Free the Bee Tree

Carmen, Dominic, Petrichor, and Sabah were nursing breakfast in the back tavern, and quietly discussing the outcome of their recent attempt to clear "pollution" from the Pirates River.  They'd ended up battling small but powerful creatures, and the outcome was somewhat unexciting.  Petrichor, in particular, had joined the Freelancers convinced she would make a difference in the world, but killing a handful of mutated frogs and mice didn't feel like much.

Tim was nearby, and related to their feeling.  The bald human was always ambitious to do great things in some sort of battle.  The Wind sagani, Murai was shaking their head.  No shinies to acquire there.

Well, there was only one antidote to this feeling, and the 6 Freelancers rose to visit Arnari's office to ask about a mission.  The office was not much changed from its normal.

Sabah sat on the bearskin rug in front of Arnari's mahogany desk.
Dominic went to the maps on Arnari's wall, and pulled out a notebook of unlined paper with tiny writing and also sketches.  He started to take notes, occasionally glancing back at Arnari.
Carmen chose a chair large enough for him, tested his weight, then sat in it.
Petrichor glanced at the maps, then stepped over next to Dominic, trying to figure out at a glance where Pirates Dream river was.  Unwilling to peer for long, she moved to the front row of chairs and sat in the center.
Murai picked a comfy-looking chair, then shifted uncomfortably as they failed in this choice.
Tim selected the nearest chair to the door which did not put his back to the door.

While all this minor chair-selection drama was happening, Arnari was glancing at the Freelancers and the papers arranged on her desk.  She fished out 5 papers, some of which were dog-eared, and one was crisp.  She set aside the harp as the movement quieted and picked up two very worn papers.

Eggs – hippogryph – 100gp/egg, with price bumps for rare.  10 eggs get a hippogryph.  If you take this, invest in sacks and blankets to protect them.

Gryphon similar – 150gp/egg from House Liona.  12 eggs get a riding gryphon.

3rd of course, pollution, several of you just came back from it.  100gp/person plus an uncommon potion each.

Dominic muttered, "or learn to ride it."  Arnari ignored him.

Korfel Goltorrah, leader of Mantzur, wants Freelancers to come back and deal with giant evil bees.  Sabah & Dominic were there; they are menacing Mantzur and they used animal friendship to track, and found a tree with giant bees and suits of armour full of bees.

Carmen:  why do you think giant bees are evil?
Arnari:  they were attacking people.  Maybe, they were controlled by evil.
Dominic:  we've attacked people too.
Petrichor:  do froggoths count?  I'm in the clear!
Arnari <after a pause>:  100gp/person.

The final mission is (here, Arnari picked up the crisp paper and scanned it again) someone, Ismay Wolfkiss, is trying to build an inn between Cliffshadow and Cliffgate.  Building supplies are going missing.  He would like Freelancers to find out why and stop it, so he can build the inn.

Carmen:  how long has it been for bees?
Petrichor:  bees, bad news
Tim:  what are we supposed to do about the inn?  Apprehend?  Alive or dead?
Arnari:  it seems a bit over to kill people from stealing, but if they are trying to kill you… the bees were from half a year ago.
<A brief pause while the Freelancers considered.>
Carmen:  bees, or pollution.
Dominic:  I'm always down for pollution, but neutral
Petrichor:  bees.
Murai:  more like bees
Tim:  bees is intriguing
Sabah:  I use to live near there, so bees
Tim:  will go for group consensus!

So bees it was and the Freelancers filed out of Arnari's office, and (after some discussion) to the quartermaster, a cheerful female Maker gnome named Waywocket, to buy such supplies as were needed, in particular rations.  Carmen bought 6 days' of rations; 5 smudge sticks for 3sp each because of bees; a hempen rope and a climber's kit because big tree.  <Narrator voice:  sadly I do not know what anyone else bought.> 

Then the Freelancers headed south to Mantzur.

The weather was terrible; windy, rainy, occasional thunder.  Carmen, Petrichor, and Tim walked, while Dominic rode his dire wolf Grgnack; Murai and Sabah rode dire corgis.  Bee-opatra, the giant bee Dominic had befriended, buzzed along behind Grgnack.

The Freelancers arrived in Mantzur after a couple of days, and they were put up in the guest house; the experience was odd to Petrichor, who was from a nearby ranch.  They rose the next morning to improved weather, and Tim saw for the first time how the trees were in different cycles, some blooming, some in buds, some bearing fruit.

Korfel, who was as tall as Carmen, greeted the Freelancers, and was happy to see Petrichor, and also that they were coming to deal with the giant bees.  The Freelancers, however, wanted more info.

Carmen:  what do you want done with the bees?
Korfel:  would prefer they be relocated farther away.  Right now, they are fairly far into the woods.  <looked at Dominic>  maybe convince them to be fall away.
Dominic:  what about the armours?
Korfel:  those armours, that's bad.  That's ominous.
Murai:  so if the bees go away, we need to deal with it.
Sabah:  wasn't there something about a hag…?
Dominic:  I thought there was a hint of it
Carmen:  what's more important, these armours, or moving the hive?
Korfel <thought a moment>:  the armours; without them, unlikely the bees would be aggressive.

The Freelancers planned their excursion more carefully, now.  Since they were going into an area where Sabah had lived as a hermit, and they had Bee-opatra, they knew the hive was 4 days' travel.  They picked up more rations and took off southward.

Between Dominic and Bee-opatra, and Sabah's familiarity with the area, the Freelancers arrived in the environs of the hive in the expected 4 days without any mishap.  They stopped and took stock when they were an hour away; it was mid-afternoon.

Carmen:  I suggest Bee-opatra scout.
Murai:  maybe, negotiate.
Dominic:  I'd prefer to keep her long-distance; but yes.

Dominic then fell into a ritual cast of beast sense, and sent Bee-opatra to scout, trusting the other Freelancers to keep watch over him.

Dominic:  she's a bee of very little brain.
Sabah:  she is bee-mused.
Petrichor:  as long as she's not bee-fuddled.

While the Freelancers were cracking bee puns, Bee-opatra was buzzing around the home she'd been separated from for months, with Dominic as a mental observer riding along.  What they observed was a really big tree; 25' up the trunk was a very large hole, with giant bees going in and out.  3 separate armours were patrolling at a distance, perhaps 50' away from the tree bole.

Bee-opatra saw 5 different bees going in and out, because she could tell them apart.  A sixth bee was staying at the top of the tree, circling, but occasionally flying to the hole.

Dominic relayed this information to the others.

Murai:  maybe we go when bees aren't there
Carmen:  we should draw the armour off
Sabah:  the bees have to sleep; the armours don't
Carmen:  there are bees in there, too
Sabah:  that's different
Dominic:  can someone cast detect magic as Bee-opatra returns?

Bee-opatra flew into the clearing, and Carmen popped his innate detect magic.  He noticed many items carried by his fellow Freelancers, and divination magic on Bee-opatra from the beast sense spell.  Oddly enough, he saw nothing magical on the enormous, glittery, jewel-encrusted bird pendant Murai always sported around their neck.

Now Bee-opatra was back, Dominic was able to sketch for the others what was there.  The tree had a 20' diameter trunk, and was so large it made its own surrounding clearing.  50' out from the trunk was the patrol route, and 40-50' past that in most directions was broken ground/meadow.  The treeline surrounded it; but to the south, a steep hillside went up.

Dominic tried to remember what Bee-opatra thought of the armours when he first bee-friended her, but could only vaguely remember she thought the armours were protective.  Sabah tried to remember when the bees sleep, and remembered that they sleep at night, but wake up when threatened; they were usually away from the hive during the day.

The Daystar was westering, with clouds coming from the east; so the Freelancers concluded it was best to camp for the night and try in the morning.  They setup camp and split the night into three double watches.

Carmen & Murai took the first watch.  It was fairly uneventful; they heard a hippogryph to the west.

Dominic & Sabah took the second watch.  Sabah's familiar, the wolpertinger Fluffy, also watched.  They thought it was a very dark night, and heard bats.  Dominic also thought it was dark but was able to pick out which bats were which and count them.

Tim & Petrichor tool the third watch.  Tim thought it was dark, although the sky was lightening up as time passed and Duquesne emerged from stormshadow.  Petrichor saw just fine, and thought it was a lovely night, with bats, owls, and a big cat in the distance.

The morning came, and the woods around the Freelancers were quiet, suspiciously quiet.  The Freelancers prepared to go take care of the armours, and part of that was Dominic casting speak with animals to give Bee-opatra the option not to participate.  The giant bee did not want to hurt other bees, so she stayed behind.

The group then spent the next hour sneaking to the edge of the treeline near the hive.  Carmen did okay, although he was still unused to woodcraft while in the heavy ring armour.  Petrichor started through crunchy leaves, and Sabah quickly had Juru, his dire corgi, drag her away from that path.

Finally, they were 25' back from the clearing, and observing the armours, and that all the bees were gone but that one circling above, which Carmen and Dominic spotted.  After a quick consultation how best to begin, Murai mentioned they had a rope of climbing.  Instead of having it climb, it could move towards the patrol route, and fasten to an armour at the ankles.

Delighted at this idea, the Freelancers prepared themselves as the end of Murai's rope of climbing "climbed" out into the clearing towards where the visibly battered armours were patrolling.  Murai stayed mounted on Dudley, their dire corgi, and tied their end of the rope to his saddle horn.  Dudley also grabbed the rope, like a giant tug-toy.

The rope "fastened" to the ankles of a patrolling armour, and Dudley tugged.  And tugged, and tugged, but was unable to budge the armour.  The other armours had not yet noticed.

Dominic, on Grgnak, moved to the edge of the clearing, and quaffed a vial of antitoxin.  He then cast thorn whip on the armour, but it just clanged on the metal.  Grgnak moved back.

• Petrichor moved a bit away, to a nearby broken tree, then used her sling on the armour.  The bullet struck it in a weak point, denting it.
• Murai told Dudley to pull, and he did so with a dervish, proning the armour.  He backed up, rope still in his teeth, hauling it to the edge of the clearing.
  • Murai tried to hit the armour with their longbow, but the arrow went into a nearby bush.
• Fluffy flew up from Juru's back to a tree about 10' away from the prone armour, and prepared to dodge.
• The armour stood back up.
  • Tim cast mind sliver on it, successfully as far as he could tell, but it did… nothing at all.
  • Carmen cast mold earth at its feet, and it tripped and fell as it tried to move towards Dudley.
  • The armour stood up again and moved up to Dudley.
• Sabah rode Juru over, then leapt off and grappled the armour.  With a surge of adrenaline they again pulled it prone, holding it down in a 3-point stance.
• Tim cast toll the dead on the prone armour.  The bonnngggg carried through the clearing, but the armour shook it off.
• Carmen quickly glanced up at the giant bee circling high above.  It hadn't moved, so he too cast toll the dead.  The bell was a high pitched tiiinnngggg and the armour took some damage from that, honey leaking out a little bit.

Dominic rode Grgnak over to the proned armour and the dire wolf bit it.  Then Dominic whacked the armour with his quarterstaff, but missed.  Grgnak moved away again, and the armour tried to slam the dire wolf with an arm, but it too missed.

• Petrichor moved up next to Grgnak and tried to sling the proned armour, but just sent the sling bullet into a bush.
• Murai leaned foward and smote the armour with their boat hook.  Rainbow glitter exploded because of the smite, and the armour looked much worse for wear.  Bees crawled out of the armour, dying from the glitter.
  • Dudley chomped the armour, shaking it by the neck, and it collapsed into a pile of plate, thorny vines, honey, and dying bees.
  • Murai had the rope of climbing re-coil itself.
• Fluffy was distracted, because the two other armours stopped patrolling and were moving towards the Freelancers.  He flew to another tree.
• Sabah looked for the circling giant bee, but did not see her.  They remounted Juru, and ducked behind the tree to the right, telling the other Freelancers the other armours had noticed.
• Tim moved towards the clearing, and cast toll the dead on the armour to his left.  Again the bonnngggg carried through the clearing, and it affected the armour, but not much.
• Carmen cast guiding bolt on the same armour, but missed.
• That armour came up to the edge of the clearing.

Dominic cast heat metal on the nearby armour, cooking whatever was within.

• Petrichor came up to the armour and smacked it with her shepherd's crook, a solid blow.
• Murai rode over on Dudley and swung their boat hook again, but it clanged off the red-hot metal.
• The remaining armour, which was a dull grey, bee-lined for Tim.
• Fluffy buzzed the grey armour, distracting it, and flew back to his tree.
• Sabah rode over to the grey armour and punched it, then jumped off Juru to grapple it.
• Tim cast toll the dead on the grey armour, and bees started falling out as the bonnngggg sounded.  He moved back next to Carmen.
• Carmen called down Āhua's bane on the two armours.  The red-hot one shook it off, but the grey one did not.
• The red-hot armour tried to slam Petrichor and Murai, but missed both of them.  Its visor opened, and a bee flew out into Murai's face and crit!  Murai reeled from a massive injection of bee poison to their face.
  • Dominic:  Murai!  How you doin'?
    Murai:  I've been better
    Dominic:  are you poisoned?
    Murai:  I don't think so.  I can lay on hands on myself
    Carmen <pointed>:  you might want that bush
    Sabah:  find somewhere private
    Murai:  …

Dominic rode Grgnak into the clearing, behind the red-hot armour, and cast another thorn whip on it, which was fended off by angry bees.  He activated the heat metal again to burn whatever was within.  The grey armour swung at him as they moved away, but it missed.  Not wanting the circling giant bee to notice him, Dominic moved back out of the clearing.

• Petrichor dealt another solid blow to the red-hot armour with her shepherd's crook.  A cloud of burning bees flew out of the visor and Petrichor threw an elbow strike through them to dent the armour further, while avoiding any burns herself.
• Murai had Dudley disengage from the red-hot armour and back off a good 20', and then they really did lay on hands, but only on their massively bee-stung forehead.  Then they quaffed a healing potion for good measure.
• The grey armour rotated in Sabah's grasp and punched them back, twice, which included bee stings, which Sabah did not appreciate.
  • The visor opened, and a bee flew out at Sabah and critfailed!  It buzzed on over to Juru instead, and missed.
• Fluffy flew over to distract the grey armour
• Sabah wrassled the grey armour to the ground, and Juru bit it.  Juru's crit tore off one of the grey armour's pauldrons.
• Tim cast toll the dead again on the grey armour, and it succumbed to the necrosis within, falling apart in a pile of plate, thorny vines, and dying bees as the bonnngggg provided a dramatic sonic backdrop.
• Carmen cast toll the dead on the red-hot armour, and the spell took, but it was hard to see the effect of the necrosis with the heat and the beating.
• The red-hot armour clobbered Petrichor, slamming her twice with its heated gauntlets, and also with bee stings.  Petrichor was down from her injuries.
  • The armour then spat a bee at Murai, but it buzzed off.

Dominic cast healing word on Petrichor, and guiding bolt on the red-hot armour.  Starlight glowed in the armour's crevasses.

• Petrichor rose up and whacked the red-hot armour in the back of the helmet, her shepherd's crook leaving an uncharacteristically large dent because the heat metal had softened it.  The armour sank to its knees, then pitched forward into the ground.

The Freelancers cast about – for hostile bees, more armours, anything of value – but didn't see much.  Fluffy was sniffing at the bees, and Murai was considering the usefulness of the plate.  The others were looking at the giant bee, flying around 200' up over the tree.  That was not how bees bee-have.

Dominic cast earth bind on the giant bee.  It avoided the spell and vanished, heading to the northwest, perhaps.  Carmen cast detect magic again, and walked around the armours, slowly.  They glowed with fading transmutative magic.  He walked towards the tree, and noticed some very faint enchantment magic, which seemed to be in the drops of honey.

Frowning, Carmen walked back to the armours, and checked the honey they had more carefully.  The honey had a little bit of enchantment and conjuration, and he told this to the others, especially Murai, since it was all over the metal.

Petrichor went to the tree and started to climb it.  She got to the giant hole and looked in.  Murai followed her, and they both looked.

The hive was big; the combs were capped, and had honey, larvae, and pollen.  As Petrichor peered below, she realized there was someone dead in the honey… a dead Wild elf.  A friend, from Mantzur.  The elf's body was well-preserved in the honey.

Petrichor pulled herself back out of the giant hole and called down to the others what she's found.  Startled, Carmen climbed up; detect magic was still running.  This honey also had conjuration and enchantment.  The cleric checked the honeycomb, but there were no humanoid bodies there.

The elf had a nice ring on them, with a bird, which lit up the detect magic.  Carmen pointed this out to the others, and Murai was startled at not having seen it.  The elf also had large bee-sting wounds in chest and abdomen.

Carmen, thinking the elf's remains should go back to Mantzur, said, "We should not loot it," and the others agreed.  Tim, meanwhile, wanted to take a sample of the honeycomb, so the Freelancers did so.

They retreated out of the clearing with the elf's remains and honeycomb, then spend some time cleaning off the armour.  Then the Freelancers headed back to Mantzur.

Korfel was surprised and sad at the return of the Freelancers, with the body of a Wild elf who'd been missing a full eighth.  Mantzur prepared for a funeral, with the family arriving and… well, they were grateful to the Freelancers for finding the elf and providing closure, but grieving nonetheless.  The ring was a ring of evasion, and they gifted this ring to Petrichor.

The Freelancers also reported their experiences to Korfel, including the magical honey and the unnaturally disappearing giant bee.  Tim showed Korfel the honeycomb, and he became worried that another hag had appeared. The Mantzurian leader paid the Freelancers 100gp each, and also wrote up a mission request for Arnari to have Freelancers reinspect the house where others had formerly found and killed a hag.

The Freelancers returned to Cliffshadow, and learned the plate was only worth about half the value of well-maintained armour.  They sold two sets, but Murai kept the best one and paid the others its value, so they were all 450gp richer in the end.

• Sabah → lvl5!
• Murai → lvl5!
• Carmen → lvl3!
• Petrichor → lvl2!