The Heroic Battle Against the Mother Tree (Dark Dreams Incident)

''This tale took place on June 4, after the revelation that the Druids of the Vine were a cult seeking to replace the material plane--the waking world--with the layers of the Emerald Dream. After the saplings were destroyed, the defenders of Duskwood regrouped at the entrance to the Twilight Grove...''

Gathering
Bessara, the green dragon, looked around at the assembled and nodded. “I’m glad you are here. You will all be needed. The majority of the cult was within the Grove when the spell was cut off. Now...well, it’s not pretty.”

Bessara sighed. “What remains in there should not be. It is not a person, not a thinking creature, and needs to be put down. You will have to do this together. I will help you.”

As they entered the Twilight Grove, the heroes' eyes were immediately drawn to the thing in the middle. It was a tree, but only just. It was almost black, its trunk and limbs twisted upwards in obscene contortions. Some thought they could pick out the forms of arms and legs and faces--but all were sure they saw eyes, glowing red, all over its bark.

The ground around the tree was deep red, and stank of blood. The druids were nowhere to be seen, nowhere, though a few robes and staves lay scattered about.

It saw the heroes, sensed them, and its wooden “body” groaned horribly as it turned. An aperture not unlike a mouth opened wide, and greenish vapor issued forth with the force of a hurricane wind. It was upon the heroes at once, and even if they held their breath, it sank into their pores.

“Yipe!”  Bessara leapt into the air, a dragon once more, and hovered.

The heroes felt sluggish, nerveless. They were awake, but not, held in a trancelike state that left them able to perceive everything around them but unable to move.

The horror advanced on the helpless defenders upon a writhing mass of roots, and its branches reached toward you.

"NO!"

Moonfire lit up the field between the living and the horror, driving it back. Bessara slowly landed again. “Champions, I give you my strength! I cannot rouse you all from slumber at once, but as I raise you each, strike fast and sure! End this monstrosity!”

Selvatore
FINALLY! Selvatore was freed. He walked straight through the group and grabbed Soviana's staff off her back – she was stuck, after all. As the others attacked, he follow in behind shouting, “You like that, huh?! You want some of this? Yeah, I'll give you some of this! Say hello to my little friend!” He held the staff under his arm almost like a grenade launcher. With wild waving, he fired off a volley of random as hell spells to blast the monster!

Elaine
Elaine's limbs twitched as the feeling returned to her limbs. She took the opportunity to creep closer to the monstrous tree. She took cover behind Selvatore, drawing her pistol and firing off a few rounds at the thing- though she had a feeling it wouldn't do much damage.

Jeremaias
Jeremaias drew a deep breath. Wings of Light exploded from Jeremaias' back, and his eyes glowed fiercely. With a shout--"THE LIGHT IS MY FORTRESS!"--he sent a shockwave of Light across the ground into the Mother Tree!

Baztet
Bastet's prayers were answered! Thank Elune for Ysera and her children! "All right! Let's do this!" Bastet called upon the stars for help. A moonbeam hit the scary tree. She knew nature magic wouldn't do anything but the power of the stars would. "Ha! Taste the power of Elune!" After that, Bastet was back into the nightmare stuck in her cheer position. Great...

Zamaris
Zamaris felt the magic dissipate from around her form, allowing her to move freely once again. She charged forward, shadows snaking over her form and causing her to disappear from sight. Once she reappeared, her blades were enchanted with shadow-flames and she was at the base of the tree, both weapons driving forward and into the being. The magic tore at it, burning away until she yanked them out and retreated backwards.

Parthilan
Parthilan spoke out loudly a prayer that echoed throughout the grove, his hand bursting to flames with holy fire. His eyes were also alight as he aimed his hands. "I am the Shepherd of the promised flock, I am he who walks the road that borders paradise and oblivion, he who wields blessed fire and blackened water. Through me the Light's wrath flows and sends the wicked to hell through the purging of fire...BY THE LIGHT BE PURGED!" He raised his hands and a wave of pure holy fire slammed and washed over the tree, trying to erase part of it and turn it to ash.

Chenlou
Jerking forth from his sudden immobility, Chen immediately raises his pistol upwards towards the monstrosity and fires off, one by one, the gun's entire magazine of armor piercing rounds straight for the creature's mouth. He then shoves the pistol back into its holster, scrambles for his other, and repeats the process in an attempt to do as much damage as he could in his small window of control. By the time he finishes, he's shrouded in a fading cloud of steam with sixteen casings scattered on the ground around him.

Gingert
Ginger felt herself be freed. She looked over herself and smiled. "All right! I'm free! And I know what to do." She mounted upon Breezy and flew into the sky. She concentrated heavily as she pulled out her wand. "Chickens... EVERYWHERE!" Suddenly, portal upon portal opened around the area as chickens swarmed the tree. They somehow reached the tree whether by floating down, or swimming across the blood. The chickens pecked the tree, peeling the bark off of the wood doing damage. There were so many of them that it looked as if a lake of white had appeared around it. "He he. Yeah."

Soviana
Soviana has had it with this giant horrortree! She snaps out of her paralysis with the help of the dragon, and reaches for her staff...which was missing, as Longhat had 'borrowed' it from her. She grumbles and stomps forward, snatching it right back from Longhat, finding his Rambo-like method of spellcasting had drained it entirely. "Guess I'm doing this the old fashioned way." She reaches into her bag and grabs a handful of bottles by the neck, using her other hand to steal Longhat's shotgun. The bottles go flying into the air at the beast tree, and the NiaTech logo of the firearm shines in the moonlight as she fires, piercing the bottles with the shot and creating a brilliant, prismatic explosion right in the 'face' of the beast as all the power in the concoctions mixed together in a volatile mass of wild magic!

Zerathan
Zerath ripped free finally. He was injured and pissed off, as he limped through the group at a half-run, flames building in his hands all at once. At some point his dagger ended up in his hand, and he focused the flame around it as he flung the blade towards the gaping maw in the tree, an explosion blasting off the bark, leaving a gap-tooth shape in the tree's mouth.

Turtledog
Tim calmy walked past all the people, chickens and all the fighting. Grass and flowers would grow where Tim walked. Once he made his way to the Tree, Tim reached his hand out. A vine would lash out from Tim’s hand and latch itself to the tree. “Embrace the force of the Grove, Embrace it’s healing touch.” A green magic travelled down the vine towards the tree. Wisps began to circle around the pair, spirits aiding the call of Tim’s magic. Four treants of the Grove entered arrived through the Portal, they rushed over to Tim’s aid. The treants all raised their hands and began to cleanse the tree along with Tim. Tim shouted,  “This land is not your home, and you will not be it’s killer.” The wisps spinning became more rapid as each moment past. They could be heard cutting through the air. “You are being evicted by the Spirits of these lands and I am here to give you notice!” One by one the wisps would latch on to the tree, covering the tree in the Spirits of the dead. “Remove this creature from your lands.” At that moment, there was a silence that could be heard across the forest., the wisps began to detonated one by one. While none of the heroes were hurt, the same could not be said for the treants, who gave their lives so that the Wisps and Tim could attempt to cleanse this tree.

Ashentower
Ashley was frozen in place, not only by the dark magics but by sheer fear. Nonetheless she composed herself and masked all other emotions with a deep scowl, stepping forward and beginning to swing her sword with side arches, chopping at the tree's moving roots and branches as they got close.

Raaxine
Rax watches the first group fall back into a stupor and sees how this works. She'll have to do something that has a lasting effect. She finds herself free and launches herself at the monstrous tree, driving her spear and latching onto it above its mouth, flames surging along her weapon and bursting into the corrupted bark, setting it ablaze in the small area around it. She feels the spell's effects on her fading and drops back to the ground a good distance away before falling back under the trance.

Lylth
Lylth was freed from her haze her sleep, the mage would hiss to herself as she shook off the effects. Quickly she struck her staff into the ground and began to channel arcane energy up fro the ley-lines through her to her sword. Quickly beginning to flick her sword about as if carving runes into the air. Slowly one by one runes would light up along the weapon until a proper sequence was aligned and a large amount of energy poured through her sword. She moved up quickly and suddenly slammed her sword into the ground. Beneath the tree the released spell would crack the ground and ushering from beneath a cataclysm of flames to erupt all around the tree’s roots.

Sannit
Sannit almost fell forward as the enchantment lifted from her temporarily. She quickly analyzed the situation, and decided the best course of action to take. With a gentle pat to Claus's rear with the back of her hand, she quickly hopped up onto the Druid's back and dashed across his frame, jumping off of the cat's head at the last minute to vault herself over the crowd. While airborne, the woman grasped onto her blades and ripped them from their sheathes. She hit the ground running, barely missing those at the front as she dashed along. She zigged and zagged until she was within striking range, in which she jumped onto a jutting root-- or limb, who knows-- and launched herself up from it! While up in the air, she slammed her daggers into the tree and slid down, her descent slowed as the blades tore through disgusting, disturbing bark. As her feet hit the ground, she knew better than to stick around. Without thought, she turned tail and ran back towards the group before she could be frozen within hitting distance. She weaved through the frozen crowd until she was where she thought she'd be safe.

((WIP; more to come))