Session 7, 8, 9, 10

(8/24/25, 8/31/25, 9/14/25, 9/28/25)

Though I did not rest, it became the next day.
Ric was moderately drunk, but still functional. Lunette spoke with Reese, describing the missing ship and asking if anyone had been acting suspicious.
Reese said that Aeolus herself seemed the most suspicious, and that she was staying in the fourth room on the left upstairs in the Last Barrel.
We met back up with the strange large gentleman from earlier. He was looking for the same information as us. Ric and Tim seemed to really enjoy talking with him. We shared some information in exchange for his help acquiring the ship in a bottle. We decided that Ric would sneak in as a bug to see if she actually has it. If she did, we planned to simply ask if she would give it to us after we explained why it was needed.
 
***
 
We assembled at our places around the inn. Lunette snuck in and the rest of us waited outside the window to see if Ric signaled as a lightning bug: 1 for yes, 2 for no, 3 for “distraction needed,” and 4+ for “immediate help required.”
Ric ascended, Lunette got into place, and the rest of us waited. I could hear commotion in the room above us after a minute, so I smashed the window with a rock. As soon as I did, Lunette leaped from the broken window. I caught her, set her down, and we ran. She led the pirates away from the rest of us, who scattered.
I dodged between houses and took narrow side-alleys to keep their line of sight broken until I lost them in the wooded part of town. Now I must meet with the others at the Union House at dawn.
 
***
 
All of us met at the Union house within an hour. Ric found me along the way. We all rested in the hall and awoke at noon.
We waited for Vector and Saltorian in the city hall and showed them the ship. On closer inspection, it matches the description of a non-guild affiliated ship that disappeared between 8-10 years ago. In it were enough miniature humanoid bones to man the ship, scattered and loose. It was as if the ship had been shrunk down, and the crew left to die in the bottle. We were given 200 gold to split. We did not include Hadrix in the split.
Agni then flew it down to the dock authority. We convened at the docks with Hadrix and found that his anonymous employer gave him a similar (if less detailed) list of stops to investigate. It was the same as ours, except in a different order and not including Thundragar. I still think it's worth investigating.
We set out for Khuri on horseback (Agni flew, Tim rode a pony) along the trade route. Hadrix joined us as he seems large and useful and needs to go the same places. We rode uneventfully a while until we came upon a twisted, old tree with three fleshy corpses hanging from it.
 
***
It was in a misty field with patches of forest. The area made me miss Smokes – she would like it here.
Hadrix warned us to be on our guard as we rounded a corner and the wood fell quiet. I sensed great necromantic energy coming from the tree ahead of us. Hadrix approached. Lunette slipped to the shadows and... Changed. It's quite private, I shouldn't write much of it. I joined Hadrix and approached the tree with him, wary, and then it struck. It was a tree cursed by the hanging of men in it, hunting.
Agaricus fought as a bear, and was lifted by a rope, until Lunette shot him down from her hiding spot. We damaged it greatly, and Lunette finished it off quite spectacularly by scaling it and stabbing into its neck. She is an impressive mind as herself, and an impressive fighter Changed.
I took some sort of magical rope, about 60 feet, from the remains of the tree. I will have to identify it after my next rest. We, having fought and traveled a full day, decided to rest.