(Kids... D&D... get your priorities straight, man! ;)

Quote from rob88scps2 >>

(nice rolls!)

Your post-Kidquake inspection of the AGGE reveals no significant damage other than some scratches and minor dents.  Steering the AGGE has become somewhat more complicated as you try to navigate a route among the roots that will get you closest to the trunk before you have to stop due to the uneven terrain.  There are a few of the larger roots that you could actually attempt to drive the vehicle on top of, ramping up where they emerge from the Earth.  (I forgot to ask, does anyone have proficiency in land vehicles?)

It's actually difficult to look any direction other than straight ahead while in the AGGE.  The front window being the only opening other than the door, the aperture angle is very limited. However, the roots have made the going slow enough that Zensiro can actually keep up with the clockwork contraption on foot, which relieves his metalloclaustrophobia.  As he scans about while walking, he does not note any high-quality acorns on the ground.  He does note, however, some animal tracks among the rotten specimens that indicate something has been scavenging amongst the fallen nuts and collecting specimens.  Adjusting for scale, the ranger believes the marks in the dust to have been made by squirrels.  Squirrels that are quite possibly the same size as AGGE.

Meanwhile, as the ranger travels alongside on foot, Amelia the rogue gets a brilliant idea.  In her own mind, at least.  Irritated by the limited perspective within the vehicle, she gets out, and manages to scramble up on top of the AGGE.  Seated here on the gently curved metal surface, she has a vast panorama to observe in every direction.  The light is fading fast, however, and her sharp eyes do not see a hint of anything sparkling or glowing in the canopy of this tree.  She does see shadowy movement aloft, but is unable to discern the habitus of whatever is darting through the branches.

(Haha, it was more the travel eating up my time than the kid preventing me from posting ;-)  I'm hoping to get a lot of D&D'ing done while I'm not working at least!)

While looking for acorns is not a bad way for a ranger to pass the time, tracking giant squirrels is truly right up his alley.  "Hey Malichi, come check these tracks out!  Looks like a normal-sized, giant squirrel, and from the path, it looks very much like it's been scavenging for the same acorns you've been looking for.  I bet that critter's been picking up the good ones, too.  I can see if I can track it down.  What do you say?"

Malichi searches with this glow of reverence and awe, repeatedly bothering Zensiro for his opinions.

Malichi Perception: 23

FOUND 'EM!

He looks for chrysalis in the trees

Malichi Nature: 5

 Unsurprisingly, the tracks lead inward, towards the tree-trunk.  From there, Zensiro suspects the animals traveled upward to a den in the branches or trunk of the tree.

Malichi's exuberance at his divine mission causes him to be quite aware of everything going on around him.  Quiet creaking as the upper part of the tree sways with the breeze.  The sound of falling water somewhere off to the west. Stars twinkling in the sky.  A sleepy beetle wandering by scouting for any tasty morsels on the ground.  But with the height of the trees, and the almost-gone daylight, even the sharpest eyes cannot detect a chrysalis from your current position on the ground.  The tiefling finds his mind recollecting random facts about trees, birds, insects and the  circle of life, and he is sure that this is a revelation from Tymora that must hold some deep meaning.

As night falls, what does the party wish to do next?

 "If we stop for the night at the bottom of the tree and get some rest, we'll be ready to go in the morning. I've got a feeling that climbing that tree will be no small effort" he says, grinning at his own joke. "If we decide to do this, Amelia and I could try using the the same know-how we use to move around unseen to try to camouflage the AGGE so we'd have less chance of being spotted. You'd have your choice of sleeping less protected but I imagine we're going to get a great look at the starts tonight, or sleep in more safety but closed in for the night" Malichi suggests

"There's something moving in the branches," Amelia says. "'S probably not anything, but it felt worth mentioning."

Quote from TechnoPagan >>

 "If we stop for the night at the bottom of the tree and get some rest, we'll be ready to go in the morning. I've got a feeling that climbing that tree will be no small effort" he says, grinning at his own joke. "If we decide to do this, Amelia and I could try using the the same know-how we use to move around unseen to try to camouflage the AGGE so we'd have less chance of being spotted. You'd have your choice of sleeping less protected but I imagine we're going to get a great look at the starts tonight, or sleep in more safety but closed in for the night" Malichi suggests

 "That sounds like a good plan. I've been meaning to get a good look at the stars so I can find our direction."

Quote from TechnoPagan >>

 "If we stop for the night at the bottom of the tree and get some rest, we'll be ready to go in the morning. I've got a feeling that climbing that tree will be no small effort" he says, grinning at his own joke. "If we decide to do this, Amelia and I could try using the the same know-how we use to move around unseen to try to camouflage the AGGE so we'd have less chance of being spotted. You'd have your choice of sleeping less protected but I imagine we're going to get a great look at the starts tonight, or sleep in more safety but closed in for the night" Malichi suggests

 "That sounds like a good plan to sleep outside. If we choose to camp unprotected, do we want to take watches throughout the night?"

Zensiro is thrilled to see the interest that Malichi takes in tracking the squirrel.  Even more impressive is the success that Malichi finds in both that search and in his general knowledge of nature.  "Bravo, Malichi!  I think we've managed to discover our quarry.  On the morrow we'll be able to meet with this arbor dweller.  I also like your suggestion of camouflaging the AGGE.  It occurs to me that the size of it is very similar to that of the squirrel we are tracking.  Do you think that you and Amelia could manage to make it look squirrel-like?  That would seem appropriate if we are to take this thing up the tree.  And Amelia, thanks for the warning on the creature up above.  I'd be happy to take a watch, Zithers.  I require little rest, would greatly prefer to remain outside of the AGGE, and can see well enough in the dark to scan the canopy for whatever it might be that Amelia detected."

Passive WIS (Perception) 20  (for whenever Zensiro takes a watch during the evening)

(Making a few assumptions here, let me know if you want something different).

Having spent the last few days underground, everyone is reluctant to pass the night cooped up inside AGGE, so you clear off a little patch of earth up against a larger root where you make a small fire, and can either lean back against the rough bark or lie down near the warm, crackling flames.  Malichi is too excited to go to sleep right away, so he and Amelia take the first 2-hour watch.  While quieter than the day, there are still plenty of chirps, rustles, creaks and "bumps in the night".  A dinosaur-sized furry creature shambles by about 100 feet away, but does not seem aggressive, and the rogues decide to wait before waking the rest of the party.  It briefly turns to look at the fire, and Malichi, his brain bursting with nature knowledge, identifies it as an opossum, but it turns away again, continuing its nocturnal rounds.  The remainder of first watch is uneventful.

After two hours, the rogues are yawning, and they wake up Zithers and Dyumi, reluctant to disturb the elves' meditation.  The small gnome and towering Firbolg are definitely an odd couple as they sit by the fire, feeding logs into the flickering flames.  They are greatly startled when after an hour, several large shapes swoop overhead.  From the silhouette in the moonlight, they seem to be bats, searching for unwary insects to feed on.  The firelight seems to discourage them from approaching closer, curious as they might be to sample these new varieties of bug.

During the last watch of the night, the elves rouse themselves, chuckling at the druid and the warlock, who have both fallen asleep, the Firbolg laying on his back, snoring, while the gnome is leaning back against the greenish giant, his hat pulled down over his eyes.  Zensiro enjoys observing the night-time activity at a level never achievable before, and points out to Cerlinde a couple of cute, horse-sized field mice, nibbling on seeds at the very limits of their darkvision.  The wizard coos as she observes their cuddly cuteness, and then lets out a yelp as an enormous white owl silently swoops down, grabbing one mouse in each taloned foot, and carries them off for an early morning snack.  Somewhat traumatized, she decides to spend the rest of the watch inside AGGE, with Zensiro trying to appear sympathetic, but greatly amused.

Awestruck by the majesty of the massive owl's precise strikes, Zensiro still manages to whisper after Cerlinde as she staggers back into the AGGE, "Cerlinde, wait, it's simply the will of the Earthmother!  Those mice have served their purpose, now I'm sure they'll be rewarded with an eternity of frolicking in Elysium!  Owls have to eat, too!"  Zensiro shakes his head and smiles.  "We've been through a lot.  I hope the party can see this through to the end.  They seem like a resilient lot.  I'm sure we'll be fine.", he murmurs to himself as he settles into a nice spot atop a tree root, from which he can take in the surrounding area and continue the watch.

"Go back to bed, Nick," Amelia murmurs, mostly asleep but slightly awoken by Cerlinde's yelp.

Cerlinde still shudders a bit- worried that a large owl could easily eat her.  “All the same im going to stay close to this machine” she whispers.  (Busy few days, thanks for keeping things moving all)

@Zithers

The eastern sky begins to lighten, and a few birds noisily greet the dawn. As the party wakes and rises, they find some dewdrops still clinging to blades of grass which quench their thirst and fill their waterskins.  Heating some water over the fire with his cook-kit, the ranger uses some of his dried rations to make a warm soft breakfast (like oatmeal) for the party.  You all spend a half hour or so eating, packing and cleaning up.  A new day lies ahead of you.  AGGE is parked at the base of a giant oak tree.  Not too far away, Malichi notes a beech, a rowan, and a cherry tree.  Still brimming with natural knowledge, he relates this information to his friends.  Cerlinde recalls from her wizardly training that wood from the rowan tree is used in many wands and staves, and holds unique magical properties.

Rowan tree

Beech trees

Oak tree

Cherry tree in spring

I also forgot to mention that you all have completed a long rest.

Getting up, Zithers stretches his arms and wolfs down his breakfast. "Well then, ready to get started on a new day? Mr XrXzzn spoke to me that the item i'm sent to find is underwater, so if anyone sees any ponds let me know! Sooo, do we have a plan? I know Malichi mentioned climbing a tree." Zithers is enthusiastic but unsure of what the party's next course of action is.

Cerlinde wakes up refreshed and a little more confident.  She studies her spellbook and casts mage armor on herself as she does every morning.

“No preference as to what we do first here.” She says.

(Sorry for the delay, was travelling all day yesterday and trying to get my life back in order after the trip today.)

"Sounds like we have two solid leads here, the squirrel lair and the pond.  Should we split up and tackle them in parallel or take them one at a time?  Maybe flip a coin?  I'm game for either, as long as I get a chance to get up and scout around those trees at some point!"

(Posting for Malichi, since it's been a few days.  Man, time flies!)

Malichi pulls out a shiny, but miniscule, gold piece.  "I think we'd best leave this one up to Tymora.  Heads, we check out this tree and look for those acorns first.  Tails, we head around to the pond to ponder an underwater excursion first.  Sound good to everyone?"  He quickly shows the coin before sending it skyward, tumbling end over end before he snatches it out of the air.

Sleight of Hand 24

Coin Flip (1 for heads, 2 for tails) 2

(Explanation - I had a friend in high school that could flip a coin and consistently snatch it out of the air and tell you the result before looking at it.  I rolled the Sleight of Hand first, with a "high" result meaning that Malichi had replicated that feat.  He was hoping to do so and secure a result of heads so they could continue searching for his acorns first.  However, since he only managed an 11 for the check, he wasn't able to guarantee the result and I left it a 1d2 roll for the flip.  If that sounds too hokie or is otherwise disagreeable, let me know and I'll revise!  :-)