The situation is dire for our heroes. Alora, Nom, Dorus, and Fay are “safe” within a dome of force, unable to see past a thick cloud of fog that surrounds them. Mokon lies face down in a pit of mud and dirt surrounded by six prisoners of equally unfortunate fates. Cackles, howls, and growls surround the group with, what sounds like, hundreds of enemies. Enemies that have little desire to keep the group alive. Enemies that have little desire to keep their own allies alive. A dire situation indeed. A battle that cannot be won by force. An impossible fight against a ravaging horde. Death is all but certain unless the group uses their wits instead of their brawn.
I’m curious to see what happens… aren’t you? Let’s continue…
As the BOP weigh out their options they hear the (still unnamed) leader of the gnolls grunts out single sentences in an attempt to weaken the group’s resolve. “What was your plan meat? Why are you here? Become one of us… one of Yeenoghu’s horde.” Dorus replies, “How about we make a deal… leave this ruined grove… I know a place where you can go.” The response -- an abrasive laugh that starts with the leader and expands until the entire druid grove is filled with hyenic frenzy. Weapons and claws scrape the outside of the impenetrable dome. Glimpses of clawed hands and matted fur swirl in and out of the thick magical fog that surrounds them making it impossible for the group to see the physical location of their foes. Realizing that living in an eight-foot-wide dome with three other people indefinitely is not a valid option, Fay dispurses the circle of fog. Once again the group can see their grim location. Towers of flames lick the sides of their circular hut. Past the flames a horde of gnolls on every side. Past the horde of gnolls, packs of hungry hyenas dart in and out of the shadows.
The horde leader then orders, “Dig”. Three hyenas enter from the woods and begin to dig and pry at the edge of the magical dome. Unable to break through its exterior they begin to dig under the dome. Slowly the dome begins to lean. Fay, peeks her hand through the wall of the hut and lets loose a knife of ice instantly killing the three digging hyenas. The dig order is issued again as three more appear from the woods.
After a short huddle, the group's response. ATTACK! Spells begin to fly from the hut killing some members of the horde and annoying others.
“Bring them in”. The words ring loudly elevated above the chum of noise. The group turns to see. Dorus, Nom, and Alora’s horses being led into the clearing. Scratched, bitten, and scared they stand constrained. In the back, Gerald stands frightened -- his eyes darting from one gnoll to the next. Axel is nowhere to be seen.
After a short huddle, the group's response. ATTACK! A few more gnolls are hit with various spells. For every gnoll that falls -- two take its place. Infuriated that the group is not understanding the serious and deadly position they are in, the leader makes an example of their mounts (also a solid source of food for a hungry horde). Kill the horses. With a quick slash of a rusty blade, Nom’s horse falls dead. Hyenas begin to cackle in excitement for their upcoming meal. Dorus yells for his steed to run, sending another spell toward a closeby gnoll. With another quick swing of a blade and Dorus’ stallion drops to a knee, barely alive. The leader laughs at the weak attempts taken by their captives. Alora, as a last-ditch effort, yells for her pony to go. With determination in his one good eye, Wabblyknees runs into the woods in a wildly spastic pattern. Wabblyknees veers and then straightens his run, trips but recovers, and jumps when he should canter. Each time a hyena tries to bite the small-statured cob he somehow avoids any contact. The hyenas, which are typically great pack hunters, have no success in predicting the path of the small steed as it does not move in typical animal fashing -- he runs as a moth flies. Soon, Wabblyknees disappears into the darkness.
I bet the group is glad they safely sent their horses directly into a forest of teeth and hunger mere moments earlier. In hindsight, the DM is uncertain if the group has any knowledge of hyenas, their temperament, or what multiple packs of starving hyenas would do to a horse. The DM also wonders if the group knows how to phrase a question correctly, or perhaps, ingeniously a question is asked that gives the perfect answer. The answer is then remembered as FACT while the question is changed -- thus giving the wanted answer to potentially any question. For instance, the posed question (in general), “If we send our horses away will they come back or do we have to find a place to “put” them each time.” The DM responds, “Yes, we’ll assume they will find you or you can call them back.” And with that, the horses are slapped on the ass and sent into a forest of hyenas. 14 days pass and the horses are captured (not even eaten because the DM is WAY too lenient) to which the group is flabbergasted and the group whines, “You said the horses would come back if we called them or we wouldn’t have sent them.” So basically the group (or certain members of the group) are upset the horses weren’t in the grove earlier.
“Bring me the pig.” With a squeal, Gerald is lifted by the scruff of his neck and delivered to the gnoll leader. “What is this thing? Good enough to eat!” Fay, being concerned for her pet's life more than her own attempts to hide in the dimly lit dome -- hoping somebody of higher power will listen to her needs. The shadows of the dome seem to surround her making it difficult to pinpoint her exact location. Fay runs out of the dimly lit hut into a not-dimly lit grove of a hundred fires. Hundreds of eyes watch as a red-headed elf darts out of an impenetrable dome directly toward a large cackle of gnolls. A golden dart whizzes by the gnoll leader. As he drops a pig-sized mouse, Fay is there to catch him and then quickly catches herself. In a last-ditch effort to save her friend, she tosses a scratched and scared Gerald into the large prisoner pit where she knows Mokon resides.
As the hyenas continue to dig the ground under the hut is becoming more and more unstable until finally the hut can no longer stay in its original position and tilts drastically to one side. Nom and Alora tip and fall toward the wall of the dome. By luck alone Dorus manages to save them from falling out of the protective half-sphere.
During this time, Mokon is assessing his own situation, trying to find ways to help the group survive their current predicament. Inside the pit are two goblins, two gnolls, and two human females. The goblins are digging frantically at the roots of a tree excitedly chittering about knowing “she” is still here -- both of which wear a green sash around their wastes. One of the gnolls is eagerly trying to talk the horde into using his help. The other gnoll cowers in the corner barely making a sound wearing rags of green cloth. One of the women stands eyes closed crying and whispering manically to herself. And the other woman is slouched, sitting on the ground, against a wall lapsing in and out of consciousness -- she wears tattered green robes.
Mokon proceeds to do his best.
Grabbing the standing and pleading gnoll, Rikit, Mokon pulls him close. Rikit is a mass of skin and bones, he has clearly not eaten in some time. The gnoll has little interest in befriending Mokon. He wishes to return to his brethren above -- of which they have little interest. Mokon tries to pull information from the scrawny beast, but little is received except the feeling that these gnolls want nothing more than to destroy.
Mokon tries his best… again.
Sparingly using divine healing he helps the green-robed woman on the ground. She wakes, asking what is happening trying to glean any understanding of what is currently going on. She explains they have been trapped in this pit for months although she does not know an exact timetable of how long. She explains the gnolls just showed up and began slaughtering and destroying their grove. She doesn't know why. She also tells Mokon the goblins were some of the newest disciples of Eldath to show up to the grove. “Bad timing on their part.” She then drifts back to sleep.
Mokon doesn’t try too hard here.
Mokon looks in the direction of the crouched gnoll. Only briefly does the gnoll turn his head to look at Mokon. In that moment, Mokon notices a familiarity but is unable to draw any conclusion. He attempts to speak to the pitiful wretch. The response is a series of grunts and disinterest.
Mokon tries some more.
Approaching the two goblins frantically digging he overhears them talking. “We are close, I know she is here. I can feel her presence. Yes, she is close.” Mokon questions them as to who they are trying to find. “Eldath of course, she is still here… look.” The smaller of the two goblins points upward revealing a small clutch of leaves on a single branch. Looking around Mokon notices, from his lower vantage point, all of the other trees are clearly devoid of any life. He then sees the roots of this tree are precisely where the two goblins are digging. In a moment of inspiration. He begins to dig too.
As Mokon is trying his best. Fay is escorted to the oven. The oven is a large metal cage hanging directly over the fire pit of the grove. The metal floor is red hot, while the rest of the cage is burning to the touch. Fay tries to escape, but her attempts are futile. She is thrown into the oven as a thick steel chain is used to latch the cage shut. The end of the lock chain is tied tightly to the base of the oven’s hanging structure. Fay begins to cook.
Dorus, Alora, and Nom watch as the leader walks toward their dome of safety. He is angry, these sacks of meat are wasting his time. Without hesitation, he grabs a nearby ally, rips out his throat, and throws his corpse to the ground. The larger, hulking, and disfigured lieutenant, slowly walks beside his master -- tossing the dead gnoll aside. Almost instantly another of the horde begins to feast on the remains and the horde begins to chatter and cheer.
“Join us or die.” The group is not interested. “Over the years we have been called many names -- The Ravaging Horde, Death Scrum, Inhuman, but in this land, my favorite is the Butchers of Pillory. Now that was fun.” The horde erupts in howls. Fay bounces and hops from side to side somehow dodging an area of fire and heat even though there is literally no place without fire and heat.
As the horde’s master boasts (and Fay breaks all the laws of physics and reality), the group formulates a plan to save Fay. Dorus casts spells of protection on himself and Nom and then runs from Alora’s protection. Spirits begin to swirl around Dorus as he moves toward Fay’s prison damaging all nearby foes. He then takes a knee as Nom follows only instead of attacking the minions nearby she runs up Dorus back and launches herself over the pit of fire, gracefully flying through the air, and landing sword-deep into slack-jawed in amazement gnolls that guard Fay’s cage. Alora, from inside the tiny hut, tries a new spell, one that animates inanimate objects. She begins to coax the lock chain to life as it nimbly unties itself and slips out of the shackle that holds the door locked. Fay busts open the door and escapes into the cloud of fog. Nom follows suit entering the cloud. Alora, feeling compelled, flips her coin of fate -- she looks around as nothing seems to happen. It is now Dorus’ turn to escape into the swirling fog. His plan, jump athletically over the fire to disappear into the mist. Instead, he clumsily falls face-first into the pit of fire as if his legs and his brain had no communication whatsoever. As flames burn his skin he quickly weighs his options. Nimbly the almost 400-pound loxodon mashes his strong fists and arms into the loose soil of the pit of fire and miraculously climbs straight up and out of the flames, taking only minimal damage as he rolls into the cloud of fog.
Just then Mokon and the two goblins find something of interest. From deep within the earth, entwined between the roots of the only tree in the grove that shows any signs of life, a circular rootlet. The thin piece of root glows ever so slightly with a greenish hue. The goblin turns to Mokon. “Are you one with Eldath?” Mokon responds “Nope, but I know who is.” Hearing Fay’s voice from above asking for his general direction, due to being blinded by fog. Mokon yells, “Over here, I have something for Dorus.” Dorus too hears Mokon’s words. Mokon climbs the prisoner pit’s ladder into the mist to converge with his party.
As all of the group is currently blinded by Fay’s spell of fog they do not know that Alora, the only one not in the fog, is having a bad time. The hyenas have, once again, destabilized the dome causing it to fall quickly to one side which also causes Alora to lose her footing and fall out of the dome. When Alora leaves the dome, even though not of her own free will, the dome blinks out of existence. Alora is instantly engulfed by hyena and gnoll alike causing her to quickly lose consciousness.
Mokon has reached Dorus by sound and touch and offers the fragment of root to Dorus. Dorus can see the godly green glow (it is much brighter to him than it was to Mokon), as Dorus reaches out the root wraps itself around Dorus forearm. The wooden bangle immediately expands and grows around Dorus' arm as a vision of the interconnected and intertwined roots of all living trees explodes through his mind -- he can see the lands of Grimshackle as if by a map of underground root systems -- everything is connected. Dorus is drawn to the only living tree in the grove. He must make his way to it to save his friends. Fay is the first to notice Alora is down, poking her head only momentarily from the cloud. A quick plan is formed. Dorus or Mokon will need to save her. Dorus, knowing he must open an earthly portal, makes his way to the pit, where the bengal was formed. Mokon exits the fog in a heroic jump over the pit of flames, scooping up Alora effortlessly and exiting the same way -- disappearing into the cloud.
An enraged yell booms, “Get them now you idiots!” Gnolls and hyenas alike collapse toward the cloud of fog where our heroes reside.
Dorus has made his way to the roots of the tree. Touching the roots a glowing green and gold vertical line appears. As it does it begins to open revealing the thoughts of Dorus -- the closest point to Therack. Through the golden outline Dorus can see the nighttime outline of Therack is if it were only a hundred feet away. One by one the group jump into the pit. First to go through are the two goblins. Dorus, turns to see who can save, since this is the first time he’s set foot in the prisoner pit. Instantly, he sees recognizes Ton, not the Ton he knew, but a wretched and malformed version of what he once was. Without thinking or caring, Dorus grabs Ton and rushes through the portal. Fay is next hefting and dead-weight Gerald in one arm and grabbing Dorus’ recruit from Cottonmouth’s bar, Mae with the other. Nom, following suit, although very uninterested, hoists the unconscious druid woman, Solasia, over her shoulder and enters the portal. Finally, Mokon with an unconscious Alora in toe exit to safety.
As the group leaves the raised Druid grove they are transported at impossible speeds through the twists and turns of the underground root systems of the Grimshackle and are deposited within eyesight of the great city of Therack. As they look back, the horde is not far behind, they too are entering the portal. Dorus quickly closes their escape as the portal slams shut. The last things the group hears is an irate gnoll leader barking orders at his horde, the whinny of a white stallion (with a patch of brown on her right rump that looks gloriously similar to Eldath), and the thump of a single arm of a pursuing gnoll hitting the ground after being severed from its host’s body. Nom picks up the appendage and whoops in victory.
The group frantically looks around surreally as they realize they are no longer in a burning grove of death. Dorus instantly approaches Ton who shuns his advances. Mokon heals Alora and then heals the last remaining human druid, keeping her from the brink of death. She is asked about Ton. Although Salasia is not absolutely sure, she believes it to be some sort of curse. Dorus approaches Ton once more. “I am not worth it. Eldath left us. She left us all. They destroyed us all. I had no choice. I gave in. I accepted Arkak’s offer. I was weak, but she left us. I hate her for this.” Ton continues to swat away Dorus embarrassed, disgusted by his actions, and wanting nothing more than to die.