"Peaceful place. Almost makes you forget there's a band of murderous trolls roaming around. Almost." Kael comments on the place. He is not a nature person by any means, but even he can appreciate a place such as this.

Dominique dismounts as the group pauses to take in the glade, taking the moment to stretch his legs and rest his ass after so long in the saddle. He eyes the surroundings with suspicion as he double-checks the mechanisms of his loaded crossbow and soon responds to Kael, "Don't forget the murderous redcap. If fey are about the more pleasant it looks, the more dangerous it is." With his crossbow checked and ready to fire, the former inquisitor looks the rest of his companions over to see when they're ready to move in and investigate.

He runs a hand down his beard, pulling on it before he answers. "I could tell you arcane tales and wrap them up with natural lore to make them palatable, but I fear that my knowledge of the Fey and their demesne are woefully lacking for anything of substance." He reaches over to his shoulder to scratch under the chin of the pseudo-dragon on his shoulder before chuckling at the reminder the creature projected. "Well, not counting that little mishap with the pixie circle. Yes, and that splendid evening with the Naiad. I don't think those accounts are what Lady Sazikova is asking about. Least not without several rounds from the wineskin preceding."

"A rule that applies to some of us, as well."  Elena responded cheekily. "With any luck, meeting the fey here will have more in common with Iar's experiences than our own."

She walked forward openly into the clearing, doing her best to seem as relaxed and friendly as one could with a polearm in hand and Dominique waving around a loaded crossbow right behind her.  The visor on her helmet was raised to show her face, and she held her glaive "at ease", with the long oak shaft resting on the point of her right pauldron.

Reaching the pond, she crouched down to check her appearance in the water before continuing forwards.  Iar's mention of Naiads had left the paladin wanting to make a good impression.

"Why thank you Lady Sazikova, but Cadmus and I are not that dangerous, really." He says with a wink while his familiar crawled down into his arms to be scratched between the wings. "If we have an encounter like one of the ones I've had I hope it has more in common with the Naiad. The pixies had me wandering disoriented for weeks the mischievous little pips." He chuckled to himself and to the creature in his arms.

"I'll try not to take that as an insult," Dominique joins in on the joke. With another look at the suspiciously significant-looking glade, the High Priest carefully stows his crossbow on the sling around his shoulder and unpacks from his horse's saddlebags a clay jug stamped on the side with Abadar's key and filled with water. After a prayer to Abadar for wisdom and guidance, the priest quenches his thirst by drinking deeply from the wine now filling the jug--no need to share the blessing with troops numbering well beyond their party this time--and then offers the blessed wine to the others.
Casting Tears to Wine ... again.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:24, Sun 04 Dec 2022.

"We can only hope." Kael comments Elana's words. He accepts the offered wine before following the paladin.

As Elena approaches the tree she hears the gentle sound of a woman weeping quietly. Looking around her gaze passes right over the figure as her earthy complexion intertwined with leaves causes her to blend right in at a casual glance, especially with her face buried in her hands.



The woman looks up and wipes away her tears.

"Hail and well met, traveler. I apologize for the poor greeting but alas it is a dark time, not one that marries well with the joy of meeting new faces."

Her voice is breathy like the wind rustling through the leaves. It doesn't take an expert in the fey to recognize that she comes from the First World.

OOC: DC 16 Nature Lore to identify further details
If you're the suspicious type feel free to make a perception roll as well...

Of course Kael is the suspicious type.

22:05, Today: Kael Valleni rolled 24 using 1d20+9 with rolls of 15.  Perception.

Dominique follows cautiously behind Shelyn's Paladin, his crossbow once again at the ready and the gilded plates of his armor scraping against each other with each 'quiet' step. When the woman seems to appear from nowhere and greet them peaceably the former Inquisitor diplomatically lowers the weapon without relaxing his guard, but keeps to his place and allows Lord Borric, or maybe the silver-tongued Elena, to speak for them.

16:18, Today: Dominique Telvari rolled 17 using 1d20+7 with rolls of 10.  Perception.
+2 Enhancement Bonus to each of those rolls if you drank the koolaid.

"Well met." Elena greeted the faerie, her tone gentle.  She kept her distance from the stranger, both to avoid appearing aggressive and because she realized this crying woman would make the perfect bait for an ambush.  "There's nothing to apologize for.  This is a kinder greeting than we've received in some time, I'm afraid."

"If you'll forgive the question, what is it that makes your mood so sad?"

The fey woman was indeed weeping alone in the woods. Neither Dominique nor Kael could sense any kind of deception or ambush as Elena engaged the woman.

"I am Tiressia and t his is my grove. I have tended these trees for endless ages and yet I fear my time will soon come to an end. There is a blight, a wicked being that chokes the air and poisons the land itself.

I tried to destroy it or drive it away from these lands but I have failed. It is...too strong for me. I am bound to this grove so it is only a matter of time before it finds my home kills me."

Her lip quivers as she explains her seemingly inevitable fate.

"Well." Elena replied dryly.  "We can't have that, can we?"

Dropping into a short bow, Elena continued.  "It's a pleasure to meet you, Tiressa.  I'm Elena, and this is Lord Borric, as well as Dom, Kael, Iar and Caramip.  We're the leaders of Rivermarch, the human settlement to the East.  And...well not to brag, but we're pretty good at killing monsters."

"Can you tell us any more about the creature?  How it fights?"

Dominique looks towards Elena and nods in agreement before adding sagely, "And if it is something Lady Elena can't swing her glaive at, I could direct the Church of Erastil to look into cleansing the land. The tainting of the land and its resources are not something Abadar abides. Cities and nations are only as strong as their water is clean and crops are bountiful."

Iar takes in the beautiful Fae. He opens his mouth to speak but then snaps it shut to allow the original team take the lead. The little dragon in his arms looks up at him with a reptilian smirk and exhales deeply. This prompts a wide eyed return look and a quiet "That is not what I was thinking."

"Hmm, a blight and a wicked being. A bit light on details, but I agree it would be good for us to look into this." Kael muses on Tiressia's plea.

"It is a tree, but an evil one. Somehow it has gained strength and malevolence. It looks like a dead tree however its branches are hardened like steel and it can lash out with them slashing and slicing everything in its way.

It has a gash on its trunk that opens up into a maw and it devours every living thing it comes across. If you want to  fight it...fire seems the best approach. It's mind..or lack there of...resists charms and enchantments and you'll need something sharp to bite at its bark like an axe. It has no organs to pierce with arrows and...well...have you tried to take down a tree with a hammer?

Don't let its looks fool you though. It may seem like a tree but it can move, quite fast when it sense prey around.

If you would do this forest a kindness and eliminate it I can show you where to find it. The sooner the better, truthfully."

"Fire, of course. Wish I had some way of making use of that weakness. Where exactly can this tree be found?" Kael asks. Though he himself is willing to help out the fey woman, he does not wish to commit the party to anything just yet.

"Evil tree. Faster than it looks. Slash and burn it."  Elena repeated the important parts, picturing the best ways to destroy such a monster. After a moment, her easy smile returned.  "Seems pretty straightforwards, really!  Glad it's not some kind of...I dunno, spiritual taint we need to cleanse."

Turning to the rest of the party, she raised an eyebrow.  "Is everyone good to go?  I'm ready to start hitting this thing with my glaive right away, but I'd understand if someone wants to take a day to prepare some different spells or buy alchemist's fire or something."

Dominique nods along in agreement with the others--a wicked beast to kill is much simpler to deal with than the 'blights' he had been imagining. He answers Elena, "I would pray to Abadar to see what boon he could grant to aid us, but I'm afraid simply 'raining hellfire' is unfortunately beyond me." He looks to the dryad with his inquisitor's eye, hesitant to go off slaying things on the simple word of a fey--this tree could just as easily be innocent or a death trap as anything else--and asks as politely as he can manage, "Could you tell us more of this evil tree? Where did it come from? Why does it blight the lands? You tend these trees ... was it one of your ... 'flock?'"

22:42, Today: Dominique Telvari rolled 29 using 1d20+13 with rolls of 16.  Sense Motive.

Tiressia seems to hesitate and then shake her head. Dominique doesn't sense she is lying but its more like explaining the nuances of the First World and the fey to outsiders is a complicated affair she doesn't really want to get into.

"No, it is not one of mine. It is said that when a murderer dies at the foot of a tree their blood soaks into the trees roots and forms one of these monsters. We call it a scythe tree for how its tree limbs cut through those it hunts.

As for why it hunts me? I cannot say for certain but I do know it is a wicked thing that delights in causing pain and suffering and spoiling the land which makes it and I natural enemies. It definitely is out to get me though, I have seen it pass by easier prey to try and cut me down instead. It is why I fear my time is coming to an end soon.

As for where it is..."


She pulls a piece of old bark from the folds of her dress and waves a hand over it. The lines and cracks begin to shift and mold and  wiggle about as if tiny caterpillars. They rearrange themselves and when the magical dance is done she has created a small map of the local area outlining a path that actually leads the party to a part of the coastline just Southwest of Rivermarch.

"While it travels far to hunt, this is where it makes its home."


Map has been updated

Kael examines the map on a piece of bark. "That's very close to our town. And if this thing hunts this far out from its home, that would put our people right in the middle of its hunting grounds. Just one more reason to make sure it's not able to hurt anyone at all."

Kael is ok with taking on this tree right now to protect our people (not to mention the pretty fey lady).

Dominique nods his silent appraisal of the fey's words to the others, but upon looking at the bark maps frowns and notes, "It seems we can't walk two steps in these lands without finding some new threat. Abadar save Rivermarch." Comparing the bark to the maps which they have been keeping, the High Priest suggests, "We still have much to do about trolls, bandits, lizardfolk, and ... what are the ruins to the west?"--he furrows his brown and blinks at the gap in his memory for a moment before finishing his thought--"But I don't like this threat being so close to the city."

Cara has been just sitting back and enjoying the other's do a little diplomacy for a change. It was nice to see other's succeed.

Whatever the rest decide he will of course go along with Iar currently seems somewhat smitten by the beautiful first worlder before him. Elven beauty is certainly something to behold but this seems to have taken his breath away.