Day 10 - Early afternoon
The morning was spent traveling from the Wizards of Wine Winery to this forgotten forsaken hilltop backlit with massed thunderheads and lightning arcing toward the ground. The party approached through rings of black stone cairns where Nazgog unearthed a blood spear from the spirit of Kavan. Upon reaching the glade dominated by a fifty-foot effigy of a dark lady, heretic druids and bezerkers arose from their graves to attack, but the party quickly beat them back.
As the dust settles, Nazgog approaches the fifty foot mass of roots, logs, and twigs that resembles a terrifying lady. She studies the effigy and asks, "Are you where my spear seeks its vengence?" then hefts her blood spear and thrusts it at the totem. However, the point barely pierces past the surface of this knotted and entertwined mass of wood.
Jagger follows Nazgog toward the statue when she notices a faint green light eeking out through tiny gaps near the chest and exlaims, "There's a green light shining out. Can anyone make out what it is?"
Presented with a mystery, Sticky leaps forward and scales the leg of the wooden lady before his hands slip on the green wood and slides back down. Fidelia follows quickly and scales upward fifteen feet before realizing that the source of the green glow is a heart made of a green glowing gem and she quickly yells, "It's the seed! The heart is the lost seed!"
At the prospect of recovering the lost wellspring of wine, each member of the party jumps into action trying to free it from its prison. Morgana swings wildly at a leg striking it awkwardly that rebounds into her face knocking her down as Fidelia climbs back down the leg to help the cleric who's rolling on the ground in a fit of laughter. Meanwhile, Jagger mocks the effigy which promptly ignores him and Jagger slices daggers across the roots. Nazgog drops her spear pulling her axe free and chops at a leg causing splinters to fly as Fidelia turns away from the giggling Morgana to toss balls of acid gnawing away at the wood. After a few moments with the party slowly but steadily destroying the legs, Morgana regains her feet and takes a final whack as she declares, "Fall you twiggy bitch!"
With a slow groaning creek, the fifty foot totem teeters then collapses to the ground where it shatters into smithereens. Left in the center of the debris, a small glowing gem pulses green light toward the group. Morgana rushes forward to stow the gem.
Looking farther up the hill, Nazgog sees a misshapen unhealthy tree and groans, "I know that vile curse. That is a gullstand! Wait, no a gallbladder. I mean Gulthias! That G-tree is the source of the blights. I've already chopped one for kindling, time to do it again."
The party marches forward as a couple dozen camouflaged shapes separate from the sickly bushes surrounding the gulthias tree. Nazgog rushes toward the nearest one roaring as the chaos of battle commences. Jagger, Sticky, and Fidelia head toward another group of blights as Morgana calmly reaches into her backpack pulling out the strange gnarled staff liberated from the druid yesterday. As the blights begin their attacks, Morgana slams the staff onto her knee cracking it in half causing all of the blights to disintegrate. Nazgog marches forward yelling, "Better for weaklings as I smash tree to firewood," as she slams her giant axe into the massive trunk of the gulthias tree.
"Nazgog," Morgana calls out, "it won't be enough to chop it down. We have to get every root, every speck of it or it'll return. Stand back as I call upon
Celestian's might to rout it." As Nazgog steps clear, Morgana prays to her god to burn the unholy tree. Fiery gouts of fire descend from the overcast sky igniting the tree top with sacred flame that steadily burns the whole tree until the ground smokes from roots turning to ash.
As the smoke clears, Fidelia picks up a small handaxe from the smoking crater and the party heads back north toward the winery. Several hours pass uneventfully when the party takes the side path west.
As they approach, Nazgog hefts Morgana above as she lifts the green gem letting it shine forth toward the onlookers rushing from the structure.
Davian approaches the group nodding with a gleam in his eye, "Thank you. You've done much to bring hope back to our winery and the people of this cursed land. We've loaded all six barrels of wine. Where would you like it delivered. I strongly suggest you accompany it to the destination as there are many that would waylay it if they can."
Day 11 - Morning
Fidelia responds, "I believe we owe it to Vallaki that all of the wine goes there. We might redistribute some, but we can make that decision later."
"The wagon is ready when you are," Davian confirms, "And now that you have returned the first seed, we'll harvest a new batch of grapes in six weeks. As long as Morgana purifies the third vat, we'll also be able to package six barrels and a couple hundred bottles each week per vat, so that'll be more than 18 more barrels."
As Morgana gets set back down on terra firma, she rushes forward cheerfully stating, "Of course I'll do it immediately." She then heads into the winery for that purpose.
Outside, the party watches as Davian's sons, Adrian and Elvir, attach horses to the loaded wagon in the bay before carefully driving it onto the road. Morgana returns from inside stating, "Done! All three vats are pure now."
The party then leads the wagon northward toward the Old Svalich road and back toward
Vallaki. Upon joining the main dirt road leading northward, the party hears multiple howls echoing among the crowding trees.
An hour passes with the occassional howl prickling the back of their necks, then at the intersection with the Old Svalich road a dozen wolves growl from the edge of trees before rushing the party.
Nazgog plants her feet wide as she screams, "Come puppies! I'll wear your guts as necklaces too!" and the party quickly enters battle. The wolves rush forward as arrows and spells start pelting them. Then they crowd Nazgog who returns with multiple devastating sweeps with her great axe.
As the sheer number of wolves overwelms Nazgog's reach, the wolves push past her and surround the party. Slowly the group hacks, slashes, and burns through the attackers until only the party remains. Morgana quickly harvests a few surviving pelts and racks of meat before the party turns east toward Vallaki.
Another two hours pass as the party escorts the slow plodding wagon before hearing the rushing water of the Luna River indicating that the town is just ahead. As the gropping leaves and branches draw back from the road, the party hears a new set of howls as a band of very large fierce wolves come loping along the palisade from the north. The group quickly shields the wagon as the pack of wolves turn to attack. Morgana quickly lifts her crossbow and fires, but the crossbow bolt jams and splits exploding dust and debris into her face and blinding her. She screams, "I'm blind! I'm blind! Stay clear of me!"
Turning to meet the threat, Nazgog rushes forward swinging her great axe and watches as it cuts through a wolf only for the wounds to heal as quickly as the blade completes its sweep. Stunned, Nazgog stares as the wolf's boldy quickly shifts to a more humanoid shape, but more a mix of human and wolf than either by itself. She shouts a warning, "These are no ordinary wolves! Normal weapons don't hurt them!"
Another of the large wolves swiftly shifts to a humanoid form as he approaches Sticky, who rapidly slashes the werewolf with his silvered daggers and, as the dark thick blood seeps out, exclaims "Not so thriller of a night anymore, huh?" He then shouts out, "Silver! Silver hurts them."
Fidelia and Jagger call upon the arcane arts to harm the wolves and werewolves as they surround Nazgog. Nazgog gets bitten by a werewolf before the tide turns as she wails her silvered maul bashing in their skulls and chests. Morgana calls out, "I think I'm starting to get better. Are we winning?"
Finally, the party hears the solid gates of Vallaki open as the last werewolf's body falls lifeless upon the dusty Old Svalich road. Lars strides forward with a small group of soldiers and says, "Welcome back my lords. As you can see we've had some trials."
