Marrin tries to layout the plan, as she understands it,

"Okay, once the horses are placed some where safe, QW, Geff and Ithle will make a distraction to pull as much of that as they can away for as long as they can."

She looks for confirmation before continuing,

"While they are distracted we will move towards the tower. I will stop any big groups as best I can so we can bypass them, if I stop them don't hit them or else they'll wake back up."

To all,

"We are going for that door. Ava and Ula will lead the charge, I'll be right behind with Ethel. Jan will be close in the tail with Soren. We see Mr. Rotman we concentrate fire on him."

She points at Ula,

"If anything gets into melee, can you scare them off like you did on the boat? Do it if you can."

She looks to everyone,

"Sound like the plan?"

Itching to get moving, Ava nods, draws her greatsword and grips it tightly with both hands.

"Shall I have K scout the tower first?"

Not waiting for confirmation, she will send her invisible familiar to get the layout. 

((She'll wait for them to report, since I'm assuming we are out of range.))

Ula cinches her shield tightly to her arm and nods that she's ready for this plan.

"I don't know if it will work on trees," Ula says. "I don't know if they're true undead or if they're just infected with necrotic magic. I'm not sure about those insects either. From here they look to have skeletons and I'm pretty sure that's not right."

But she still takes a moment to pray quietly while Jan waits for the sand pixie to return.

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After a few minutes, K returns and does the dusty mind-meld with Jan.

The tower door is locked and K couldn't force a way in. They could see through the intact window that looks to be about where a second floor would be, though it was locked and they couldn't enter. K could see what looked like a bedroom - spartan cot, desk, with a few quills and parchment. A couple of books near the cot but no titles visible.

K checked out higher up in the tower and found ruins - broken walls, crumbling stairs, holes in flooring. They made their way through those gaps but were stopped by solid flooring about the floor with the bedroom and a locked trap door over where they assumed the stairs continued down.

All in all, the top of the tower is true ruins, but it looks like someone has fixed up the lower two floors.

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Upon K's return, Geffroi takes a few breaths. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be, but we should really go now. The longer I have to think about this the less likely I'll be able to."

Hammerdasher grips Geffroi's shoulder. "Just stay between me and QuietWalnut and you'll be fine, lad."

If the sod sprite's information is shared Marrin will ask,

"Straight for the door still? We have any easy way of getting it open?"

Jan relays the report. 

"Pick it or shatter it. Only one of those can be done quietly though. If we can break a window, K might be able to get in and get the door open, but knocking out a window isn't quiet either. Of course, with all the undead at the base of the tower, no guarantee we get there unnoticed, but I'll do what I can."

While the others discuss, Ethel casts a spell upon herself, quickening her pulse and granting her a surge of vigor.

False Life:  5 temp hp

"Okay, can you have your sand sprite wait by the window and you blow it out when we closer? Or have it smash in once we get started out here? Better to have the door opened then spend who knows how much time trying to get it open."

After that is confirmed, Marrin will move away with everyone not in Quietwalnut's group, somewhere with a straight shot to the door, and wait for them to start things off.

"I can wrap us in shadows and quiet, if we want to try to sneak in... but it will expend half of my magical reserves.", Jan offers.

"I don't know about trying to sneak... If it can get us to that door without a fight it's probably going to be worth it."

She'll pat Ethel on the shoulder as they move to the starting position.

"You've surprised me with your ability to keep going, keep it up."

To Jan she'll offer,

"Bet you can't manage kill this dead guy before I do."

((@Bart and Spider, d8 bardic inspirations Ethel and Jan.

@Stark, likely one coming Ava's way once we figure out how this fight shapes up!))

(( Party gets the first move here, then initiative after that - if you’re going sneakily toss in the magic and rolls for that as well. There’s still no sign of which, if any of the rotting trees are animated, no sign of what’s been making the shuffling noises though you can be pretty confident whatever it is, it’s behind the trees - K missed seeing it though, and the little skeleton bees haven’t shown any indication they’ve seen any of you either))

((Idea is for QW and the rest to get the attention of everything they can and wait for whatever can be drawn off to be drawn off.

From there, hopefully with Jan's magic, we can slide to the door unseen.))

För when it's needed:

Initiative: 21

Stealth: 16 + 10 (if pass without trace is used)

(Ok, so we're sneaking?  Did you want to make Ava invisible or not?)

Stealth: 16

Initiative: 16

She's ready to charge and getting very impatient.  

((Sneaking as long as we can then busting in a door and committing murder. I don't think anyone is casting invisible at the moment.))

Ethel Stealth:  13

Ethel Initiative:  16

Jan nods and when the party is ready, "ہمیں غیب سے گزرنے دو". Dirt swirls up around them, muffling the sounds of their movement.

Jan Init: 15

Jan Stealth: 36

((Be sure to add the +10 to your stealth.))

K Stealth: 19

QuietWalnut looks down at Hammerdasher and at Geffroi.

“Your strides are much smaller than mine,” QuietWalnut says. Hammerdasher looks like he’s going to bristle at the comment about his height but as he looks up at QuietWalnut he realizes she just meant it as a matter of fact.

“Aye lass, you’re right,” Hammerdasher says.

QuietWalnut taps her shoulders, two spots where branches come out from the main trunk about three quarters of the way up.

“With your permission,” QuietWalnut says.

Hammerdasher whispers to Geffroi and both men stand still with their arms out. But at the last second, Geffroi bends down and picks up several small stones. Then QuietWalnut stoops only slightly and scoops up first Hammerdasher and then Geffroi. She places them on her shoulders.

“I will move but you attract the attention,” she says.

With that she strides forward into the clearing. When they’re about half way to the tower, Hammerdasher and Geffroi start hooting and hollering. Geffroi shares the stones with Hammerdasher and they both start throwing them at the rotting trees.

Eyes and jagged maws appear on two of those trees and they lift up what a moment ago looked like rooted branches. They move towards QuietWalnut. The swarm of skeletal bees follows quickly.

QuietWalnut veer off towards the eastern side of the clearing and quickly steps into a now open pathway. The two sentient rotting trees and the swarm follow and all disappear quickly from sight.

The group moves quickly into action. With the help of Jan’s dusty, magical cover, you are all able to make it across unseen. You do have to pass through the rotting trees to get to base of the tower. But thankfully the two animated trees that left to follow the others have left a small gap that you can quietly pass through.

Once to the base of the tower you spot the stone stairs that lead up to the closed doorway.

You also get a better look at what is inside the ring of rotting trees.

At least two of the trees appear to be moving branches even though there is no wind to speak of. These ones must also be sentient. They’re about 30 feet from the stairs (one to the west and one to the east).

In addition to those, you see what you’ve come to know as zombies. Fifteen of them shuffling in two groups (eight between the west evil tree and the stairs and seven between the east evil tree and the stairs). But these zombies stand out from ones you’ve encountered before. Green gas spews from their mouths and leaks from the lesions in their undead flesh. You can’t smell anything at this range, but it can’t be good.

One of the trees opens eyes and looks straight at the group. As a result, both zombie hordes also turn and focus on the group.

But you’re all so keyed up and ready to go that the entire party is first in initiative. You’ve enough experience to know that all the zombies and the trees will be on top of you in seconds if you don’t get through the doorway.

Your new friends:

((So we're at the base of the stairs and there's a clump 30ft east and 30ft West of us? How far up the stairs to the door?))

Ethel will wave her walking stick and utter the incantations necessary to cast web, targeting the group of 8 zombies (or more if one of the trees can also be included).

Each creature that starts its turn in the webs or that enters them during its turn must make a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the creature is restrained as long as it remains in the webs or until it breaks free.

A creature restrained by the webs can use its action to make a Strength check against your spell save DC (16). If it succeeds, it is no longer restrained.

The webs are flammable. Any 5-foot cube of webs exposed to fire burns away in 1 round, dealing 2d4 fire damage to any creature that starts its turn in the fire.

"The door, please," she says, with more than a hint of urgency.  She will move toward the (though allowing room for anyone who looks like they might be making efforts to open it).