All Trees Must Die! (Pathfinder)

[Gunhaven]

Echo Woods. What was once the domain of the Protectorate of the Black Marquis is now teeming with the unknown. In a desperate plan to take back that which is his the current Black Marquis, Urdul Bazzak, has offered a bounty to clear out the forest of whatever is haunting it. Messengers were sent to all corners of the region to find fools who would offer their services so that the Woods could be his petty bauble once again. They weren't intended for you.

For your own reasons you find yourself now facing the edge of town. The traffic of the city has died down since the forest became especially dangerous and now most people avoid getting within 50 yards of the haunted woods. The fat little ruler gazes out at his forest with some annoyance with a group of four guards who seem more worried about getting killed by whatever spirits dwell within, back turned to all. It was only until one of the guards, a human in his mid twenties who has his fair share of scars from previous battles, cleared his throat at the approach of outsiders. Slowly he turned to gauge the people he assumed answered his beckon to reclaim the woods. He frowned as only one showed up and slowly turned to a neutral expression as more arrived. With a sigh after a few minutes he said with no attempt to hide his disdain "So you are the ones who answered my beckons... Timothy, remind me to kill the messengers that delivered the summons. I won't delay you any longer than necessary; I'll pay each of you 5,000 gold and whatever you find within the woods if you find whatever has been killing my men."

[AngryCyc]

Binky laughs in delight. He sits strapped in, tied to the front of a giant vulture who has landed on the ground in front of the strange group of long shanks. Binky holds a torch in the wind and carelessly wields it, as though he has no fear of it going out. He doesn't even bother to say anything, but barks out an order to his vulture, which takes off high into the air, making for the center of the forest.

Looking back to the others who had come to do the same, Binky barks "Binky get there first if longshanks too slow!! Ahahaha!"

[Blade Conduit]

Fluffy begins purring slowly and then starts sharpening his claws on his giant sword. "Y'all know me. Know how I earn a livin'. I'll catch this killer for you, but it ain't gonna be easy. Bad plants. Not like going down the pond chasin' yarn and stuffed mice. This one, swallow you whole. Little shakin', little tenderizin', an' down you go. And we gotta do it quick, that'll bring back your tourists, put all your businesses on a payin' basis. But it's not gonna be pleasant. I value my neck a lot more than five thousand gold, chief. I'll find them for five, but I'll catch them, and kill them, for ten. But you've gotta make up your minds. If you want to stay alive, then ante up." Then he smiles and begins slowly purring once more.

I'm sorry I just had to, this scene just instantly reminded me of the scene from Jaws.. It might not make any sense but Fluffy is crazy so it doesn't matter.

[carnivoroustofu]

Carcharodon gives the Marquis a large smile filled with too many teeth. Fat ones like this one were more likely to have nicely marbled meat. Might be worth it even with the potential attention from his sudden disappearance. Still, business came first. "Worry not Marquis, they will be found ... at all costs." replies Carcharodon as he wipes some drool from the corner of his gaping maw.

[Sønderjye]

Bakji looked majestetic, standing in his vulture-driven gliding chariot and holding a battle standard in his right hand. The motive on the banner was a lone, burning tree, revealing the darkness of the tree as it burns away. The motive has so many details it almost looks real. Beside the chariot is a creature, whose upper torso is of a uscular green-skinnd humanoid and the lower torso of a giant green-scaled scorpion. A closer look reveals that the creature is made mostly out of thick vines.
He turns to look Marquis straight into the eyes You have no idea of what great darkness that is causing this, do you? He pauses and sadness appear in his eyes. I will help cleanse this forest.
When the pyromaniac goblin races away he extends his arm as if grap him and shouts: Binky the forest is dangerous!
http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2012/093/3/5/burning_tree_by_puttee-d4uvjx0.jpg

[Gunhaven]

Two of the guards looked after the goblin as it flew away with a mix of confusion, wonder, and distaste. Urdul wore a simple look of distaste at his gathered champions before he whipped out a sap and slammed the weighted bag into one of the gawking guard's kneecaps. The guard writhed on the ground in pain as the man who first announced your arrival rifled through his pouches and pulled one off. With a confirmation from Urdul he tossed it to Carcharodon who, despite the maw full of teeth, was still a touch more human than the others and therefore Urdul's designated leader. Inside the pouch is two wands, one of ivory and the other of onyx, as well as a map of the region.

As the pouch was in the air Urdal began to speak again. "I'll throw in extra 15,000 gold to be divided amongst you four if you, while in that thorn in my side, can eliminate a scoundrel by the name of Blackshield. He's trying to take away what I've worked hard on claiming as my own and I suspect he has a hand in my people's deaths. His den is marked on the map. To help further aid in your mission are two wands to help patch up your wounds."

While in the air you can see the general layout of the woods. The woods are bisected by a mighty river and you can see from your vantage point various clearings scattered about the land. You get the feeling he only cares about the woods to the north and west and not the evil trees to the east of the river.

[AngryCyc]

While the others bicker about trivial things like payment and actual information about what their doing, Binky continues exploring the forest from the air. He flies lower, first checking out the evil looking trees to see why exactly they feel so evil, before heading over and scanning some of the open clearings. Satisfied with his reconnaissance he circles back and looks for the others.

Ready for this?

Perception on the evil trees: [roll0]
Knowledge nature [roll1]

Perception on the not evil trees: [roll2]
Knowledge nature [roll3]

Edit: I CAN SEE EVERYTHING! Or I could if these big leafy statues weren't in the way. I wonder what they are??

[carnivoroustofu]

Carcharodon catches the bundle handily and unfolds it as he speaks "Fair enough, Marquis. Consider it done. In the mean time, eat well, get a good full-body massage and await our good news. I hear barbecue sauce is good for the skin." Carcharodon turns his attention to the contents of the bundle and addressed the motley crew assembled. "Are there any amongst you proficient in the use of clerics-in-a-stick ?"

Checking out that map too to look for landmarks and the general directions of interest.

[Blade Conduit]

Fluffy looks over and smirks, "Its nothing but a stick to me." He then looks up and watches the goblin flying around but soon his attention is distracted by a squirrel climbing up the side of a tree nearby. He begins to purr and then runs over and tries to catch the animal as it climbs away. Once the squirrel gets high enough that he can't reach it he begins jumping up and swinging his giant sword at the tree to attempt and knock the little animal out of the tree.

[Sønderjye]

He nods at Marquis to show that he has understood the offer. Anything else we should know before we get started? he asks with a sad look in his eyes. Seing how the fat huamn treats his minions he questions his decision of not hurting humanoids.
Only the small ones Bajki responds apologizing.

[Gunhaven]

Urdul nodded his head as the group set about their task and retired to his mansion with his retinue following behind. The map he provided serves as a guide to the major landmarks of the forest with a majority of them in the west (where Thornkeep is) and a smattering of ruins to the north (including Bodie's Haunt that Urdul had slaughtered so he could rule the area). It looks to be almost suspiciously empty in the middle.

As Fluffy ran to catch the squirrel he gets the sense that this forest is something else entirely. It's confirmed that this isn't his average haunted woodland when his sword cuts through the tree the squirrel was on and the sound of...something letting out a bloodcurdling scream is heard. At least it looks like the tree still bleeds sap from it's fresh wound.

Blinky meanwhile attempted to find a single good tree in the forest. What he finds instead isn't trees but clearly demons possessing trees! He almost thinks he sees one of the evil trees try to swat him out of the air as he flies a touch too close, although that could just be the wind and they could all just be normal trees. The only strike against this theory is the well established proof that all trees are evil, murderous beings that need to burn.

[AngryCyc]

Landing down next to the others Binky relays "Trees to the east very evil, demon possessed most likely. Not normal evil trees at all. New tree hunting friends should stay away with Binky until ready for much bigger assault. Big blaze need more dried wood though. Stupid river..." Binky then falls in with the others letting them lead the way. He is entranced and horrified by the map. The fact that words are on it causes him to avoid it with his eyes but he's very eager to peer at others as they read it.

[Blade Conduit]

Fluffy watches as the tree begins to bleed and then looks over to the forest. Oh boy, he thinks to himself this is gonna be fun!!

He makes quick work of the squirrel and quickly runs back to the group. With squirrel tail hanging from his mouth he eagerly bounces up and down "Hey guys!! Hey guys!! Guess what!! Hey guys guess what!! The trees bleed and they scream out too!! This is so cool!! I'm gonna kill me some trees, I'm gonna kill me some trees and hear them scream!!

[AngryCyc]

Binky stares at the cat fella with adoration.

[Sønderjye]

Wait.. is the illusion down? I wonder how. Let's ask before we burn down the forest. He gets out of the chariot and slams him spear into the ground. I free you and call upon you! He calls to the forest as he overly dramatically slams the spear into the ground. Don't kill the thing that comes out in a minute please, I need it.

If a plant monster comes out he will use command infestation to control it and ask it what is causing the mess. He'll translate for the others and invite them to ask questions.

Knowledge(nature) [roll0]to remember which plant monster is likely to be in the forest. Looking for a plant monster at around 6 HD. Using call animal(which works on plants for me) to summon it to here.
Command infestation is a DC 16 will save or be controlled for at least 1 day. If it saves the first time he'll try again, up till 6 times.
Speak with plants allows for speaking with it.

[carnivoroustofu]

The goblin and cat man's reports of evil screaming trees filled with demons were most intriguing. Were the demons forming a coalition with the treacherous trees ? Carchardon bites a chunk off the nearest tree to see if it too would scream.

[Gunhaven]

The same tree that got cut gets bitten since its the forward scout of the demon tree army. A similiar sounding scream is heard, followed by quiet sobbing. Yet the tree tastes like a tree, the sap tasting just as evil as always. A brief pause with only the crying of the tree to break up the wait occurred.

Eventually a creature emerged. What was once a bear cub left the woods and crossed the distance. As it drew closer it became apparent that it was no longer an animal but turned into a plant by some evil means, the fur replaced with tendrils of roots and claws of ironwood. It seemed pissed at the interlopers and growled in Sylvan "Leave this land. Those from Beyond have shown us the True Way. You have been warned." Then the commanding took place...

A plant-imbued (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/templates/plant-imbued-creature-cr-varies-tohc) bear (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/animals/bear/brown-grizzly-bear) appears!

[roll0] Will Save, SR 16 if it matters.

[Blade Conduit]

Fluffy watches the cub with mild confusion, as it first appears he thinks it might be something tasty to eat. Then as he begins to notice the plant like qualities he decides it's more likely something that should be put to death but then it speaks and something very strange occurs.

Only rolling in case I get a 20 since my modifier is a whole +0. [roll0] and that's a no...

[Blade Conduit]

Fluffy's mind completely clears and a blank white calm comes over all of his senses. His face is a picture perfect moment of serenity, all the while his grip on his sword tightens to the extent you can see the blood pulsing through the veins in his knuckles.

*FLUFFY'S MIND* A memory of his first toy, a small mouse on a string attached to a long stick, begins playing in his mind. Oh how he loved that toy. How he would bat it around for hours on end for McWitch's pure delight...

*REALITY* Fluffy lets out a guttural, almost primordial scream as he flings himself at the plant beast thing.

So first off gonna enter a rage. +4 Str and +6 Con +2 Will -2 AC +21 HP Temp.

Init: [roll0] Attack (power attack w/ furious focus) [roll1] Confirm Crit if necessary [roll2] Damage [roll3] Also Rage Power: lesser elemental rage (fire) [roll4] aww shucks one away from a possible crit... Also just double checked my maths and I missed the 3 extra damage from the increase in Str. from rage. Normally it's STR: 18 +4 with a +3 Sword but using two hands it's 6 and a +3 sword so 9. Then power attack is a plus 4 but then again it's a 1 1/2 Str thing so that's another six for a total of 15 which is what I used but then I add +4 Str from Rage which equals a +2 mod but 1 1/2 thats actually 3 so its a grand total of +18 from Str and +3 sword... heh so yeah.

[Sønderjye]

The palm of Bajki's hand hits his forehead.. Hard.

[AngryCyc]

Binky's admiration quickly turns to concern for his hero's mental well-being. "Sweet Lamashtu... Binky don't even think treebear was any threat at all. Why cat fella attack unprovoked? Nature shanks called treebear for help, unless we slaughtering each demon-corrupted creature one at a time..?" Binky says looking to the others. His confidence falters under the realization that he just attempted to be the voice of reason. It hurts.

[Sønderjye]

I don't know. Maybe my instructions was unclear. Bakji mumbles before removing his hand from his face and looks at the goblin. Which part of "do not kill it!" Do you think was unclear? Should I have specified that I didn't want anyone to attack it as well?

[Gunhaven]

The plant bear is flung backwards by the giant sword. He muttered "To the...northwest. Those from Beyond...are there. Look...for the Rock from the Sky." He then stepped backwards into the bleeding and weeping tree and moved into it.

[carnivoroustofu]

Carcharodon carefully spits out every last bit of sap and splinter. "Either way, the deed's done. Now to wrap this up." Carcharodon reaches into a weathered leather pouch hanging at his waist and pulls out a handful of salt. "Evil be gone!" he yells as he liberally salts the tree's wound and roots.

[Blade Conduit]

Slowly the world comes back into focus and Fluffy finds himself standing a little closer to the woods than he remembered being and slightly weaker than he was too. uh oh he thinks to himself It just have happened again. He looks back at his new comrades, one of which seems to have a look of disappointment on his face.

"So yeah, sometimes I tend to lose control. Especially around plants, that Sabrina the teenage witch used plants to kill Old Lady." he throws his sword over his shoulder and kinda kicks some dirt around while looking down at the ground. "Sorry if I screwed anything up."

He'll be fatigued but only for about 12 seconds and one round of his rage is gone for the day.

[Sønderjye]

Well done is done. Bakji said with a sad look. So do we want to check out whatever is in the north west or do we just light it up?

[carnivoroustofu]

Carcharodon glances at Bakji with a puzzled look. "Why not both? They're hardly mutually exclusive." Carcharodon ponders for a moment and sprinkles Bakji with a good handful of salt too, just to be sure.

[AngryCyc]

"INTO THE FOREST WE GO!" Binky screams as he straps back in and flies off through the forest to the north west.

[Sønderjye]

Bajki sucks on his finger and points it to the sky. The wind comes from XX. Binky why don't you fly yo that edge of the forest and light it up. The rest of us would head to the rock in the sky. Are we ok with that? he suggests as the goblin is binding himself to his vulture.

[Blade Conduit]

Fluffy begins bouncing up and down, and singing his little song again. "Gonna kill me some trees, gonna kill me some tress, gonna listen to em scream, gonna kill me some trees." He briefly stops when he sees something shiny bouncing around beside him, but once he stops bouncing so does the light. Then he quickly takes up his song and bounce again until he sees the light bouncing as well, this process repeats itself several times in the next few minutes.

The light is being reflected off of his sword from the sun, this is the kind of problem a barbarian kitty has.

[Gunhaven]

As preparations are made and the group of misfits enter the forest the locale's namesake soon becomes apparent. It could be the demon's playing tricks, the odd way the sun filters through the canopy, or just simply a habit of getting lost but within feet of entering direction and time fall by the wayside. The only constant things is the sound of sobbing, presumably by the tree you brutally murdered, and the chattering of the forest animals.

In the air such things matter less and you think you can almost notice what that coward of a bear was talking about to the northwest. Of course with the wind blowing to the east it'd require you to travel beyond to make sure you start the proper wildfire.

[AngryCyc]

Binky considers the super totally more evil trees over to the east of the river, thinking how even with the perfect fire the river would probably halt the progress anyways, so he does as asked and heads back over to the river to light up the trees to the east. The wind should help spread the fire that way.

He flues through the air until he arrives at the river where, oddly, he takes a deep breath and unstraps just above the water, plopping down into the river. He allows his weight to sink him to the bottom, where he starts trudging along the river bottom, torch still burning in his hands despite the fact he's underwater. He starts walking along the bottom of the river about a hundred feet downstream, where he approaches the side of the river bank and begins looking for any trees growing along the edge of the river. Spotting any older, dying, or significantly drier looking ones, he creeps along under the cover of the water until he is right beside it.

Binky pours a chemical mixture on his already magical torch, then steps out up closer to the tree where he may strike at it carefully. Upon impact, the torch head explodes in fire and force, totally ignoring the water and scorching it's way through the tree.


Stealth to sneak along in the river [roll0]

A ranger traveling through his favored terrain normally leaves no trail and cannot be tracked...

Perception to find the best tree to attack [roll1]

And assuming the coup de grace works properly; Damage:

[roll2] + [roll3] bane + [roll4] sneak attack +( [roll5] + [roll6]) fire damage, and the tree now burns for an additional [roll7]

Followed by resuming stealth at a -20 [roll8]

[Gunhaven]

With a guttural scream the tree in question lights up as the torch is shoved into a convenient knot. It takes a few seconds but eventually the tree shows effects and fire starts to sputter from the initial strike before finally it falls after a couple minutes in a burning heap. The fire laps at the nearby trees as the embers from the first victim create a safe zone from the demon trees.
Could I get everyone to roll Initiative and we'll just use that as combats appear? Also: Trees are immune to critical hits thanks to being objects. Who'd have thunk it!

[AngryCyc]

Binky cheers to himself, and signals his vulture over, where he grabs on and flies back to meet the rest of the group. He is content that one burning tree is surely enough to start and entire forest fire.

initiative [roll0]

[Blade Conduit]

Fluffy continues his bounce and pause dance with the flashing lights. He's a cat... this could go on for hours. He doesn't smell or hear or see any fires, yup.

[roll0] Initiative btw.

[carnivoroustofu]

"Let our magnificent work for a world without trees begin with this first flame!" Carcharodon announces as he liberally sprinkles salts the earth around the burning tree, kicking the occasional branch and leaves about to cover bare patches that would retard the fire's spread.

initiative [roll0]

[radthemad4]

[roll0]

Tim nods and smiles briefly, admiring the flame. If anyone has any hope of fighting back against the arboreal menace, it's these guys. He's glad to have found them.

Tim checks the 100 ft area around him telepathically for sapient thoughts. If he finds any, he aims Detect Thoughts at them.

[Sønderjye]

[roll0]
For the record then I don't care about rolling init, you can do that when combat is about to start

Bajki leaves his vulture some distance from the forest to eat it's dinner(consisting mainly of grass and a bit of prebought corn). In a very stoic fashion he marches into the forest, banner held high. The light from the far away flames seems to somehow reflect in the banner's motive and one could mistakenly think that the flames on the flag were moving.
His minion is close, ready to intersept if anything tries to grap the banner.

Bonusses for everyone(within 30 ft)
+2 resistance bonus on saves against mind-affecting
+2 to hit
+2 weapon damage
+2 saves against fear

[Gunhaven]

As the fire spread from the lone tree to the east, working its way through other demons, Blinky manages to find the four adventures moving in a roughly north-northwest direction, roughly in between the ruins of Bodie's Haunt and the strange clearing to the northwest that should be the fallen Rock. As he was about to join the group once again one of trees shuddered and swung a branch at Bajki. With a resounding thud it hit the Blighter with its branch as several smaller branches wrapped around and dug into the samsaran.

So it's an awakened tree (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/constructs/animated-object/animated-object-huge).

[roll0] And the winner is... Bajki, Blinky, Carcharodon, Fluffy, Kazu, Scorpionfolk, Tom
[roll1] Honestly it'll probably be yall first, then the tree.

[roll2] Slam!
[roll3] Smash!
[roll4] Grab!
[roll5] Crush!

[AngryCyc]

Binky flew along above the party relatively lost in thought, firmly focused on the wonderful heatwave that had emanated off the large tree he had minutes before set alight. His daydreaming was interrupted however by a bulbous mass of flesh and filth on his forearm, shaped oddly like a monkey. Reaching out of his own body, the small tumor-monkey pointed to a tree and screech malevolently at it! "THE TREES ALIVE THE TREES ALIVE" the tumor somehow screams at Binky, in a language only they can understand (thankfully).

"Alive? LOOK OUT! Demon tree is awakened!" Binky manages to get out as the tree starts to attack.

[radthemad4]

"Let's finish this with HASTE!"

Tim casts Haste (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/h/haste) on the party and tries to get as far away from the tree as he can (enhanced speed = 50 ft). If he finds anything to momentarily hide behind, he alters his already active Minor Image spell to conceal himself with an illusion of a shrubbery.

+1 bonus on attack rolls
+1 dodge bonus to AC and Reflex saves
An additional full BAB attack on any full attacks
All movement speeds increase by 30 feet, to a maximum of twice normal speed using that form of movement. This increase counts as an enhancement bonus, and it affects the creature's jumping distance as normal for increased speed.

[carnivoroustofu]

"The vile vanguard of the trees have struck! LEAVE NO QUARTER!" yells Carcharodon as he charges ferociously towards the tree, a glowing paragon of shark kind. Grabbing the tree for more leverage, his jaws open to their full range with a wince inducing crack and he begins to tear into the tough trunk ruthlessly and relentlessly.


Well let's experiment with how this goes and if this character needs toning down...
1pp bite of the wolf (martial power)
Full round action: Raging Hunter Pounce -> charge + pounce, all attacks must be on the same target even if dead/unconscious
Swift action: Bronze Knuckle -> +2d6 damage
Flurry of Strikes + Broken Blade Stance + Haste -> 6 attacks

Attack 1 [roll0]
Damage 1 [roll1]
Knuckle 1 [roll2]
subtotal: 21

Attack 2 [roll3]
Confirmation: 17
Damage 2 [roll4]
Crit: 18
Knuckle 2 [roll5]
max subtotal: 44

Attack 3 [roll6]
Damage 3 [roll7]
Knuckle 3 [roll8]
subtotal: 23

Attack 4 [roll9]
Confirmation: 24
Damage 4 [roll10]
Crit: 12
Knuckle 4 [roll11]
max subtotal: 33

Attack 5 [roll12]
Damage 5 [roll13]
Knuckle 5 [roll14]
subtotal: 21

Attack 6 [roll15]
Damage 6 [roll16]
Knuckle 6 [roll17]
subtotal: 22

Max Total: 164 but hardness 5 deducts 30 from that right ? So it's not that bad ? I'm sorryyyyyyyyyyy

[AngryCyc]

Binky approaches the pile of sawdust and lights it on fire. He refuses to make eye contact with the one who did this, keeping his head cocked just to the side.

[Sønderjye]

Bajki lets go of his banner to touch himself and mumble some words. He then graps his stick and loudly shouts "Arghh!". His very inspiring well-thought words rallies your spirit and you feel the urge to hit harder.

Standard action: Cast hide from animals(which works on plants due to class feature)
Concentration to cast: [roll0]

Swift: Activation sound the charge. Upon ending turn uses immediate action to activate badge of valor
Total modifiers to allies within 60 feet.
+12 untyped to hit
+12 untyped to damage(note not specify weapon damage)
+60 feet speed if charging
Morale
+2 to hit
+2 to weapon damage
+2 savign throws against fear and charm

[Gunhaven]

As Bakji touched himself and the shattered remains of the tree are lit on fire a similar scream and sob are heard from deeper within the forest. Out of the corner of your eyes you see a few humanoid figures off in the distance that appear to have viewed the fight. As the fight dies down the trees around the group seem to stir, either through the wind, the demon's influence, or some sinister magic, and shake off some of the dust from the obliterated tree.

[Blade Conduit]

Fluffy having all encompassingly lost himself to the shiny light that was bouncing back and forth completely missed the presence and then demolition of said "awakened" tree. Now coming out of his revelry he looks over at the rest of the group and at the pieces of wood and detritus floating about and turns his head to the side, "Did I miss something?"

Sorry I had one of "those" days, first one of the new year. Hopefully everything is fixed now and life can continue as it should.

[radthemad4]

"Nah, you didn't miss much. Carcharodon just supplemented his diet with some fiber."

Tim casts Detect Thoughts (DC 19) on the humanoid figures and concentrates on it, moving closer if necessary (60 ft range)

[Gunhaven]

Before the humanoids disappear you catch the briefest glimmer of thought. At least something in the area is intelligent! Unfortunately the creatures move a good deal faster than Tim's able to, not to mention having an understanding of the canopy they live in.

[radthemad4]

Tim tries to find out if there are any creatures with an Int score of 1 or higher within 100 ft of him other than his party members. (100 ft telepathy + mindsight). If he finds any, he points Detect Thoughts at them.

[Gunhaven]

There are a slew of vermins, birds, and other creatures circling the party. After a few seconds of concentration the general consensus is one of fear toward the God Emperor of Sharkkind, curiosity at the newcomers, and general hunger that most base animals suffer from. Higher thought processes can't be found beyond the party.

You think you can sense a couple trees with some thought processes but then again the trees don't seem to be thinking anything even if they are alive.

[AngryCyc]

"Hrm. Come on then. Lets get to sky rock already. Binky needs to see if it's flammable..." Binky says, pointing the party back towards their destination. He begins using his speed and flight to scout ahead of the party a bit so that any more ambushes might be prevented.

[carnivoroustofu]

Carcharodon snaps a twig off a nearby tree and busies himself with picking splinters out between his teeth as he casually salts the remains with the other hand. "Hmph, we had an audience it seems. No matter, they will have nowhere to hide when all of this forest is in ashes."

[Blade Conduit]

"Ashes and dust, sounds like a great place to take a... he pauses, watching the tiny goblin take to the air, "Where was I?"

Fluffy stretches and begins trotting along after the flying contraption.

[Gunhaven]

As the party follows the direction of the goblin strapped to the Vulture they make steady progress toward their destination. From the corner of their eyes they can see humanoids in the canopy keeping an eye on the party but never getting close enough for an attack or to get a clear view on who's watching them. After what feels like an eternity but is in reality only around fifteen minutes the forest subtly shifts with the constant companions of the vermin and birds disappearing.
Can I get everyone to make another round of Perception checks?

[AngryCyc]

Binky grows suspicious(er) of the forest as it grows silent. He strains his eyes and ears to notice anything (more) out of place.

perception [roll0]

[Blade Conduit]

Fluffy becomes noticeably irritated by the watching eyes and attempts to get a good whiff of what they might smell like.

[roll0]

[radthemad4]

Tim raises an eyebrow and squints as he looks around, also on the lookout for any stray thoughts.

[roll0]

[carnivoroustofu]

Carcharodon stops salting the trail behind them as he notes the change in ambiance around them.

[roll0]

[Sønderjye]

Bajki dust off leaves and dust before following the party. He's pleased that they are so enthusiastic about burning the forest.

Perception [roll0]
Note that I wouldn't mind if you rolled the perception checks as they fall under my idea of passive checks.

Also hide from plants works for another 70 minutes.

[Gunhaven]

Through keen eyes and experience both Bajki and Blinky see that a few of the trees aren't moving with the slight breeze like those around them. While Tim can't see which trees are moving he knows that some of them in the general vicinity are thinking about defending something further ahead. Charcharodon and Fluffy don't notice the animated trees but do notice an increase in spider webs far above them. As if the cherry on top, Blinky can see something shiny a quarter mile away that looks as if it crashed into the forest relatively recently.

[AngryCyc]

Binky swings low to the group again. "Heads up, more trees ahead that'll want to attack." he says, pointing out the suspicious trees. He then flies up high above the tree tops so that he might rush some of the animated trees himself from a good vantage point as the party approaches.

[Blade Conduit]

At the mere mention of trees and attack Fluffy is smashed upside the head with a memory from his recent past.

His arms and legs are pinned to ground by vines. His head while being smashed to the ground is pointed towards the brutality unfolding before him. Old Lady McWitch is being held up by two trees with all four limbs being pulled in different directions. The sadistic hag Sabrina, the teenage witch, is watching gleefully as Old Lady writhes in pain. "You are old, Old Lady McWitch and I am young so I am taking your land and your place as the supreme witch in these parts." She takes a willow switch and begins whipping Old Lady mercilessly. Try as he might Fluffy can't get free and although he doesn't want to watch he can't close his eyes. Finally, after what seems like an eternity, Sabrina mounts her broomstick and calls out to the trees "Pull her apart and then kill the cat." and with that she rides off into the sky. As the trees begin to pull Old Lady apart she looks towards Fluffy and mouths the simple phrase "Avenge me.." The last thing Fluffy hears is Old Lady screaming out "Oh the shrubberies, why the shrubberies?" The next instant his mind is a complete see of calm and tranquility. He sees a giant ball of yarn in a vast sea of green grass and he plays with the yarn as though he is again a kitten without a single care in the world. The problems of his past are miles away and all that lies before him is happiness and fun.

Slowly the grass melts away and Fluffy sees the vast carnage before him. Not only is his beloved Old Lady McWitch dead but so apparently are the trees that killed her and every other piece of flora for a quarter mile in any direction. His only clue are the bits of bark and leaves stuck between his teeth and nails. And although he is greatly tired he gently carries the pieces of Old Lady McWitch to the sandbox in the back yard and buries her. After he kicks the last bit of sand over her he burns their hut down to the ground and makes his way to city. His only goal in life is to the be the last thing Sabrina, the teenage witch, sees before a very long and painful death takes her.

As the memory fades Fluffy can begin to feel the blood boil in his veins. "I will kill every tree I see if it brings me closer to that evil vileness Sabrina," and his voice gets lower as he almost spits out the last part "the teenage witch."

A little bit of backstory and a prelude to most likely going Ragetastic on some trees in a second. :smallfurious:

[Sønderjye]

Great, because trees are inbound. He says as he walks towards the assault.

Ready action: Use the boost morale thingy if any of his friends attack.
+10 untyped to hit
+10 untyped to damage(note not specify weapon damage)
+50 feet speed if charging
Morale
+2 to hit
+2 to weapon damage
+2 savign throws against fear and charm

[carnivoroustofu]

"There may be more than trees awaiting us in the future, I fear everything in the forest is colluding against our grand crusade to destroy the tyranny of the trees. The white gossamer threads of spiders line the trees ahead."

[Sønderjye]

Well we would have known if soooomeone He takes a moment to look directly at the cat, leaving no doubts of who "someone" is before continuing, hadn't killed that other tree..

[Gunhaven]

As you follow the others (assumingly) you notice four minds blip on your Detect Thoughts radar. Two of the minds are up ahead, presumably the trees, and are thinking of defense. Two of them are coming from above in the canopy and are curious about what's going on.
The group is warned in advance of the perimeter around the target as they approach it. Through Blinky, Bajki, and (if he decides to tell) Tim they can safely mark the trees that should be awaiting to defend what lays beyond. The rustling of the leaves, Charcharodon's concern above, and (if he decides to tell as well) Tim's findings showed that there may be someone or something above as well.
Gonna make this easier than the last time: Y'all can get the first round since you're well aware of the trees and they can't exactly move from their spot.

[radthemad4]

Tim informs the others of the positions of the minds he detects. He points Detect Thoughts to the minds above in the canopy and tries to contact Binky telepathically (if he's within 100 ft of him).

"We've got company above the canopy. Can you see them?"

[Sønderjye]

Bajki readies himself as trees draw close. When they emerge he slams his staff into the ground and shouts "You shall not pass!".
A Jack-o'-Lantern appears from the undergrowth and sprouts a cone of fiery DEATH. It looks spooky(and sadly requires everyone within 20 ft to make a will save(fear) against 13)

Swift: Activate Inspiring Command, sound the charge.
Full: Sacrificing domain spell to cast summon nature's ally to summon a Jack-o'-Lantern.
Lantern uses it's breath weapon. 20 ft cone, ideally hitting as many trees as possible. [roll0] fire damage, reflex 12 to half damage.
turns until usable again [roll1]

+10 untyped to hit
+10 untyped to damage(note not specify weapon damage)
+50 feet speed if charging
Morale
+2 to hit
+2 to weapon damage
+2 savign throws against fear and charm

[radthemad4]

It looks spooky(and sadly requires everyone within 20 ft to make a will save(fear) against 13)Is 1 an auto fail? In case it is, [roll0].

K, no worries then.

[AngryCyc]

Binky hovers around the canopy looking down to try to see what the strange voice in his head may have been talking about. He makes low pass-by's over the canopy as he continues searching.

[Blade Conduit]

[roll0] well.. this is interesting.

Fluffy seems to completely miss the reference to his killing of anything because the instant he sees the jack o lantern he becomes intensely afraid.

"Somebody make it go away!! Make the scary glowy fire head go away!! He raises himself up onto his feet and his hair begins to stand on end as he begins to hiss quietly at the glowing jack o lantern.

[carnivoroustofu]

Will [roll0]

Carcharodon steps away from the jack-o-lantern's cone of flame with some distaste. "Yes yes, keep that pointed away from us please." Dehydrating heat and plants, hardly a combination of his favourite things.

[Gunhaven]

The trees seem to screech as several leaves catch fire and the two animated ones attempt, and fail, to smash the pumpkin. Meanwhile from above a voice calls out in common with a hint of something being wrong, almost like it wasn't entirely humanoid, "What is your business in our forest? Do you mean to put an end to these experiments?"

[radthemad4]

"Depends on what you mean by 'these experiments'. Also, we're looking for Blackshield. Heard of him?"

Tim points Detect Thoughts towards the voices.

[carnivoroustofu]

Carcharodon keeps his distance away from the animated trees as he yells out in a loud voice. "Indeed, you'll have to clarify yourself. We are outsiders to this land; what are these 'experiments' that you speak off." Carcharodon waves a hand rapidly as he tries to signal the others not to completely destroy the trees before they managed to draw information from the voice.

[Gunhaven]

From above the group the voice says "The flora and fauna; trees shouldn't be moving and animals shouldn't have growths. The Rock did it and we wish for it to end." From above and behind the group a female voice says "Blackshield respects the forest. More than that fool Bazzak."

[radthemad4]

Ignore this

[radthemad4]

"Tell us more about Blackshield, Bazzak and the rock."

[Sønderjye]

Yeah I'd like to hear about that too. Bajki casually adds in before he conjures another lantern. He has a displeased look on his face as he sees it sprout from the ground. Also you might want to step a little away from the lanterns.

Stopped the command. Lingering command allows it to continue this round and one more.
Since I'm not directly attacking the trees Hide from plants isn't broken

Full-round: Sacrifice Burst of Needles to cast Summon Monster III, another lantern (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/plants/jack-o--lantern)!.

Lantern1: Full attack:
Bite: [roll0] dmg [roll1]
Slam: [roll2] dmg [roll3] in addition to a reflex DC 14 or entangled for [roll4] rounds.
If it's too far away it uses it's more or 5ft step to move closer.

Lantern2: FIERY BREATH
20 ft cone, reflex DC 12 half [roll5]

Remember that they explode when hit.

[Gunhaven]

Both trees screech as a second wave of fire washes over them from the new Jack o' Lantern. In a fit of rage they smash into the pumpkin that attempts to move into closer range and crush it beneath branch and singed leaf. The pumpkin in question explodes in a fiery circle that burns further trees' bark.

From above the canopy says "Bazzak uses the forest for profit, making ships to pirate the river. Lumberjacks are his lackeys. We attempt to stop them. Blackshield prefers to stay in his fort and speak loudly. He doesn't harvest...yet but everyone does in the end. Rock fell a week ago and creatures have turned fauna into fungi and flora into guardians. We appreciate the aid against Bazzak but don't like the methods." Two minds are present to the detect thoughts, both curious at the interlopers and hoping. They are hurt by the death of trees but obviously aren't too hurt because they haven't decided to attack yet.

Trees:
Saves versus Fire (because I forgot to roll the first time): #1 [roll0] #2 [roll1]
Saves versus Fire: #1 [roll2] #2 [roll3]
Saves versus Entangling in case it's needed: #1 [roll4] #2 [roll5]

Canopy:
Saves versus Detect Thought: #1 [roll6] #2 [roll7] #3 [roll8]
Saves versus suspected future Will effect (so I don't have to do it in the future): #1 [roll9] #2 [roll10] #3 [roll11]

Attacks (because the Jack is Reach 10 and the Trees are Reach 15):
TREE 1 SMASH! Attack: [roll12] Damage: [roll13]
Attack: [roll14] Damage: [roll15]

TREE 2 SMASH! Attack: [roll16] [roll17]
Attack: [roll18] Damage: [roll19]

[radthemad4]

"Where can we find this rock?"

[carnivoroustofu]

"A rock that can make the trees active and hostile... What a strange occurrence indeed." Carcharodon pondered on the potential applications of such an unusual object.

[Gunhaven]

The canopy says "The rock fell from the sky a week ago. It's a minute away for us before the clearing it and the creatures within made." The trees have taken a significant beating with something from above causing a downpour of rain on the non-sentient trees so that the fire doesn't spread much further.

[Sønderjye]

Why don't you come down here and talk? There's more to this than you know Bajki asks with a sincere face.

[Gunhaven]

After another gout of flame causes the two tree guards to collapse in smoldering embers the voice says "We will stay up here. The way forward is clear of trees, follow the clear path in the canopy. We will wait to insure that you are true friends before revealing ourselves." With a rustle and flash of steel the webs coating the canopy start to part about a foot and moving northwest at a surprisingly quick pace.

[Sønderjye]

Those poor souls Bajki says with a sad expression, following the sound of the things leaving. They have no idea of what blessing the rock is to them.
He then starts walking towards the rock.

[carnivoroustofu]

"Hmph. I am in favour of following them though I would not let my guard down. There has to be some reason why they can't handle a rock on their own." Carcharodon thinks aloud as he performs his usual salting procedures on the still burning husks.

[radthemad4]

"I doubt they're going anywhere." Tim checks their minds to try his best to confirm this. "Rockwards, Ho!"

[Gunhaven]

The forest is largely the same for the next minute and a half, the path remaining what appears to be a straight path. Then, just as suddenly as they started, the path comes to a halt. Once the party approaches the end of the trail they see why; 50 feet ahead the forest seems to form a solid wall with no means to enter. From above the voice says "The Rock is beyond this wall. It formed after it fell and we have no way to get past it beyond divinations."

[carnivoroustofu]

"Hm... Some kind of unnatural wall of trees huh. Well this looks to be right up Binky's specialty."

[AngryCyc]

Binky flies clear over the walls and searches the trees below for signs of the rock or for other paths in.

[Gunhaven]

As you fly over the wall you see the clearing a foot past the wall. Through your keen eyes you can see what appears to be a large object in the center unlike any rock you've seen before. It glints in the sun like metal and is too rectangular to be a natural object. Further observation reveals a strange reflection, only further confirmed when you realize there's blood stains floating in the air; apparently there's a pane of glass or something transparent. Finally you notice something...unnatural moving below at the back of the ship. It's clearly not of this world, the size of a human with a bulbous fungoid lump for a head, spiny insectoid wings, and a tangle of spiky, clawed legs attached to a gaunt and graceful form.

[AngryCyc]

Binky is unnerved by what he sees. He lands back down amongst the party and quickly describes what he saw. Burn way through wall then? Or... other approach? Binky unsure here..." he says, still unnerved and looking to the others for guidance. Out of his league and aware of it, Binky relies on the others who seem to have better planning and knowledge of these sorts of things.

Nah just kidding. He starts gathering kindling and dried leaves and branches to make the most kickass forest fire yet.

[radthemad4]

If Tim senses any minds past it, he tries to use Detect Thoughts on them (60 ft range, the spell can penetrate barriers, but 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt blocks it.).

"Hmm... perhaps we should try to find out more about the nature of this wall."

Tim strokes his chin as he studies the wall.

Knowledge Checks, taking 10
Arcana: 28
Nature: 31

[Sønderjye]

Binky could you fly up and see what's on the other side? Bajki asks the goblin, considering his options and stroking his chin to show how deep his thoughts are.

[carnivoroustofu]

"Some kind of foul being, possibly an aberration of some form, I would guess. Let's try the most direct approach." Carcharodon walks up to the wall and after inspecting it for any obvious dangers or weak spots, tries his hand at prying the trees apart.


perception [roll0]
strength check for break [roll1]

[Gunhaven]

The wall appears to be your garden variety trees with nothing terribly wrong with them except the fact that they seem to have grown into a solid wall of plant mass. What is odd is the fact that detect thoughts stops about seven inches into the barrier; in fact any sort of divination effects stop at that point (those that are blocked by materials at least). The only minds are the two things up top who are ready to rid these woods of this menace.

Edit: The wall parts where it's struck. After a few strikes in the same place it's soon revealed that there's metal behind the wall of wood, oddly metalic. Knowledge reveals that it's not from this world, clearly one of the sky metals more often found in famed Numeria to the north.

[Sønderjye]

I doubt it being an abberation. What's more likely is that it's some sort of anti-illusion stone that has caused the world-tree's illusion to faulter and now the world tree have set this ring around to try to make us believe that the stone is responsible for the acts of it's minions.

[AngryCyc]

"...So. Burn it?"

Binky starts lighting the wall on fire.

[Sønderjye]

Sure sounds the reply

[Gunhaven]

The voices occasionally douse wayward flames as the false wall burns away. Slowly but surely it becomes apparent that it was nothing more than a ruse as the metal wall runs the length of the trees and forms a solid barrier nearly thirty feet high. Closer examination reveals it to be eerily like Adamantine but to see so much of the rare metal seems odd to say the least.

[Sønderjye]

​Binky could you fly up and see what's on the other side please?

[carnivoroustofu]

Carcharodon walks along the length of the wall, ripping away wood and bark and tossing it over shoulder unceremoniously as he went. "I would be surprised if there was no chink in the wall somewhere."

He's looking for any sign of a door or entry way.

[Gunhaven]

After searching for a couple of minutes Carcharodon finds a protrusion on the wall. Closer examination of it reveals it to be rectangular and about the size of his hand with 10 buttons arranged in a 2 by 5 pattern, each of the buttons have a rune on it that is subtly different than the others, and a clear piece of what appears to be tinted glass above the top row of buttons. A few feet away reveals the smallest crack (barely a nail's length) running ten feet up, then horizontal for three feet, before running vertically again to the ground.

[radthemad4]

Tim examines the protrusion, scratching his chin harder in an effort to appear more thoughtful than Bajki. However, he accidentally knocks his false moustache off, hastily putting it back on upside down.

Knowledge Arcana (taking 10): 28
Knowledge Engineering (taking 10): 25
Linguistics (for runes): [roll0]

[Sønderjye]

Bajki is impressed with how thoughtful Tim looks and it inspires him to actually start thinking. Does anyone have teleportation magic or a paticular knack for digging tunnels?

[radthemad4]

"I've got Boots of Escape, but they only work once a day and can only transport one. If one of you wishes to volunteer, I could lend them to you, but we have no idea what's in there, so I wouldn't recommend that." Tim looks at Bajki. "Can you summon an Earth Elemental?" (Summon Monster 2)

[Sønderjye]

Earth elementals doesn't leave tunnels Bajki answers with a sad expression.

[radthemad4]

"Gods damn it!" Tim throws his moustache on the floor. He looks sheepish for a moment. "Er... that was... an illusion... to better express my RAGE..." He puts it back on. "I suppose we could all try digging ourselves... though I have no idea how long that'll take."

[Gunhaven]

After studying the runes you realize you have no idea what they could mean. While you examine it you do come to the realization that it is a mechanical lock of sorts, although something you've never seen before. No magic radiates from any of it at least. At mention of digging, and presumably moving some dirt with your hand or foot, you realize that the wall continues further down until you either grow tired or too much time passes for casual observation.

[radthemad4]

While you examine it you do come to the realization that it is a mechanical lock of sorts, although something you've never seen before.

"Okay, we're clearly dealing with a doohicky with a bunch of whatsits on it. If we adjust the internal aether levels, we might be able to catalyze enough phlogiston to reverse the polarity." Tim dismisses detect thoughts, and fiddles with the lock.

Disable Device (taking 10): 25
If it doesn't work, (taking 20): 35

[Gunhaven]

At first you attempt to adjust the whozits by fiddling with the whatzits, attempting to pry off the protusion to poke around inside. Unfortunately it's welded on tight and you're inevitably forced to fiddle with the screen. When you hit any of the top 8 buttons you see that rune pop up on the screen above in a glowing red light while the bottom left button clears it and the bottom right clears it while making an obnoxious buzzing sound.
Eventually ([roll0] minutes later) you try different combinations and eventually you get lucky, after alerting everything in the general vicinity that you're fiddling with the lock. When you do manage to succeed through dumb luck and willpower the cracks next to you make a clicking sound and the section of wall cut out descends into the earth. Beyond lays the Rock, clearly an unnatural object because of its rectangular shape and metalic gleam, like that of the wall. The rest of the clearing is filled with objects that almost seem fitting for an alchemist lab or the back of a Bob's Magic Mart. There is no initial movement that can be detected.

[carnivoroustofu]

"Excellent! Onwards we go!" Carcharodon strides straight into the room purposefully as soon as the opening was fully revealed, with nary a fear in the world.

[AngryCyc]

Binky shrugs and guides the vulture through, flying along inside the structure. He circles along the top letting the others filter in.

[radthemad4]

Tim casts Detect Magic and walks in, examining the various doodads littering the place and the oddly shaped giant rock.

"The rock they were talking about, I presume. Seems to be more metallic than any rock I've seen."

Taking 10:
Perception: 22
Knowledge
-Arcana: 28
-Engineering: 25
-Planes: 28

[Sønderjye]

Alright team, hurt anything but the rock. I'm certain it isn't what the tree-huggers think it to. Bajki says, before using detect magic on the rock. He's aware that the results he gets might be a strong illusion from the World-Tree but he tries anyway.
Taking 10 spellcraft for 21

[Gunhaven]

While the Rock itself isn't magical several of the beakers radiate a myriad of auras. For another half minute the area remains silent before the door closes behind the group and relocks with a loud click. A few seconds pass before there's the sound of static then the sound of slow clapping radiating from the Rock itself.
A voice issued from it in strangely accented Common that can't quite be placed "So you found our ship and got inside our clearing. Tell you what, leave this area and kill those pesky spiders that live in the trees outside and we'll reward you." You can almost swear it started as mocking then moved on to a more serious and business-like tone.

[carnivoroustofu]

Carcharodon huffs and folds his arms across his chest. "Why don't we start with who are 'we' and what do you have to offer?"

[Sønderjye]

"What he said!", Bajki wisely agrees with Carcharodon

[radthemad4]

Tim nods in agreement. He wonders for a moment whether or not the voice can see him nodding. "Yeah, start talking."

[Gunhaven]

With a laugh the Rock says "We are travelers and scholars. We offer gifts if you accept our offer and rid our testing grounds of the pests." A minute pasts before one of the flasks that radiates magic floats toward Bajki, most likely from a Mage Hand spell and not any sort of invisible or ethereal enemy, with the voice saying "We can show you if you want. Simply pour this on your companion."

[radthemad4]

Tim is intrigued by the offer, but is hesitant to instantly trust a giant metal rock to keep its word. He casts Detect Thoughts again (DC 19), tries to gauge the truth of their words and get a hunch about the situation. (The impossible bloodline lets him treat constructs as living creatures for determining which spells affect them, in case it's an AI or something)

Sense Motive (taking 10): 22

"Why are you animating the local plant life?"

He contacts Bajki telepathically. "If you don't want to risk any harm to your companion, we could test it on something from my Bag of Tricks."

[Sønderjye]

More interestingly, how were you able to break the World Trees illusion? Bajki asks

Go ahead is his answer

[radthemad4]

Tim nods, and hands Bajki his Bag of Tricks (Tan) (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/wondrous-items/wondrous-items/a-b/bag-of-tricks).

(I'm guessing it takes a standard action to use, and I don't want to dismiss Detect Thoughts just yet)

[Gunhaven]

Their thoughts are purely business with no hint of malevolence or trickery. It seems they really do want to just help the group get rid of the pests outside. They make no move to stop the concoction from being poured onto an animal from the bag of tricks and instead says "We are testing new concoctions. We hoped that it would animate the flora and it appears we were correct. If you wish to then we can provide several vials of it for your own personal experimentation. The fauna was simply an ongoing project."

When the concoction is poured onto the grizzly bear two things happen. First several boils form on the grizzly bear where it was poured onto. A few seconds pass as the boils slowly evolve into sacs that stand about 8 inches tall and are perfect spheres connected by a film of white skin. A half minute passes before the first of these spheres breaks away and forms a Floating Fungus, drifting through the air. A couple of minutes later it becomes clear that the concoction has a side effect of turning the grizzly bear into a fungoid monster, something that the voice says "That side effect won't happen with your companion. It's simply something that occurs to normal animals."

Animal is a... [roll0]
The concoction caused the animal to birth a Puffball (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/druid/animal-companions). Then it acquired the Fungal Creature (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/templates/fungal-creature) template.

[carnivoroustofu]

"... I would think twice before splashing foreign fluids of unknown origin on something you care about." Carcharodon remarks before announcing "So.. what are your plans now that you've succeeded in animating plants. Surely you didn't come all this way to do that just for kicks."

[Sønderjye]

Also is it you who created the plants that are rampaging the forest?

[Gunhaven]

With a laugh the Rock said "We were in the process of leaving when you arrived. I doubt there's a market for substances that animate plants here. We are the ones who animated the trees and turned the animals into fungi, yes."

[Sønderjye]

Are you also the ones who have given the trees souls, ability to express pain and blood? He continues. He knows that this is not their doing but want to examine how deep the WT's mind control have spread.

[Gunhaven]

As the conversation continues eventually the bear disappears as the bag that had brought it into being ends. The voice meanwhile says "What is a soul? We animated them and gave them intelligence, letting them feel but that was merely a byproduct of the formula. Perhaps the next batch will have lower base intelligence so that they more readily follow our directives."

[radthemad4]

"You've never heard of souls? A soul is... er... that... um part of you that doesn't exist in this plane, defines who you are, exists in the astral plane and allows you to exist and even brought back to life after your mortal shell expires. So, what do you know of these spiders? How have they been inconveniencing you? Can you give us anything that will help us defeat them?"

[Sønderjye]

What did you use for doing that?

[Gunhaven]

Five vials shuffle on the tables, slowly getting moved to a tray that is then lifted toward the general location of the group, with the Rock saying "We offer you these concoctions. Each are labeled with what we believe are your strong points." A few seconds pass before a separate force moving a few remaining vials on the table and forming a loose coalition before the Rock continues "We used these to animate the trees. We suspect they are soulless; we didn't account for that variable in our experiment because we didn't see the need to revive trees after they had been slayed."

[carnivoroustofu]

"Curious..." Carcharodon takes a vial of supposed performance enhancement fluid and several tree animating serums. The xenotech could be more closely examined later. "I suppose the spiders were part of experiments gone wrong too?"

[radthemad4]

Tim pockets his vial. He contacts Binky telepathically, "Binky, if you studied this stuff carefully, do you think you could develop an antidote?"

[Sønderjye]

Hmm so that stuff can disrupt the illusion. Bajki concludes. ​How do they work and how do you make it?

[AngryCyc]

Binky looks at Tim confusedly, then a look of anger and determination spreads across his face.

Binky dismounts from his bird, and beckons her to fly a slight ways away from the vile poison. He summons his familiar again, disgustingly expelling a pulsating, tumorous mass from his body once more. He bends low over the monkey and whispers to it "Forgive Binky if this goes wrong... Binky is sorry."

Binky then takes one of the vials and gives it to the monkey to drink, before waiting just a single second and grabbing the tumor familiar and forcing it back into his own body as the vial takes effect.

Finally answering Tim, Binky replies "Binky not smart enough to. But Binky's body might be strong enough to on it's own!" A second later, he falls down, by all visible means appearing to be dead. The hovering vulture observes all this and then calmly grabs his unmoving master off the ground and carefully guards him, eyeing the rest of the party.

So tumor familiar drinks, and then Binky rejoins with the familiar. Familiar gains Fast Healing 5 while attached to Binky. Binky has +4 against all poisons and disease (which somehow I think this might maybe a little bit count as?) bringing any fort saves up to a +11 if needed.

Binky then put himself into a state of suspended animation as a move action, and is then unconscious and appears completely dead; he awakens at a preset time (1 hour) or in response to a condition set by him when he enters this state (if the vulture wakes him up. It's a smart bird. It knows these things already.)

So uh. Heh. I guess you'll have fun deciding what happens to a tumor familiar who ingests that stuff, and then is instantly splooshed back inside an alchemist, who instantly puts himself into suspended animation.

[Gunhaven]

By some dumb luck, fate, divine intervention, or maybe just DM fiat Binky's familiar manages to grab the right one. When it downs it it starts to warm up. When it rejoins with Binky the area starts to almost burn before Binky goes into suspended animation and stops the spread of the poison, the single spot on his flesh being as hot as the embers of a campfire.

The Rock waits a second before it says "We make it through complex formulas and mixing of exotic ingredients that we've gathered in our journeys. Which is why we needed to test the animation elixir on the trees here. The pests are native to the area and have refused to accept our aid."

[Sønderjye]

In another world, in another realm, in a more serious game Bajki would have knelt down beside Binky. He would have tried to wake him, become horrified when he weren't able to, poured healing magic into the goblin and eventually screamed at the rock and conjured magic enough to leave the rock only as a memory of once was in the middle of what would become known as the Echo Crater.

However as it is he looked at his comrades "Do any of you have any of that stinky thingy that can wake people?" He then turned to the rock and walked closer to the rock" How? With magic or with alchemy? Also what'll happen to him?

[radthemad4]

"Maybe. I keep forgetting what I put into this thing. Let me check. Ah, here we go."

Tim pulls out Smelling Salts (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/equipment---final/goods-and-services/herbs-oils-other-substances#TOC-Smelling-Salts), opens the bottle and holds it near the unconscious goblin's nose.

[carnivoroustofu]

Carcharodon cringes at the smell of burning flesh. It was probably best to stay away and give the goblin some air. It also helped to not be too close should the goblin continue to burst into flames without further warning.

"Well you've appeared to have succeeded in your aims of getting the trees to move. What are your plans? Will you be vacating this place soon?"

[radthemad4]

Tim tries using prestidigitation (Apprentice's Cheating Gloves (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/wondrous-items/wondrous-items/e-g/gloves-apprentice-s-cheating)) to get the smell of the salts into Binky's respiratory system. If it doesn't work, he uses Detect Magic on Binky, and tries to figure out whether a potion of lesser restoration or remove paralysis would be of any help.

Taking 10,
Spellcraft 29
Knowledge
-Arcana 28
-Nature 31

[Gunhaven]

Despite the best laid plans, Binky's triggers aren't met and he remains still. There does seem to be the slightest twitch when the smelling salts are forced into his body but he quickly returns to his deep slumber. The Rock says "The concoctions are through alchemy. Past natives have called it magic; however we do not involve any ritual or prayer in our creation, simply science. We plan on leaving in a week. We are making the final changes before we depart."

[carnivoroustofu]

Carcharodon turns to the rest of the group with what passes for a frown on his piscine face. "Well, what do you all think? Spiders or rocks?"

[Sønderjye]

How do they work and how do you make them Bajki repeats

[Gunhaven]

The Rock seems to either not hear the Shark-Emperor's comment or not care about their decision; safe in their strangely shaped rock. To Bajki's question they say with some confusion "We are unsure what the confusion is. We believe that alchemy is performed on this world. Mixing of chemicals, judging the reactions between the components, testing the mixture to see what the concoction does. Are you asking to receive a copy of our formula book in this language?"

[Sønderjye]

Yes Bajki answers

[Gunhaven]

A rumble issues from the Rock before a small slot slides up and a book pops out, falling onto the ground a few inches from it. The Rock then said "You may keep it. We wrote it in a language that we believe your kind understands. We only ask that if you further experiment with them or on them you remember us." The book itself is a simple leather-bound novel several hundred pages long. Upon opening it you realize it looks like an Alchemist's formula book, yet somehow more complex. Using Read Magic reveals that it's a seemingly more advanced form of the Golarian's equivalent with some of the formula written discussing comparable effects to the most mighty of Arcane and Divine spells.

[Sønderjye]

Thank you, he says to the rock before turning to his party members. What do you think?

[radthemad4]

Thank you, he says to the rock before turning to his party members. What do you think?"Well then, let's get spider slaying."

Telepathically,

"Let's go see if we can find Blackshield and see what he knows."

[Gunhaven]

The door opened behind the group as it appeared that a decision was being made. The Rock said "We will wait for you to finish terminating the pests before we leave this land. We thank you again for your aid in this matter."

[Sønderjye]

Bajki pokes Binky and looks at his bird, hoping that it'll understand that he wants it to wake him up.

[AngryCyc]

The bird flaps over, grabs the immobile goblin, and with a look that almost registers as a sigh, picks him up and flies along with him just behind the rest of the party.

[radthemad4]

"Right then, to Blackshield's fort. The spiders didn't really tell us where it was come to think about it. Hey Binky, do you remember..." he looks to Binky and remembers... "Oh... right." He looks to the vulture and strokes his chin. He opens his mouth and pauses for a second, and then decides to go for it anyway. "Kazu right? Do you remember seeing a fort anywhere? If not, could you fly up and look around? Don't worry, we'll take care of your master."

If not,

"Well, I suppose we'd better go find the spiders then and ask for directions."

[AngryCyc]

The bird looks around, still holding Binky, then flies up in he air to scout around for something it recognizes to report back to the others.

[Sønderjye]

So when he said that it was smart, do you think that he ment that it was smart or do you think that he ment that it was smart compared to him? Bajki asks, partly to himself as he follows the bird with his eyes. Can you see the fort he shouts to it

[Gunhaven]

In the distance the bird can see a clearing, obviously man-made with the presence of simple wooden buildings. The town itself is fairly large, especially considering the decision to build it in the middle of a forest full of demon trees infested with creepy talking spiders (or what can only be assumed are creepy talking spiders since the tricksters won't leave the canopy), and seems to be doing alright for itself. A quick consultation of a map reveals that it should indeed by Thornkeep unless a new village popped up in the accursed woods.