into the water and swam beneath the tree.
Emerging on the other side, the pair found themselves in a pond the mirror image of the one they had left, with a purple light with no source illuminating the world around them. Where previously there had been flowers dotting the clearing mushrooms stood, and the butterflies in the tree were now glowing insects. As they reached the shore of the pond and stood, much to their surprise they found themselves to be completely dry. They had barely time to recognize that fact and take in the rest of this alien landscape before a voice from the treeline startled them. "You've finally made it. But what of your friend?"
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