The Grove, Part One

After dispatching the rabbit blobs and mutated wolves, the team began to suspect something was very much wrong.

Quickroot began to examine the bodies as Crag burned them. Corax was anxious to continue into the grove, while Lex was feeling very unsure of herself, having never been so injured in battle till this point. They speculated about the nature of the mutated creatures and the fate of the Druid who was supposed to be protecting the grove.

Corax turned his attention to Jamlamin, who during the battle with the animals had become out of control and injured Crag with a Chaos Bolt. Corax wanted Jamlamin to leave the group because he saw him as a danger, and unable to control his chaos magic. Crag attempted to calm Corax by reminding him the damage wasn't severe. Lex, feeling an affinity with the mage as a fellow practicer of magic, offered to attempt to control him using her manipulation based magic. Jamlamin explained that he used to study controlled magic, but found chaos magic to be more powerful, and that he would strive harder to control it. Corax was convinced, and they continued onward.

As they traveled onward, suddenly the huge stars floating the trees above took root in their souls. Lex, Corax, and Quickroot became filled with a powerful hunger (10 ongoing psychic damage). Eglan and Jamlamin began to be driven mad with whispered secrets they couldn't quite comprehend (whenever player rolls initiative they are dominated). Crag faded until he became a being made of light (when rolls initiative, insubstantial and weakened, save ends all).

Beetles the size of small dogs scurried about the fauna. Eyeballs gazed at us from plants. Lizard tails shot from the ground like blades of grass. There was a bucket of liquid light on the ground and trees of pomegranate-like fruit, with snails climbing upon them.

Quickroot became overcome with hunger and ate dirt. Corax grabbed a nearby snail and ate it. Jamlamin was suddenly overtaken with madness and threw a bolt at Corax, who dodged it just in time by throwing a beetle at him.  Crag, who was still composed of light, could hear the snails whispering to him, but couldn't understand them no matter how close he got. He put one hand into the bucket of liquid light, but nothing happened. He poured it out onto the lizard grass, but, again, no effect. Lex could not wait any longer and eats one of the pomegranate-like fruits. When she did, she gained the insight that the garden they've wandered into used to be that of the druid. She also understood that the eyeballs she and the others who hunger are so repulsed by was the key to curing their hunger. Her hunger lessened slightly.

Eglan was overtaken with madness and took a swing at Lex, but missed when Crag switched places with her using his teleport technique. One of the stars descended closer to the trees. Corax decided to eat an eyeball and felt his hunger lessen, so Eglan and Crag also ate an eyeball. They began to realize a combination of these plants and creatures might cure their afflictions. Crag placed an eyeball in the bucket along with a snail, but, nothing happened.

The star was now 10 feet away, expanding and contracting. Corax used his magic to trade afflictions with Crag, so he was now made of light. As the star got closer, Corax was filled with malevolence. Eglan meditated to determine that the star was under the power of Khirad. She fed another eyeball to Corax, but, it did not cure him. Quickroot took a fruit, some lizard tail grass, and an eyeball, and ate all three. He was cured of his hunger completely, so the rest began eating combinations (or being fed in the case of Eglan and Jamlamin, who were stricken with memory loss by the stars) until they are all cured.

Corax attacked the descended star and it exploded, injuring the party in the blast. The rest of the stars began to come closer, so they moved onward to the center, where they found more stars surrounding a horrible bear covered in tentacles with light emitting eyeballs down its back.

"End my suffering!" it cried, and they realized the bear was Hongya, the druid.
"She is mine!" hissed an unknown voice.

Worm-like creatures covered in porcupine quills (shot by quill caused 5 ongoing damaged and player was slowed) attacked from amid aberrant mist (when in the mist, players took 10 ongoing psychic damage, got a +1 to attack and +5 to damage rolls).

Play notes:

This was an interesting night because it was the first time we actually stopped in the middle of a battle because we spent so much time trying to figure out the initiative based challenges in the garden. We did a lot of experimenting with the plants and bugs, but ultimately were assisted by the DM via Quickroot just due to time. That being said it was an interesting challenge and I'd be up for more puzzles in the future.

Unfortunately it wasn't a good night of combat for me, I didn't make very good use of my attacks (for example, I forgot Corax cannot take cold damage, so I could have used an ability to slide him out of the mist, but moved the enemy instead). My head wasn't in the game as much as it should have been, but, it was a learning experience.

I look forward to finding out what happened to Hongya in our next session!