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Ashes Session 10

Dates

  • Real World: 2026-07-08
  • In-Game: Seventh Day, 18th Firemoot, 1137 AoD

Player Characters

Experience

  • Venathrax, 1757 + 235 = 1992
  • Anchor, 1832 + 235 = 2067
  • Kanaeda, 1832 + 235 = 2067
  • Corq, 1834 + 235 = 2069
  • Pethi, 1832 + 235 = 2067
  • Wrenn, 1832 + 235 = 2067
  • Xam, 1832 + 450 + 235 = 2517

Level 4: 2,700 XP

Session Notes

The Northern Swamp Oak

Seventh Day, 18th Firemoot, 1137 AoD
The party left the hippos behind and headed north toward the next swamp oak Wrenn had sensed.

The journey took roughly two hours. Along the way, Wrenn foraged for useful plants and managed to find cinnamon growing in the swamp.

As the party approached the next tree, Xam disturbed a nest of venomous snakes. The sudden movement startled Corq, who instinctively sent magic toward them, and the nest erupted into violence.

The snakes were small, but their fangs were sharp. They swarmed over the party, striking at Xam and Pethi while the group tried to scatter and contain them.

Pethi moved in to crush the creatures with her fists, while Xam cut into them with sword and dagger before slipping back out of reach. Corq repeatedly struck the snakes with Ray of Frost, and Wrenn attempted to mark them with Faerie Fire, though the spell only caught Pethi before Wrenn dropped her concentration. Anchor used both magic and steel, and Venathrax struck from range with Eldritch Blast before retreating with Misty Step.

After several rounds of fighting, the party killed the last of the snakes.

The swarm was harvested for eight venom sacks, though the sacks would spoil within two days if not preserved. Together, they weighed roughly sixteen pounds.

Unfortunately, the tree itself was not the one from the children's drawings.

After the fight, the party took a short rest before continuing deeper into the swamp.

Toward the Center of the Swamp

At around 11:00 a.m., the party began marching west toward the center of the Dreadmist.

After several hours of travel, Wrenn stopped to ritually cast her spell again, attempting to locate another swamp oak.

This time, she found only one.

It stood alone in the dead center of the hex.

That fact carried an ominous weight.

Vash and Wrenn continued foraging as the group prepared to approach the tree. Vash found chamomile along the way.

The Sad Tree

The party advanced carefully toward the lone swamp oak.

Their marching order placed Anchor at the front, followed by Vash, Xam, and Venathrax, with Pethi in the rear guarding Corq.

As they drew closer, they saw three humanoid figures standing near the tree.

Vash crept forward under Wrenn's guidance and managed to approach without being noticed. From closer range, he saw that the figures were not living people.

They were undead.

The tree itself was unmistakable.

This was the tree from the children's drawings.

The Undead at the Tree

The party struck before the undead could react.

Pethi leapt across the swampy ground and struck one of the ghouls. Venathrax jumped in beside her, cast Bane on all three undead, and then used Misty Step to return to safety. Corq blasted one of the undead with Ray of Frost. Anchor moved forward, marked a ghoul with Hex, and followed with Fire Bolt.

Xam drew his bow, took careful aim, and killed one of the ghouls with a precise shot. Vash followed with a crossbow strike against the ghast, and Wrenn called down a Moonbeam that burned through one of the remaining undead.

The ambush was devastating.

The undead fell before they could mount a meaningful response.

With the immediate danger gone, the party began to move closer to the tree.

The Hole Beneath the Tree

As Anchor stepped forward, the swampy ground beneath him suddenly gave way.

For a moment, he caught himself at the edge of the collapsing earth. Then Corq reacted quickly, casting Levitate to keep the massive warforged from falling into the darkness below.

The opening beneath the tree was vast, dark, and unnaturally dry.

No swamp water poured into it.

No mud sloughed down its sides.

The hole descended into a deep pool of blackness where there should have been wet earth and flooding water.

As Pethi, Corq, and Vash peered into the darkness, something within the void seemed to pierce back at them.

NPCs Interacted With

  • None

Note Taker's Recap

The party heads north towards the next tree, leaving the hippos behind. Wrenn forages for spices along the way, and when we finally approach the next tree, Xam disturbs a nest of snakes, that spooks Corq into sending a spell towards them. Their tiny teeth are sharp, and we have to take a short rest after dealing with them. Unfortunately, this swamp oak proves to be a normal tree, and we begin our march west to the center of the marsh.

Wrenn locates a lone swamp oak in the dead center of the swamp. With an ominous feeling, we head towards it and are not surprised when we locate a few undead milling about its base. The tree resembles without a doubt the drawings the children drew. Now to clear up the undead and get a closer look at the old oak. The undead don't see us coming and fall before they even have a chance to react. The party begins to head towards the tree when Anchor falls through the soft swampy island. Corq's quick reaction levitates the hulky automaton. The hole is dark, deep, and dry... swamp water should be pouring in but none can be seen. Those peering in close are... (find out next week)

End Session 10.

Notes

  • Seventh Day, 18th Firemoot 1137 AoD, 07:00a
  • Swarm of Venomous Snakes
  • The party heads 2 hours north towards next tree from the southern Hippo Tree.
  • As the party approached the tree it disturbed a nest of snakes.

Battle: Swarm of Venomous Snakes

Round 1

  • snake 4 miss xam
  • snake 2 hit xam
  • pethi misses snake 2
  • corq miss snake
  • xam hits twice
  • anchor Arms of Hadar (save, fail)
  • venthrax bane and eldritch blast
  • snake 1, hits xam

Round 2

  • snake 4
  • snake 2 (misses pethi)
  • pethi (hits snake, and its bloodied, hit, flurry of blows) killed it.
  • wren fairie fire on 2 snakes and pethi. only pethi is glowing. concentration is dropped
  • corq ray of frost, hit,
  • xam (hit, hit, sneak attack, disengage)
  • anchor booming blade, flail
  • venthrax (eldritch blast, hit, misty step to the south)
  • snake 1,

Round 3

  • snake 4 attacks pethi
  • pethi (hits snake with crit)
  • wrenn (poison spray hit)
  • corq (ray of frost, hit)
  • xam (hit, miss, disengage)
  • Vash (crit and bloodied the snake(
  • anchor (booming blade, flail miss)
  • venthrax
  • snake 1,

Round 4

  • snake
  • pethi
  • wrenn heals pethi
  • corq ray of frost hit
  • xam (hit, hit sneak attack, disengage move)
  • Vash (hit and kills snake)
  • anchor (booming blade, hit radiant dmg
  • venthrax eldritich blast missed

Round 5

  • snake missed
  • pethi killed with frost chill
  • combat over.
  • This is "Not the sad tree we were looking for."
  • wrenn foraged cinnamon
  • harvesting: 8 venom sacks, go bad in two days. 16lb
  • 10a
  • short rest now 11a
  • We head west for several hours to the center of the swamp and stops Wrenn to ritual cast find locate swamp oak, and there is only one and it is right in the middle of the hex.
  • More foraging for both vash (chamoile) and wrenn (?)

The Sad Tree

  • marching order Anchor, vash, xam, vena, Pethi in back, corq's body guard.
  • 3 humanoid at figures stand near the tree
  • Vash sneaks forward, with wrenn's guidance
  • nothing notices him approached
  • very undead humanoids milling about.

Battle: Undead

Round 1

  • Pethi jumps across the swampy area and reachs out to smack the ghoul
  • Ghast surprised
  • Venathrax jumps next to Pethi and casts bane on all three, then misty steps back.
  • Ghoul surprised
  • Corq ray of frost hits
  • Anchor moves up and hex's the ghoul. fire bolt
  • Xam (steady aim, bow, sneak attack killed him) ghoul
  • Vash (steady aim, crossbow, sneak attack hit) ghast
  • Wrenn moonbeam (killed)
  • Ghoul surprised

Round 2

  • Pethi (miss, hit)
  • Venathrax (afk) returned after anchor, eldritch blast (hit)
  • Corq (ray of frost miss)
  • Anchor (hex, firebolt miss)
  • Anchor steps foward, DEX check and the ground opens up and he catches himself from falling in. Corq casts Levitate.
  • the hole is vast pool of darkness, very deep and there is no water flowing into, even though we are in a swamp
  • the void pierces back at pethi, corq, vash (Wis Check...)

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