Jan will slip to the fore and approach the gauntlet cautiously, seeing how they react to her approach. Ava is close and they have stayed pretty unmoving...

As the tower threatens to collapse, Ethel hurriedly looks for someone to help her carry the magic mirror out - and finds herself alone on the steps.  She starts to call out for aid but then... sighing in defeat... hobbles down the exterior steps, giving a last rueful look behind her.

Not understanding why Ethel is leaving the collapsing tower at such a slow and seemingly defeated pace, but Ava walks up to her and attempts to help her along.  "I don't want this tower crushing you!  C'mon, and keep your eyes peeled, that mage is crafty enough to just appear here out of nowhere!"

"I think 'Mak'ral' - or whatever his real name was -  has already departed.  Unless I'm grossly mistaken, that helmet was a teleportation aid."  Ethel is unusually curt and sounds distracted.

She curls a lip and, seeing the zombie with the bolt sticking out of its head, hits it with a spectral claw, lashing out the way an angry drunk might punch a wall.

• Spell Attack:  15  Necrotic Damage:  10

"He took my crossbow!"

Marrin is even angrier now.

She does give a wave to QuietOak, Geoff and Hammerdasher.

"Where are the things that were chasing you?"

The group manages to get through the gauntlet of zombies at the same moment the tower begins to collapse. Ethel's necrotic slap at the zombie coincides with the first tumbling stone.

Arrowhead zombie collapses to the ground, becoming slightly more ghastly as it does. It doesn't move. Not even with a piece of stone smashes into its back from the tower.

That combination of Ethel's magic and the falling stone, and maybe even the absence of Mak'ral, breaks whatever spell was keeping the zombies and rotting trees from moving.

Quickly chaos ensues. Stones and wood start collapsing towards the party and the zombies. Ethel can see the mirrors getting crushed by the tower before being obscured by debris and dust. But a moment later two blue jays fly out from the tumbling rubble, screeching angrily, as if they'd been held somewhere against their will for quite some time, before taking off into the sky

Stones rain down, catching half of the zombies before they can move. They might still be animated, but they're not getting out from under the stones unless they get help from someone.

QuietWalnut stops moving closer and instead heads laterally east at the clearing edge, not wanting to get closer to the tower. Hammerdasher points back into the woods and shrugs in response to Marrin's question.

Ula gets caught watching the zombies and misses seeing a piece of broken stone that slams into her shoulder, spinning her around.

Soren reaches over to help her but he should have been looking up, as he gets clipped as well.

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(Dex Saves from the group - DC12 or take 2  bludgeoning from falling debris - no damage on success).

The two animated rotting trees and four remaining zombies look like they're ready to attack again - will let the party act first.

Dex save: 21

Marrin twists to avoid a piece of floor before continuing on.

"I'm not in great shape to fight those trees."

Marrin says in a matter of fact tone.

Dex:  5

Ethel gasps as a stone hits her, though it does more insult than injury.  [Reduces temp Hp.]

Seeing the forces of the dead surrounding her friends, she gathers up her last spellpower and rotates her walking staff before her.  Then she splays out her fingers and releases gout of flame in a 15' cone.

Targeting both trees and as many zombies as she can catch, they must make DC 16 DEX saves.  They take 12 fire damage on a failed save, 6 on a successful save.  Then she will hobble away as far from the trees as she can.

Dex: 14

Avaria narrowly misses being hit by a large piece of falling rock as the tower collapses.  Hearing the items inside being demolished, she cringes wondering if there were things inside that might be helpful to them in the long run and then thinks of the mirrors... oh shoot.

Nevermind that, too late and she watches her friends start running away from the trees and zombies.  She follows behind them and then puts herself between her friends and the enemies, hoping to give these creatures a target and her friends more time to run as none of them were in good shape.  She starts to shift for the last time before a good rest, breathing a little easier as the temp hps help her out.  She decides to dodge as her main focus is retreat at the moment.

Jan Dex: 19

Jan will put room between her and the trees and zombies (full move), sending blasts of energy into the nearest tree.

Attack: 8 Damage: 6
Attack: 9 Damage: 10

((+3 bludgeoning))

((Or whistling past the nearest tree.... ))

Marrin yells to the nearest tree (mönster),

"Bring it on sap for brains!"

DC 16 wisdom save and disadvantage on next attack plus: 3 whole points of damage

Ethel is able to catch one whole side of the enemy (four zombies and one tree) with her splayed out finger of fire. Surprisingly, two of the zombies manage to avoid the worst of it, more out of general clumsiness than anything else. But the other two zombies and one of the trees take the full force of the flames. Sticking close to the side she's burning, let's Ethel shuffle a little past the gauntlet of zombies.

Jan's blasts do indeed go well wide of the diseased tree, though it gets closer to Hammerdasher up on QuietWalnut.

"Watch it lass. We're on your side," Hammerdasher calls out.

Marrin can't really tell whether or not the diseased tree was affected by what she said, but she at least feels better about having said it.

Ula follows the group, her hand gripping her amulet as she does. Behind the back of the 'left' tree, a ghostly - spirit of a hammer appears in the air and crashed down against the branches, making a satisfying thud as it hits.

She then uses her own own mundane warhammer to slam into the same 'left' tree, hoping to give Ethel more room to keep moving away.

Soren decides to adopt Ethel's tactics and orients himself towards the other side of the gauntlet. He hums a short note, which quickly grows to a booming, rolling wave of sound, reminding the others of a thunderstorm. It quickly sweeps over the three zombie and 'right' tree. The sound reaches such a level that two of the zombies collapse to the ground, spewing green vapour upwards before ceasing to move. The third zombie manages to withstand the worst of it but it still looks to be severely damaged.

QuietWalnut crosses the clearing with a couple of long strides and sweeps its trunk like limbs down onto the back of the same diseased tree that Ula is engaged with. Black ichor oozes as diseased bark goes flying.

The one remaining zombie on the right takes a swipe at Avaria, but it's lumbering gait carries it too far to one side and it misses the shifter completely.

The four on the other side divide themselves with two going after Ula and two looking to get at the rest of the group. The two by Ula use up too much energy to move into position to attack that they miss the dwarf completely.

Likewise, one swings at Jan and misses and one at Marrin also misses.

The diseased trees seem most intent on QuietWalnut with both making multiple swings at the treant. Only one blow appears to have a chance at connecting but the tree can't carry through. Maybe Marrin's insults did hit home.

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The party's up.

One zombie is near Avaria. Two are on Ula. One each on Jan and Marrin. That's it for remaining zombies. The two disease tree blights are after QuietWalnut (and by proximity, Hammerdasher and Geffroi).

Ethel follows the diseased treants at a distance, trusting her friends to handle the remaining zombies.  She targets the one she has already burned with a spectral claw.

• Spell Attack:  16  Necrotic Damage:  11

Ethel icy skeletal claw manages to just crack through the bark of the tree, causing more rot to occur.

Marrin whispers dissonantly at the tree Quietwalnut is hitting and keeps on running to get away from zombies (taking the AoO)

dissonant whispers DC 16 wisdom save: 10 damage

((On fail hoping for QW to get an AoO of her own))

Avaria looks bad, really bad.  Taking a deep breath away from the zombie's green cloud, she takes out her handaxes and finds her rage.  She bares her teeth and with her totem of the eagle, she backs away from the zombie, not wanting to take any more of that poison (AoO is with disadvantage)

Moving about 20 feet away from it, she hurls her handaxes at the creature, the first one hitting - 11 + 2 damage.  Her second one was a nat 1.

She then moves the rest of her 40 feet of distance.

Having seen the foul stench of the zombies before, Jan wants no part in being next to them when they are put down, and despite them being able to catch up to her, moves further away to try to put some distance between herself and them before firing off a blast at hers and Marrin's once her friend is clear.

Attack: 14 Damage: 5

Attack: 18 Damage: Unable to parse dice roll.

((+3 bludgeoning to first to hit))

((Full move away, hoping fast zombies get left behind if she doesn't drop them, then 1 blast each at hers and Marrin's provided all allies are clear of the stink cloud.))

In a flurry of swinging limbs, hammers, eldritch blasts and magic, the clearing becomes a full fledged battle field.

Marrin's gamble gets her clear of almost everything except one last zombie she has to run past to get clear. It clips her shoulder (4HP bludgeoning).

But she notices with a great deal of satisfaction that her unpleasant whispers get the rotting tree moving away from her. Both QuietWalnut and Ula manage to deliver blows that cause bark to fly as the tree blight flees to get away from Marrin.

Avaria leaps away with all her primal fury. Her speed keeps her safe as one zombie appeared about to connect but finds only air as the shifter escapes. The axe she throws will require some cleaning as it embeds itself deep into the skull of a zombie causing the creature to collapse, green vapour gusting upwards.

Jan also make a run for some safety. Against more agile opponents she might have been in trouble but the zombies can't take advantage of the opportunity presented as she dodges past them. As she turns, the crackling magical energy beams slam into two zombies, killing one for good and injuring another.

Ula moves her dancing ghostly hammer over to an injured zombie and ends its grisly half-life. She then turns her own hammer against another, injuring it badly.

Soren hums another note, and again a rolling wave of thunder leaves his mouth and slams full force into the second rotting tree, doing significant damage.

QuietWalnut stoops slightly, picking up a large piece of the tower wall and hurls it at the fleeing tree blight. The boulder sized piece of wall crashes into the blight, splitting it into two and leaving it motionless and destroyed on the ground.

The two remaining zombies turn their sights on Ula, the closest humanoid and swinging their clumsy arms at her. One misses completely but the other lands as solid a blow as a zombie can. Both spew green noxious vapour at her as well. But Ula's strong dwarven constitution saves her.

The remaining tree blight lumbers towards Soren but sees it has to get through QuietWalnut to get at the humanoid that hurt it. It slams branches down and hits the treant twice.

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Party's up - two zombies remain, hitting at Ula from multiple sides and the tree blight is still in the mix.