Return to the Great tree
The party returned to the Great Tree, met Eladrin guardians in a Feywild pocket who warned of possible Shadowfell corruption, and agreed to help restore the broken transport between realms. Venturing into the roots, they fought necromancers and undead, destroyed the corrupted crystals, and narrowly escaped an emerging undead dragon as the chwingas began healing the tree.
Recap
The morning before departure was marked by quiet preparation and personal rituals. Thalen continued to study magic-users in camp to better understand his newly awakened abilities, even briefly disguising himself to resemble Shadow in an effort to “blend in.” Shadow trained in silence, focusing on disciplined strikes rather than claws. Madam Helena conducted tarot readings and worked strange jewelry from monster remains, her telekinetic talents growing increasingly noticeable.
Aldric performed his customary dawn prayers and sword drills, openly summoning his celestial steed Luminor during the ritual. Kouzlo checked supplies and continued the ongoing search for coffee beans, while also preparing mentally for the darkness and psychic dangers they had faced on previous expeditions.
By mid-morning, the party departed into the forest.
As the expedition followed the river toward the Great Tree, it became clear that the water had fully recovered - flowing clear and untainted after the destruction of the cave-bound corruption. Thalen added new detail to his map while Shadow searched for signs of kobolds or lizardfolk, finding only mundane woodland life.
As the forest thickened, the atmosphere shifted. Ambient sounds faded, leaves underfoot felt brittle and dead, and Aldric’s Divine Sense detected something deeply wrong - not a creature, but an undead presence suffused throughout the forest itself. The sensation intensified the closer they came to the Tree.
Upon arrival, the Great Tree appeared healthier than before. Color had returned to its bark, newly budding leaves shimmered with golden light, and a faint radiance crawled upward from its roots. Shadow, however, noticed a section of the canopy cloaked in an unnatural darkness.
Chweech and Chwong emerged to greet the party, bowing deeply and gesturing their thanks. When asked about the darkened section, they beckoned the party to follow.
The party was led into the Tree’s interior chamber, where numerous Chwingas moved with renewed energy. Chweech and Chwong pressed their hands to the wall, opening a small side chamber containing a basin filled with shimmering, gold-sheened liquid. Five cups were offered.
After Kouzlo confirmed the liquid was not harmful, Aldric etched a rune of friendship into the dirt and drank. The party followed suit. A brief vertigo passed - and the chamber transformed.
Humanoid figures appeared before them: three Fey Eladrin - Autumn Laurel, Solstice Briar, and Sun Shade - who welcomed the party to a temporary pocket of the Feywild. They thanked the expedition for aiding the Great Tree and explained that the Tree exists across three realms: the Material Plane, the Feywild, and the Shadowfell.
The Eladrin revealed that the transport between realms within the Tree was malfunctioning. While they believed the water corruption had blocked the passage, its destruction had not fully restored the connection. Madam Helena’s Detect Thoughts confirmed their sincerity, though Solstice’s thoughts repeatedly echoed one word: Shadowfell.
The Eladrin explained that direct contact between the Feywild and the Shadowfell is nearly unheard of and potentially catastrophic. The Material Plane serves as a barrier between them. Whatever corruption was affecting the Tree was unprecedented.
Before more could be revealed, the pocket plane began to collapse. The Eladrin promised further reward should the party succeed and faded as the expedition returned fully to the Material Plane.
Back beneath the Tree, Chweech and Chwong opened the previously sealed root passage. As the roots unwound, water could be heard flowing deeper below. The path ahead was darker than before, lacking the golden etchings seen elsewhere.
Aldric’s Divine Sense surged violently, overwhelming him with the same undead presence felt in the forest - far stronger now. He warned the party to proceed with extreme caution.
The passage opened into a cavern where twisted, thorned branches formed a precarious path over a strange pool. The water did not reflect the chamber; instead, it appeared to show another version of the room - bleak and distorted.
As the party crossed, Aldric slipped and was briefly ensnared by shifting branches before Kouzlo cut him free with Cloud of Daggers. Regrouping at the edge, Shadow deployed his Immovable Rod and descended into the pool - passing through a barrier rather than water.
Gravity inverted.
Shadow emerged onto massive branches suspended over a dark forest far below. Robed humanoids - necromancers - stood near massive green crystals projecting beams toward the portal. Piles of flesh and bone littered the branches.
When hostile magic severed Shadow’s escape route, the party followed him through the barrier. Combat erupted across the branching platforms as necromancers unleashed deadly magic, raising undead constructs and blasting the party with freezing arcane power.
Despite being blinded by magic, Aldric summoned Luminor from the mist and fought on horseback, declaring judgment without sight. Through coordinated strikes, stunning blows, divine magic, and relentless pressure, the party destroyed the necromancers and their undead servants.
Aldric’s Divine Sense revealed the truth: the crystals were channeling undead energy - souls siphoned from something far below - directly into the Great Tree.
With a growing presence stirring beneath them, the party made a desperate choice.
They destroyed the crystals.
As the crystals shattered, a roar echoed from below. An immense undead ice dragon rose in response. The portal began collapsing.
The party fled, leaping back through the failing boundary as icy breath tore through the space behind them. They barely escaped.
Back beneath the Great Tree, Chweech and Chwong emerged, embracing as the wood began to heal further. More Chwingas gathered, placing their hands against the walls as golden light spread through the roots.
The portal was not fully restored - but the immediate threat had been stopped.
Rewards & Discoveries
Journal recovered from a necromancer, written in an unknown script, containing references to two new points of interest (locations undetermined).
- Spell Scroll: Life Transference
- Golden Acorns from the Great Tree, each allowing a one-time use of Blink
- Shadowfell Wood Log, radiating the same undead energy felt throughout the forest
- Confirmation of direct Shadowfell influence beneath the Great Tree
After time to recover at camp, Chweech and Chwong returned with a final message:
The Fey Eladrin have formally invited the party back - to offer further reward to them and to N.O.D.E. The Tree still stands. But something ancient has noticed its defense.