Winded after their battle with aggressive trees and vines, the party settled down for a short rest. However, before they were able to recuperate, swarms of poisonous snakes were spotted slithering down the hill towards them. The party was able to dispatch their low-down foes, but the battle further wore down the party members. Fortunately, no further threats appeared, and they were able to take a short rest before continuing onward.
The overgrown road that the party was following spiraled counter-clockwise up a large hill. Soon a thick, thorny hedge appeared on the left side of the road, blocking the party's view up the slope. As they continued circling the hill, they eventually spotted tracks on the road ahead of them. The skilled trackers among the party easily determined that they had come across their own tracks. Since they had not noticed any road intersections as they circled the hilltop, and rangers do not normally get lost, it was apparent that some sort of magical disruption was affecting them.
Taking a closer look at the 20 foot tall thorny hedge to the left of the road, it did not appear to be any known species of plant. It also began to rapidly grow back after being burned by a fiery attack spell. As a result, the party chose to
not push through the hedge to travel uphill.
Instead, Sauroff used his staff to cast Spider Climb on two party members who then clambered up a tall tree near the road. They then rigged ropes down to the rest of the party and across the hedge (which was about 15 feet thick), and finally down to the ground beyond the reach of the thorny barrier.
Inside the hedge perimeter, the party found the ruined city of Thundertree. All that remained of the city were heavily-overgrown stone walls, building foundations, and chimneys. The ruins were arrayed around an adult thundertree, its trunk easily 30 feet in diameter, and towering hundreds of feet above the party.
As the party advanced, Reidoth stepped out of a tree growing out of the top of a stone wall about 60 feet away. He admonished Squirrelly for ignoring his warning to not approach Thundertree, especially with non-druids. Reidoth then offered the party one last chance to "repent" and join his crusade to defend nature against civilization. The party refused his offer.
Reidoth then initiated combat by causing ash zombies to rise out the ground at the feet of the party members. These were some of the original residents of Thundertree, killed and turned into zombies in the initial ash falls. Reidoth apparently had made some modifications to them, as they each had vines and roots growing out of their bodies. The the zombies were attacked, a small cloud of red ash and plant spores burst forth. Most of the party shrugged off the cloud, but Riswynn choked on a lungful of zombie dust, and was partially impaired for much of the ensuing battle.
After killing the zombies nearest them, some of the party began attacking Reidoth from range, while others starting advancing toward melee range. Reidtoh summoned more aggressive vines to whip at the party, snare them, and even pull them away from him. The party's attacks soon took their toll, and once two of the party closed to melee range, Reidoth soon fell.
Or at least he appeared to fall, before suddenly popping back to full health. The sharp eyes of the party noted that his revival coincided with a nearby sprig of mistletoe turning black, shriveling up, and a jet of dark necrotic energy flying to Reidoth's fallen body. A few party members quickly glanced around looking for more mistletoe, but could not initially spot any.
Once he clambered back to his feet, Reidoth mocked the party, claiming that he could never be defeated as long as he was entwined with nature itself! He then raised his right arm into the air, revealing a bracelet made of twisted vines. The vines then pulsed with green light, and mighty roar was heard on the far side of the thundertree. Then a large green dragon flew into view around the thundertree trunk. The pulsing green light of Reidoth's bracelet was matched by a similar pulsing green light from a necklace of twisted vines around the dragon's neck, pulsing in time with green glow from the drake's eyes.
Reidoth commanded the dragon, named Venom Fang, to kill the party members, a flashing green light in the drake's eyes confirming that his order was received. Reidoth then stepped into the tree growing out of the stone wall he was atop, and emerged from a second tree sprouting out of a different stone ruin about 60 feet away.
The dragon glared down at the party-members, and found several of them nicely clustered together for a blech of is poisonous breath. As the party gasped for air in the aftermath, someone shouted for them to attack the necklace around the drake's neck.
Meanwhile, Riswynn, still impaired from a deep breath of zombie dust, moved from zombie to next, attacking them with her mace. When the zombies were distracted by her attacks, Silvermoon dispatched them in sneak attacks with her longbow. When Almalexia was staggered by a viscous vine strike, Riswynn was able to revive her from a distance using a Healing Word spell.
Squirrelly was able to sever the enchanted vine necklace worn by the dragon. When the necklace broke, it flashed green one last time, as the green glow disappeared from the drake's eyes. Venom Fang then shouted "You fools, destroy the mistletoe or he will just keep healing!". The dragon then flew over to the thundertree trunk and destroyed a mistletoe cluster about 50 feet above the ground.
Looking around, the party was finally able to spot several sprigs of mistletoe around the ruins, and began to slash and burn them. Meanwhile, the other party members closed in on Reidoth, once again striking him multiple times. His wound did not bleed, but instead oozed a sickly green sap-like liquid.
With all the mistletoe destroyed, Reidoth was unable to heal anymore. With the evil druid clearly on his last legs, Venom Fang flew down and swallowed him whole, getting revenge for his recent enslavement. The dragon then flew off to the north. One of the party members called out to the departing drake, asking if there was a reward for freeing him. Venom Fang shouted over his shoulder "I'm letting you live. That is reward enough!"
With Reidoth gone, the aggressive vegetation withered and died. A quick check revealed that impassable thorn-hedge had also disappeared. Searching the overgrown stone ruins, the party eventually found a stone lintel engraved with a mortar & pestle, marking the entrance to old apothecary shop. Going to the back wall as directed by
Mirna Dendrar, the slid aside a large loose stone to reveal a rusted iron door.
No traps were found on the door, and with surprising skill Silvermoon was able to open the lock without a key. The door creaked on rusted hinges as it was pried open, revealing a handful of healing potions, a large number of coins, and an emerald-pendant necklace that Mirna had asked them to recover.
The party decided to spend the night resting in the hilltop ruins of Thundertree, and decide in the morning what to do next.
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