Quote from Guiltysparc >>

Isk goes over to the tree and will examine the area around the roots to see if the recession of the hag-magic is helping the tree at all.  In other words, Isk has no idea what he's doing. Nature: 6

Tree looks blackened, blasted, and splintered. Looks dead to him. But he doesn't want to discourage the others, who might actually know something about trees.

(OOC: I have a solution in mind, but that can change if someone comes up with a better idea... If the rolls turn out bad, which can cause a storyline to grind to a halt, I wanted to make it clear that "mercy killing" is the normal solution. Even though "heroes" should look for a better way, no one would hold it against you.)

Reverie frowns as she bit her lower lip, looking down on her scabbard and then to the sleeping Dryad. For a moment, she starts to think out loud. "... I wish my prayer could reach out to Eldath, but I am no cleric." A pause. "Would it be dangerous if we take the Dryad with us to the clear location with my scabbard?" And then, she stops for a second to look at the dead tree.

Nature - 4

(... Dice, why ;-;)

Isk and Reverie do their best, but only see a blasted, dried tree. (OOC: For the Star Trek fans: "Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor, not a tree surgeon.")

Froskan, Jack, and Trimyrai can still try Nature checks (or state if there was something in particular that you were looking for).

For now, the Dryad remains tied up (and unconscious) away from the center of the grove. (The magic would strengthen the Dryad, and perhaps allow her to start rampaging again.) For the moment, it is safer to leave her where she is.

Trimyrai examines the tree, and tries to provide whatever knowledge he might have on plant life.

Nature: 15

Froskan also looks over the tree for any signs that it might not be completely dead or that it might be saved.  Maybe some small shoots growing almost unnoticed?

Nature: 11

Quote from VanderLegion >>

Maybe some small shoots growing almost unnoticed?  Nature: 11

I'll say that Froskan had Advantage. (You can roll again to try to improve that 11.)

And Jack still has the option to try a Nature check on that dead tree.

Nature: 3

(Between Froskan and Trimyrai getting 15 +, I'll say good enough.)

Froskan mentions looking for small shoots that might be used for the "tree cuttings" method of growing a new tree. (Froskan never thought he would use this bit of knowledge from one of the wilderness hermits he took lessons from.)

It seems hopeless, as the tree is blasted and withered, but Trimyrai uses his Eyes of the Eagle to find a tiny stem that is still green.

Carefully cutting it (following the lessons Froskan read about), you plant it a short distance away from the original tree (but in a place where the Grove magic is strong).

(Any action done for the scabbard, while you are waiting to see the results of the planting?)

Reverie follows and watches Trimyrai and Froskan planting the small shoot for a moment. Then she walks away from them about five steps and places her scabbard onto the ground. After that, she will waiting to see the results of the planting.

You are all standing around, and... watching the ground.

(I am going to take a stab that Jack would say out loud what you are all thinking.) "This is almost as exciting as watching paint dry."

After 2 minutes, you do notice a change in the planted tree cutting. The color is changing from grey to a healthier green-brown. There is just enough change in its position that you suspect that it is pushing roots into the earth around it. Even those among you that are horticulturally challenged (sorry about those Nature rolls, Iskander and Reverie) can tell that the cutting-planting seems to be working.

The writing on the scabbard, which might have told you more about its purpose and history, remains scratched or worn down. But the color of the rest of the scabbard is becoming more vibrant. Scuffs and scratches, from decades of being buried in the Shadowfell, are filling in.

Clarion looks over both your efforts: "It is going to take some time (days? weeks?) before that twig becomes a decent sized tree, but it looks like your idea is working. I don't know if the Dryad will be able to (re)connect with this tree, but you've given her at least a chance at recovery.

"That scabbard is definitely responding to the magic in this place. Give it another 10 minutes, and that work will be done."

(OOC: When the 10 minutes are up, is there anything else to say or do? Or do you want to proceed to your next destination?)

Isk looks back at the dryad , "Do we...untie the her before we go?"

Trimyrai: "Would bringing the dryad closer to the tree help at all?"

Quote from Guiltysparc >>

Isk looks back at the dryad , "Do we...untie the her before we go?"

Quote from EmperorKarino >>

Trimyrai: "Would bringing the dryad closer to the tree help at all?"

Clarion shrugs. "If there is any recovery, time to bond with the "offspring" of her tree is probably the best. But I would prefer not be around when she wakes up."

After 10 minutes, Reverie reclaims her scabbard. Before its appearance matched the neglect of being buried in the Shadowfell dust for decades. Now, it looks almost brand new (except for the writing, which are not restored).

Assuming that someone got a sample for Egg Chen (the seedling with a handful of dirt), someone can strike the magic triangle to teleport the group away.

Reverie looks down on her scabbard, amazes about how the grove heals her weapon like this. It still makes her feel disappointed about the writing that did not restore, but she is quite satisfied about the scabbard. After she put her scimitar in the restored scabbard, she looks back at the pixie, Clarion, and then to the Dryad. "... Then, I guess it would be the best for us to be away from the Dryad," she mutters, "Thank you, Miss Clarion. I hope we could see you again... I will pray to Eldath for your quest to be achieve successfully."

(What does Reverie feel about the restore scabbard? Anything different? owo)

Reverie still feels a wave of seething frustration and anger when she touches the handle, suppressed by the Remove Curse, but now there is a tinge of confusion. (The cursed scimitar has noticed a change in its condition, for the first time in maybe a hundred years.)

(OOC: Reverie feels a third of the way towards a minor weapon upgrade.)

The party unties the Dryad and leaves her (still slumbering fitfully) next to the tree cutting, which is already visibly taller and thicker. Maybe some day you'll learn if the Dryad recovered... but not today.

One side of the magic transport triangle is struck. (Jack holds it up, and Reverie taps it with the attached metal rod.) The note is like a hum that you can feel in your bones, which echos and builds slightly in intensity over several seconds.

Nothing seems to happen. But then you blink, and all of you are in another place. (Surely the five of you did not blink at the same time. But the experience was the same for all of you.)

You are in a glade, with a ring of trees 300 yards away in all directions. (Halfway between the center and outer edge of this circle.) You are standing on an unnaturally flat, smoothly cut grass turf. (OOC: Like a golf course putting green, except hundreds of yards across.)

In the middle of the glade, you can see a circular pond of water, 40' feet in diameter. It is surrounded by a 1' high wall/ledge of perfectly fitted stones, so the water level is 1' higher than the surrounding ground. (The rough stones are of all sizes, but fit together like jigsaw pieces in a puzzle.) The center of the pond ripples and bubbles, suggesting it is fed by a spring of water from below.

That pond is surrounded by 3' high circle stone wall, 240' in diameter and 2' in thickness. A bit off to your right is a gap/entranc in the wall, with an arch formed by two trees (10' apart) and covered in ivy. On the inside of the stone circle (near the arch entrance) is a small wooden shack. (The door is closed.)

You are 90' from the outer wall around the pond (a minutes casual walk). No animals in sight. Quiet except for the faint gurgling of water from the pond. (The sky is the blue of a bright cloudless summer day, but you can't quite make out where the sun is.)

Reverie looks back at Jack in confusion. "... Have Egg Chen mentioned that this triangle would lead us to a different place perhaps?" Then, she frowns as her gaze scan the area, realizing that they are not back to Egg Chen's place at all. Pretty sure they did it right with the transport triangle... This somehow reminds her when they escaped from the Shadowfell and meeting a doppelgänger with the face of High Priest of Oghma. Or could it be a better version of that incident? After a moment, she walks toward the door cautiously while her eyes gaze at the pond in amazement. Reverie then investigates the stones wall... How long has it been abandoned?

Investigation - 14

Reverie thinks back to Egg Chen's words, and remembers: "This will take you where you need to go... You strike it to travel to your destination, once for each task to (partially) repair the scimitar. When the third task is done, strike it a fourth time to return here."

The grass is well manicured, and the stone walls are clean. Although the area is unused, the maintenance suggests it has not been abandoned.

The archway / entrance through the wall does not have a door, just empty space. Although made of a pair of trees and ivy growth, the arch has a precise curve, like it was molded into that shape. (The nearby shack just past the archway has a closed door.)

Froskan gazes around the glade.  "What do you think we're supposed to do here?" he asks.

Trimyrai: "Perhaps we should look for some locals, i know the last time we did that we got ambushed, but fumbling about isn't much better."

No locals in sight. No signs of habitation other than the shack inside the outer wall. You are too far away to see if there is anything inside the pool.

"Interesting place, don't know anything about it," says Clarion. "Yeah, your transport item pulled me too. Guess my work isn't done yet."