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• Arhian Vos – Human Monk
• Hartmut Helmsworth – Elf Monk
• Sindri Waggletop – (Forest) Gnome Wizard
• Rettniss Kulvith – Water Genasi Druid
• Avacyn “Jolyne” Uloth the Merciless – Half-Orc Paladin
• Twilight Skybane – Tiefling Bard

• Still in the depth of the forest that was slowly turning into a swamp – the party could see what was formerly known as The Spear Tree or the One Tree which now many simply called The Splintered Tree. (Read more about the lore here).

• The party could, to the west of them was what used to be The Spear Tree – standing miles above the rest of the forest, it’s splintered top a reminder of what had escaped
• However, directly to the west of them was also where the ground seemed to turn more like a swamp
• Hartmut uses his Animal Handling to work with the Blink Dog, Kalistia, which seems attached to him to have her scout to the north a little to see if there’s a way around the swamp waters

• Hartmut has the Blink Dog come back – and then move west into the swamp – where the very ground itself seems to lunge at Kalistia!

• Hartmut, with Daggerpoint’s information, recalls that gray ooze can often be near a hag’s cavern or home

• A new plan develops! The party decides one person can scale a tree – and make it across the tree tops with the rope and everyone can cross using the rope
• Arhian volunteers and does a great job scaling the tree (Natural 20 Athletics!) Things are looking good – Arhian’s first leap across the tree to the next however – Natural 1 Acrobatics – sending Arhian into the gray ooze; however, she’s able to reaction grab a branch and saves herself and gets back to the party
• Sindri asks Daggerpoint about the ooze, but the sprite says that since the hags came, there’s been different kinds of oozes seeping their way through the woods. He goes on to explain how the oozes act like quicksand – because the green slime looks like slick, green grass and acts like quicksand; and the gray ooze can look like mud; and both just kind of pull animals and people into them, and then their acid just consumes them and the oozes get bigger. Some oozes even bond former larger colonies.
• Arhian decides to give it another try; and falls yet again; this time close enough to the gray ooze for it to lash out with its pseudopod, hitting Arhian for some heavy damage
• She quickly scampers back using Step of the Wind to the camp and quaffs a healing potion (getting some health)
• Sindri asks if Daggerpoint could tie a rope; but Daggerpoint explains that he is all powerful and mighty and brave – but you “tall humanoids” (ironic, as Sindri is a Forest Gnome) have rope that is too big and too difficult for him to tie
• Sindri comes up with the idea of tying three ropes; and then having Daggerpoint carrying one end of the rope to wrap around a tree several times. Daggerpoint agrees but can’t get seem to get Locke to agree. Twilight sends Gem to go Locke and insult him.
• Gem lands next to Locke, the Pseudodragon, and shouts, “You’re nothing but a fake dragon! You don’t even have dragon breath! You’re useless! I’ve seen urine buckets that were rusted at the bottom that are more useful than you!”
• This provokes Locke into flying and Locke manages to bit some of the tail feathers from Gem, before taking the rope into its mouth. The rest of the party ties their sections of the rope together (Dex check – and here’s what was rolled: Hartmut 7, Arhian 6 and Rettniss 8). So as Locke flies to the other side of the swamp, high enough to avoid the Gray Ooze and wraps it around the base – the knots unravel – and soon, Locke sits on the opposite side with one part of the rope; the middle rope falls into the gray ooze and is devoured; and the party on the other side is holding one end that just falls limply into the edge of the ooze
• Hartmut decides to take the rope they have and climb the tree; and fails to climb the tree, due to the slippery ooze on the tree trunks; he tries again and falls yet again
• Twilight tries to climb the tree, but because of being poisoned, she’s not able to maintain her balance, before falling off the tree herself (Rolled 17, but Disadvantage to a 7)
• As Sindri looks on the ooze on Arhian’s clothes, he points out that Arhian’s darts look damaged; and they’re able surmise that it is a gray ooze; and Sindri recalls studying gray ooze and has information about it (Twilight Natural 1 on the Nature Check) – knowing that it has damage Resistances Acid, Cold, Fire; immunities include Blinded, Charmed, Deafened, Exhaustion, Frightened, Prone as well as any nonmagical weapon made of metal that hits the ooze corrodes. After dealing damage, the weapon takes a permanent and cumulative −1 penalty to damage rolls.
• Hartmut asks Kalistia to go up and to the west a little…

• However, when Kalistia goes here; she seems very, very nervous
• Since ground there seems more clear, the party moves up and then to the west where Kalistia is – and suddenly all by Sindri are overcome with fear (Charisma Save vs Frightened – everyone but Sindri failed DC 12!)
• Arhian swears there’s a living scarecrow after her (remember last session when Hartmut said it was real, and she refused to believe it? I think Hartmut would call this Karma… only if he wasn’t also feared) – Arhian with a Natural 1.

• The fear sends party members – moving full movement in a random direction: Arhian dashes South, Hartmut dashes North, Rettniss bolts West, Twilight bolts East, and Avacyn bolts East. After moving, Avacyn, Twilight and Hartmut all pass their next save; while Rettnis and Arhian fails their saves again – Rettniss now bolts East (ending up back where she started) while Arhian bolts north ending up back where she was as well (at least that worked out?), however the fear still Arhian (another Critical Fail on her save; this time – forcing her to double her movement in a random direction – which happens to be West – right into a strange wooden cabin!
• Initiative begins as the spirit of a green hag reveals herself!

• Sindri and Rettniss get two actions for the first round (Natural 20 on Initiative – See House Rules)
  • DM Side Note – This was the Green Hag drawn to the Jade Forest after Danela (the Dryad Guardian) was sacrificed in the Jade Forest and by the time some adventurers arrived, it was already too late. As if that were not bad enough, the atrocity of a Dryad sacrificed, Verastin escaped the prison with Danela’s murder – which then summoned Starhorn who sensed Danela’s demise, and met it’s own end as Verastin grabbed the Unicorn’s horn, pierced it’s heart and turned into a Nightmare. This is all spun from an adventure from a different game! In one of the other games, the players who killed the green hag have seen evidence of a Coven seeking revenge against them.
  • TL;DR Version: Group 1 (Anita Group) Cleric got a vision to save the Dryad; got distracted and greedy; arrived too late. Dryad was sacrificed, unicorn slain; fallen angel released. Ooops. Group 2 (Work Group) got news that the woods were “weird” – went and found a “Dryad” who said demons were infecting; they attacked the “demons” which turned out to be Centaurs made to look like demons thanks to the “Dryad” who turned out to be a Green Hag drawn here by the transitivity of a Dryad and Unicorn killed here. Party kills Green Hag (Hooray!). Group 3 (Ben’s Group) now gets a mission to come check this out, fights Spirit of the Green Hag. Turns out the Coven raised her to find out who killed her, and is after Group 2.
• Arhian finally breaks free of the fear (Natural 20), but finds herself attacked by the Spirit Hag and a Mud Mephit! Rettness seeing Arhian in danger (and bloody) uses Thorn Whip to pull the hag away from Arhian and 10′ closer to her; which puts her right in range of Rettniss.
• The party has a hard time landing hits on the Spiritual Hag, until Sindri lands a Fire Bolt that does maximum damage
• Twilight sings Healing Word to give Arhian some health back as the Mud Mephit is finally defeated (Arhian Critical Fails to avoid the Mud Mephit’s mud death restraint – and is then considered Restrained)
• In another round Twilight provides Bardic Inspiration to Avacyn, hoping the female half orc Paladin can make the most of it
• The Spirit Hag cuts into Rettniss forcing Rettniss to use Healing Word on herself
• Hartmut swings with his magical short sword; but uses Inspiration and it pays off with a hard hitting Critical Hit with a Natural 20 landing some solid damage
• Avacyn swings and misses, even with the Bardic Inspiration
• The fight drags on for awhile; while the Spirit of the Green Hag is difficult to hit, she’s also not taking down any of the heroes, who are staying up and mostly free of being bloodied due to heals
• It’s when Avacyn comes in with her next strike – Critical Hit Natural 20 – also landing Maximum Slashing Damage, adding the Savage Critical Attack she gets as a racial trait, and then expending a Maximum Damage Divine Smite – brings the spirit hag’s form into a shattered blue mist, with her scream echoing in their minds for several minutes….
• Arhian, Sindri and Twilight quickly go examine the shimmering hut – and Sindri notes some of the runes look familiar to Displacement and Dimension Door/Teleport type runes; but the runes are much older than anything he’s ever seen
• Arhian spots a young red panda bear, that the Spirit Hag had hung to siphon life essence from and cuts it free; and it bonds to Arhian

• The party watches as the cottage suddenly vanishes
• They take what they’ve learned and bring the information back to Jorick (the elf) and Twinoak (the treant) who are tending to their horses and share the news of the spirit hag and how the land seems to be curing itself already.
• They ride back several days back to town and rest for the evening.