20th Day of the Arc of Sahaad

The party stared in surprise up at the albino ogre, as he stood on the hill above them, having just killed the evil elf they had captured.  Recovering from the stunning turn of events, the party moved quickly to incapacitate their new attacker.  Working together, they overcame the ogre, who was grievously injured.  Taking advantage of his defenselessness, and overcome by anger, the party used force to get their prisoner to talk.

The white ogre told them that Lo’saine, the elf legate had left, and that Ardherin had been summoned.  He advised them that Sarath was well aware of the party’s coming and had prepared for their arrival.  Unable to face captivity, the albino ogre begged to be killed and the party complied.  Afterward, Lucial was finally able to examine the ogre's possessions at peace and made a stunning discovery.  He believed this had been the mysterious “ghost” figure who had saved them from captivity in the Kaladrun Mountains!  But why the albino ogre saved them then, and why he was working against them now, were mysteries Torbin himself could never answer.  The company takes the dead orc’s magic great club and hide armor for themselves, feeling disturbed by what they did to the orc and what kind of people they have become.

Summoning their courage, the party continued up-valley, towards the deeper marsh and Sarath, and an almost certain ambush.  Not long after camping for the night, the party was attacked again by six more of Sarath’s twisted half-elf, half-tree mutations.  They succeeded in slaying the creatures thanks to numerous sheets of eldritch flame created by Elenon.  During the battle, Haidar is also badly burnt, and demands of Elenon, “Don’t you have a sword?”

Later that evening, the company is awakened by a rumbling sound.  Taking cover, they see two enormous tree-beasts stomping across the valley floor.  This time, the party sets their own ambush, eventually defeating the two trees-beasts and moving up-river.  Before long, the party comes upon five elf-tree crossbreeds torturing a larger tree creature.  The PCs move to dispatch them, and a fierce fight ensues.  During the battle, the company slays the creatures, but Haidar is slain in the process.  Before the party has time to collect their wits, Haidar rises from the dead as a cursed Fell.  However, the Fell is crushed by Kirgug, who is really the tree-being the party has saved.

Kirgug takes the group to a nearby cave sanctuary.  There they meet Santiago, a gnome who became trapped in the swamp while tracking down an assassin.  In a selfless act, Lucial takes the opportunity to heal Kirgug using the box of magic dirt he has been carrying for some time.  In response to his kindness, Kirgug gives Lucial a magical wooden hand, called the Darkwood Palm, which is capable of replacing the one he lost in battle so long ago.  Lucial is overjoyed, now feeling like a whole man again.  Kirgug gives several other gifts, and the part members rest to prepare for their trials ahead.

Finally, the company sets out to find and slay Sarath once and for all, led to the grove by Kirgug.  They kill a giant tree-sentinel, and fight their way up the hill toward the grove, battling against evil elves all the while.  Reaching the top, the party is attacked by a giant, magic-wielding vulture.  The beast repeatedly attacks Kirgug with magic, eventually slaying the tree-giant, only to be killed in turn by the vengeful PCs.  The corpse of the creature shrinks to the corpse of Sarath, and the company realizes they have finally slain the legate, and freed the grove from his corruption.

The party remains in the grove for some time, resting and watching the grove, and its final tree, gradually shake off the corrupting influence of Sarath and return to health.  They discuss the events of the last few months.  It becomes clear Elenon knows more about their circumstances than he has shared with the party.  Under peer pressure, the mage tells the party he knows a snow elf traitor working for Izrador is working with the dwarven traitor Barak.  Elenon fears this elf traitor may have had access to the Dragon Scroll they are currently taking to Erethor.  If so, what does that imply?  Did the servants of the shadow plant this scroll, the one the party now has?  Did they steal the real one?  And if the scroll they are carrying is false, could it endanger the elf kingdom?  By taking the scroll further west, are they unknowingly helping to plunge Eredane deeper under the influence of The Shadow?