Sapphire:Sessions:20190713
The group travels in a northerly direction, Flit scouting to the northeast, Danal and Jeb to the northwest. Some hours later Danal reports finding a vacant orc village. It seems to have been evacuated in an orderly fashion rather than suddenly abandoned. A couple of shrines, those to Agar and Gauder, had been destroyed. There are tracks of "wandering monsters" of a type created by Charesoon, including giant leopards.
The group decides to pass the night here. Kieran takes the tigers to hunt their dinner. Three watches are set: Chalker, Kieran, Cal; Intrinsius, Danal, Jeb; Shawna, Alastor, Flit.
Towards the end of his watch, Intrinsius sees above the treetops a green "searchlight" sweeping across the sky. It completes seven sweeps in a half-hour. Suddenly a panicked Jeb is shaking his shoulder and crying loudly, "Wake up! Wake up!" Intrinsius realizes he had fallen into a trance. Danal is also stunned.
Jeb's racket awakens Shawna and Chalker. Intrinsius describes the "green searchlight," which to Shawna suggests a apiritual/mental Locate spell intended to find a specific group of people. The spell, an inefficient use of mana, dates back to the previous age, has not been used in thousands of years, and was generally used by Aaoo or Aup.
Jeb relates repeatedly, "Something touched my mind... I grabbed it and yanked it and threw it out." Chalker checks Jeb's Aura and it is now "more robust" [he had a critical success on his resistance roll]. Danal's Aura is "swirled like a pool of colored water." Chalker concludes that something had planned to take out the guards and then attack the group.
Shawna realizes the group cannot go on with their sleep interrupted and under the threat of constant mental attack. She prays to Yasseph, Santash, and Solash to shield and ward the group. Chalker prays to Cor regarding "your old enemies, the Xanthyppians." Shawna remarks, "Their hand is over you tonight." Chalker: "Oh, really. There's also a hand over you." Intrinsius senses spiritual energies moving around him and feels his blessing from Santash renewed. Impulsively, he gets up and gives Shawna a big hug.
Midway through the third watch, Shawna observes that a strong probe has been "easily" deflected. As the sun rises she prays to several of the First Chosen, including Agar, Gauder, and Aakbarath. Intrinsius prays to Santash and then to Phor; to the latter he invokes "pain to your wife's lover" drawing approving exclamations from Shawna and Chalker.
During this day the group's prayers ward off most "instances." However, Kieran, Danal, Jeb, and Cal tend to veer away from the path, with Cal even insisting that the diversion is the straight path. Shawna orders them all to follow Chalker; no one is to stray from the group or scout ahead, save for Flit who is to remain within sight.
Alastor concocts a substance to improve a fighter's grip on their weapon's hilt, which he gives to Intrinsius to try.
The group stops at an old orc hunting camp. Chalker has declared that he will check everyone's auras every morning and evening
During his prayers, Intrinsius feels a "fiery" impulse to "do something to the one trying to find you." Intrinsius replies, "I'm trying to get to where I can. I will try it in my dreams, or maybe in a trance." Recalling lessons from his training, Intrinsius tries "meditation in prayer" to Phor. (Jeb, staring at him, makes a sign of Solash.) Intrinsius hurls a streak of fire into the north and "feels" a scream and a curse. A fiery smile lights his consciousness and he knows Phor is pleased. Intrinsius prays, "I wish I could see what just happened" and receives a vision of a structure in flames.
Chalker prays to Venyeraphet "that your return will soothe the one you love." He sees an image like a mural depicting an entrance leading into a hillside. Beside the entrance is a monument shaped like an anvil and a broken sword. Several holy signs are carved into the monument's pedestal. Chalker is given to know that this site is located in mountains a thousand miles to the west, and "it has something to do with Ven."
Chalker lies down beside Shawna and whispers softly in her ear, "I think I know where Ven is buried. If we survive this, you and I will go find him." Shawna replies, "When we survive this, you and I will find Ven."
In the morning, Intrinsius describes his vision. Jeb adds, "I saw an aura of fire around him." Intrinsius names his horse Silver.
Around midmorning the group's pace is slowed because the forest is noticeably thicker from forced growth induced by recent magic. Paradoxically, there are fewer animals. However, many deer are observed moving away from something, and Shawna suggests that the tigers catch some venison while they can. Chalker sends Flit to find out what's driving the animals. Flit reports back periodically, but is overdue for his third report.
Intrinsius casts Continual Light on an arrow and fires it high into a tree, illuminating a half-dozen large, hairy humanoids lurking in the branches. They stand ten to twelve feet in height, their legs are long, their feet and hands clawed. Chalker spots another group of six, and a large catlike creature 15' behind them. Chalker and Intrinsius shoot arrows and Shawna throws Lightning. Chalker pins one creature's leg to a tree, and Shawna's spell injures and stuns another. Intrinsius' arrow glances off a creature's hide [DR 3].
Shawna's Lightning strikes another. Two creatures leap down and move toward Intrinsius, Chalker, and Shawna. Six others jump down near Kieran, Cal, and Alastor. One leaps at Intrinsius, landing just to the left of his horse's shoulder, clawing the air. Another leaps at Shawna and tumbles to the ground. Chalker hooks his magic dagger (the one that he doesn't know what it does yet) and stabs the pinned creature in the thigh. Intrinsius draws his katana and strikes one in the neck.
Chalker pulls the dagger and stabs the creature's side; it emits a high-pitched scream. Shawna turns her warhorse and rides among the creatures, trampling some and slashing one with her sword. Kieran fast-draws and nocks an arrow, while his companions drop their bows and draw swords. Intrinsius hits the neck again. Chalker sees three catlike creatures jump to the ground and move to flank the group; he notices that they behave "like one creature with three bodies." He thinks they look like a cross between a bobcat and a warthog. Intrinsius parries a claw attack, wounding the creature. Chalker sees that two of the creatures that had fled are circling back. Danal is struck in the chest.
The tigers finally notice the cats; one of them looks at Kieran as though waiting for an attack command. Shawna slashes a creature's neck and tramples a couple more. The one in the tree finally pulls his leg free. Intrinsius is struck in the torso; in return he strikes the creature's neck. Chalker shouts to Kieran to have the tigers attack, then he pulls his knife across the creature's chest. Alastor stabs one in the eye and it dies (poisoned blade). Kieran shoots, hitting one in the eye, and Jeb strikes the same one. Danal critically hits. Commanded by Kieran, the tigers rush forward.
Intrinsius shoves a Fireball in a creature's face. Chalker fast-draws Dink-Dink in his left hand and strikes the creature on the ground. Kieran pulls his quarterstaff from its saddle holster, leaps off his horse, and strikes one of the creatures. Shawna swings and decapitates a creature. Intrinsius takes another hit. Jeb and Danal both hit.
Shawna strikes one with her sword and her horse tramples another, breaking the creature's leg. Intrinsius hits one in the neck. Alastor throws a poisoned dagger into the eye of a creature that was attacking Jeb. Kieran again hits with his staff. Danal hits. One of the creatures Chalker had injured collapses. Jeb throws his sword away, then takes a bad hit. Chalker TKs his dagger to stab a stunned creature in the vitals. The tigers and the wart-cats join battle.
Shawna and her warhorse severely injure Jeb's attacker. Intrinsius chops at a neck and the creature's head falls off. Chalker drags his dagger across the creature's vitals. The one Alastor hit falls down. One creature leaps at Chalker, landing to his left. Another swings at Shawna who parries. Injured again, Danal falls unconscious.
Once again Chalker cuts across the vitals. Shawna strikes another in the vitals. Scanning the perimeter, Intrinsius sees two creatures running up from behind; he hurls an Explosive Fireball and burns them both. Kieran knocks a creature in the head. Chalker parries a creature's claws with Dink-Dink's edge. The two burnt creatures run up toward Cal. One creature tries to strike Shawna, then drops.
Again Chalker cuts across the vitals, and finally the creature falls down. Intrinsius rides out and strikes one of the burned creatures in the neck. Shawna strikes one creature and her warhorse tramples two others. Intrinsius' parry wounds one of the burned ones.
Chalker sticks his knife in the creature trying to roll out from under the warhorse's hooves. Shawna stabs another through the vitals.
Chalker crits with his knife and kills another creature. The fried creatures try to attack Cal and Intrinsius. One of the wart-cats is seen staggering toward the fire; Shawna rides over and swings her sword, but the wart-cat dodges. Chalker kills it by stabbing its eye. Intrinsius hits one of the burned ones in the vitals, and it falls dead.
The group finishes off the remaining creatures. Intrinsius first-aids Danal and stops the bleeding. Shawna casts Major Healing spells on Intrinsius and Jeb. She calls out "Flit!" but the ellyll doesn't answer. Alastor applies a healing salve to Danal.
Chalker goes to the scene of the cat-fight and finds them all lying on the ground but breathing. With Dink-Dink he finishes off the wart-cats. Kieran begins tending to the tigers.
Chalker spots an insect the size of a dragonfly, forty yards away, and trots off in that direction. Shawna rides up and tells him he is approaching an "abhorrent" holy area probably created by Charesoon. Chalker swings up behind her. Intrinsius decides to follow them. Chalker points to the "bug" which is maintaining its distance, as if luring them ahead. Shawna feels a prickling at the back of her neck. They approach an old, gnarled oak with a nest up in its branches. Things are moving all over the nest. Strapped to a branch above the nest is Flit.
There's a small clay humanoid figure like a tiny golem which is the source of the evil and the bad feelings. Shawna: "See that golem? Nail it." Chalker TKs his dagger toward the golem and a horde of insects swarms around it. Intrinsius fires an arrow and strikes the tree, and some sort of liquid flows out of the wound. Chalker senses the deaths of hundreds of insects as the dagger continues on its way. From the golem he senses the "building up of a feedback charge on a psychic link... with the 'flavor' of Charesoon and Damarot." Chalker prays, "Hey, Cor, I think I'll need your help. They're about to fry me." After a few moments, he feels his prayer has been accepted.
Chalker takes the reins of Shawna's horse as she turns into a falcon and flies up. Intrinsius fires another arrow at the tree. He sees around the tree a trench opening up, wide enough to trap a horse's hoof. "Pull up," he shouts. Chalker pulls back on the reins, stopping the horse short of the trench. Intrinsius prays, "Santash, guide my shot."
Chalker's knife strikes the small golem and easily pierces it all the way through, tearing the clay figure in half. He feels "feedback" pushing through a psychic link, which shatters against the protection of his prayer shield. Still, he is slightly injured. A wailing wind rises from the tree. The nest disintegates, millions of insect eggs fall to the ground, and all of the insects die. Chalker summons back his dagger and signals to Intrinsius: "Fire!"
Intrinsius strides toward the tree, a Fireball building in his right hand. He hurls the ball of flame directly at a knothole. The entire tree flares up like a torch. He shapes the fire so that it consumes the entire tree and purifies the ground around it.
Shawna glides in and drops Flit into Chalker's waiting hands. Resuming her elven form, Shawna casts Awaken on Flit, who groans, "I hurt all over." She casts Major Healing and his pain subsides. Flit explains, "I went to ambush a creature, there was more than one of them, and they caught me... and now look what Intrinsius did!" Chalker: "Shawna came to get you, because that's what she does." Shawna: "Chalker knew the way."
Shawna senses something not right, so she casts Diagnosis on Chalker and finds him affected by Death Touch. She critically succeeds on her Major Healing spell.
Shawna doesn't want to leave the tree until the fire is completely out and the tree is thoroughly dead. Chalker and Flit return to the rest of the group. Alastor has dissected the wart-cats and a couple of the long-legged creatures. Chalker tells everyone to mount up and move to the tree. Over the next few hours, Chalker leads the effort to drag all the dead creatures to the tree and burn the corpses.
By the end of that time, Shawna is satisfied that the site has been purified. The group gives thanks to the First Chosen and prepares to continue their journey northward.