12. April 10, 2010

The Party begins its search for the tree. Gunter recalls that one of the larger Yaunti Malison at the tombs has a distinctive scar on his tail and that he leaves singed marks in his wake wherever his tail touches the ground or vegetation. He spots this Yaunti and a companion in the forest and they are moving slowly and apparently looking for something. The group decides to track and follow the pair. It looks as though they are moving in generally one directly, but making circles around a straight line in 250 yard circuits of exactly the same size. Kayla is of the opinion that they are searching for something using this pattern. The Party decides to ambush them. Glowen kills the smaller Yaunti Fangblade and knocks out the larger Yaunti Ignan. The Party interrogates the Yaunti Ignan (a Salamander-hybrid) who immediately claims that he was being held captive by the Yaunti Fangblade. The story holds up, and it turns out that he is from the volcano and was given to the service of the other Yaunti as part of a pact made by their superiors. The Yaunti Fangblade carries a small bag containing a stone that has runes written in infernal and is an ancient Nemian artifact. He said that they were performing a ceremony to try to summon a fire creature. He also tells of rumors of an undersea volcano somewhere in the northwest where the fish people live, and he wants to go there because things are going very bad on the island. The Party offers to free him if he helps to free the elder tree. He refuses because he is sure that he will be killed by the Blackroot Interrogator who now has the elder tree, but that he will show the Party where the elder tree has been taken. The Party decides to let the Ignan go after he tells them where to get the elder tree, although Kayla follows him to ensure that he really does leave. As he's leaving, he tells the Party party to look up Westex if they ever go back to the volcano, and tell him that "The Great and Powerful Ignatius" sent them.

The Party captures another Yaunti Fangblade and takes an additional rune stone. They then make their way to the Blackroot Treant Interrogator. They defeat many Twig Blights and Kayla fells the tree by "splitting" it. The elder tree is in poor shape and is suffering ongoing necrotic damage, but Darwynn helps to heal it.

Items Acquired:

• • 1 Stone of Wind + 1 Additional Stone (part of a set of 7 stones called the Fortune Stones) - grant re-rolls with a bonus up to the number of stones possessed (minimum of two), and if there are 5 or more then those who hold them get a +2 initiative bonus and a +1 bonus to all saving throws