Numenera in the Trees Session 4 

When they left the birdmen's lair, now referred too as their new home base, they searched again for tracks suspecting that they had been led here as a diversion. They were right!

No attempt had been made to hide the tracks that had led to the Murden cave (their new home base).  The tracks that had been covered up led on through the ravine but before they came out the other end they found a huge dead animal laying in their way.  The carcass had a bunch of blue flowers growing out of it.

As they approached the carcass the blue flowers launched into the air at them. The "flowers" attacked everyone but Natan, as he had no flesh to attract them. The flowers were venomous making the fight much more brutal on the party.

Natan

As they were trying to recover from the flower fight they noticed at the top of one of the ravine walls was what appeared to be a hooded tall man draped all in black robes.  He seemed to be just standing there possibly watching them.  Corbin took a closer look with his sphere of seeing things far away.  It was difficult to tell anything about the robed figure but looking at the cowl trying to see a face revealed only what looked to be a panel of black glass.

Feylor opted for a face to face confrontation.  He levitated to the robed figures height and allowed himself to drift towards it.  They all watched closely for any reaction.  There was nothing at first but as Feylor got close  he heard it say, "Greetings Harbinger, how are you feeling?"

Up to this point it hadn't moved in any way but once Feylor tried to respond it turned to face him directly and told him, "I wasn't speaking to you. I was addressing your companion."

This caused Feylor no end of confusion, even looking around to see if anyone else was around.  When he tried to get clarification all he got was, "The roses will bloom in 432 days."  Feylor is now counting the days.

Feylor had continued to drift with the wind but the robed figure did not track with him.  Feeling confused but unthreatened, Feylor landed beside the robed figure. It turned toward him and said, "The reason for your troubles is wood."  It then disappeared into thin air.

Feylor went back to the party and discussed all that had happened.  There was much confusion all around.  Elif asked if it had left any tracks.  Feylor floated back up. The only tracks he found were where he had landed.

Elif

(rude-mechanical.tumbler.com)

In time they continued following the tracks. They led them on through the ravine and back into forested area where they found another section of trees that had been knocked down.  So they followed the path of fallen trees.  They followed it for another four days before they noticed a familiar sound.  The sound of trees falling. They found a second device being used to cut a path through the forest. A second device capable of knocking down the Great Trees.  This one was being used to widen the already cut path through the forest.

They followed the double wide path for two more days when they heard the sounds of saws and axes.  Corbin saw a chance to use a cypher that he had been carrying for some time, Eye in the Sky.  He sent a camera high up into the air to show him what was going on in the area.  He saw a dozen men chopping and cutting the fallen trees.  Most of the pieces were being thrown to one side but the best logs were being pulled away by very large domesticated beetles.

Finished by Malicious Monkey on deviantART

There were also five guards spaced out among the woodsmen.  After watching for a time it was determined that the guards were protecting the woodsmen not forcing them to work.

Feylor combined a pair of cyphers to help him get more information about what was going on.  He had a Faraway Ear cypher to which he attached a device enhancer that would turn him invisible when the Faraway Ear was activated.  As he moved in closer he saw one of the guards from the outer ring of guards approaching the guard in the middle area.  Feylor thought this was opportunity to hear something.

Female guard from the outer ring: Jachek!

Lead Guard:  What is it Vandra?

Vandra:  We are being surveilled from above.

Jachek: What!?!  You're sure?

Vandra:  Yes, started just a few moments ago.

Jachek:  Damn. Jarvis said we would have more time.  Okay, let the others know. I will tell The Tender.

Jachek then started walking toward a portable building that had been set up in an already cleared area.  Feylor gave up on his listening device as it focused on one spot but he was still invisible and that would be a great asset in helping him find out what this Jachek and Tender were going to talk about.  Since Jachek was walking toward the building Feylor ran to get there first and try to sneak in behind him.

It worked perfectly but instead of seeing who The Tender was Jachek opened a chest and pulled out a small device and spoke into it.

Jachek into device:  Zade.......  Zade!

Zade: Yes!  I'm here. What is it Jachek?

Jachek: Tell The Tender that we are being watched.  There is some kind of surveillance from above.

Zade: I will let him know immediately.

Then Jachek tucked the numenera communication device back into the chest and walked back outside.  Feylor grabbed the communication device and took off to meet back up with the others.

There was a great deal of discussion about what was learned:

1. The loggers had a women, obviously a nano, that could detect numenera 800ft over her head and could tell what it was doing.

2. Jarvis the trader that had been coming to see them for several years was involved.

3. Alivia pointed out that Jarvis traded for wood carvings, specifically wood from the Great Trees.

4. The guards were reporting to someone called The Tender.

When Feylor told them he took the communication device Corbin asked if he had grabbed any paperwork that could help them figure out what's going on. No.

Feylor decided that he didn't want anyone realizing that their communication device had been taken so setting fire to the hut was the next course of action. Since his invisibility was gone he needed a distraction.  He had Corbin and Alivia attack with nonlethal arrow fire from far away from the cabin while the rest of them used a cypher rigged to burn to set the fire to the building.

When the arrows flew the guards reacted by immediately charging in that direction except for Vandra who started escorting the woodsmen to safety.  While distracted Feylor searched for and grabbed some papers in the hut then threw down the firestarter and ran.  The lead guard Jachek ran at Corbin and Alivia's position and pulled out a cypher and threw it as hard as he could toward them.

When it hit the ground the cypher blew up into a larger gout of steam out of which charged a full grown completely uninjured Jiraskar! 

Numenera in the Trees Session 3

PC's:

Alivia - A Swift Glaive who Hunts with Great Skill

Corbin - A Rugged Glaive who Controls Beasts

Elif - A Clever Jack who Fuses Flesh with Steel

Feylor -  An Intelligent Jack who Controls Gravity

Natan - A Mechanical Nano who Talks to Machines

Session 3

The party decided that they needed to see what the bird men had blocked off behind their makeshift wall. They could see that there was a bright light somewhere behind it.

The wall section turned out to be heavier than they expected. They attempted to lower it quietly but failed.  It fell with a loud booming crash.  As the boom faded they waited for something to come attack them attracted by the noise.  But all just became quiet again.

Beyond they found a corridor that led around a corner. The light was coming from around this corner. Along with the source of the light, which was a large section of wall that was replaced by bright swirling energy, they found a roundish four legged mechanical thing.  It did not immediately advance on them so Natan tried talking to it.

Vortex Maintenance

He found out that it maintained and protected the "vortex portal" that they now stood before. It did not know where the portal led only that they would need protection to go through it and they could get the protection in a room farther down the hallway.

Natan also accessed files to see when this portal had been used last. He scanned through years and years of logs but gave up looking after he found that it had not been used for thousands of years.

They decided that they wanted to see where the portal led so they headed off to acquire the protection.  They found a room with a ramp that led to a pool of something that definitely wasn't water.  Feylor deduced that you had to dunk yourself in the pool. So, without any discussion with his companions he ran up the ramp and jumped into the pool.

The others saw mechanical arms extend out of the ceiling as Feylor neared the top of the incline. After he jumped the arms stopped moving then receded back into the ceiling.  When Feylor stepped out of the pool he had a complete coating of stuff.  They assumed that this was the protection that they needed so they each decided to use the pool. However, the rest of the group walked up the ramp and let the mechanical arms pick them up, dunk them in the pool and then put them back on the ramp.

When they returned to the vortex portal room Natan checked with the portal guardian and found that they were indeed protected and were allowed to use the portal.  So they stepped through.... with a bright flash they were some where else.  This facility was very different from the one they just left. This one's walls were all green and there were no sharp angles, everything was curved.

Moments after their arrival they were contacted mentally by someone calling themselves Aerridomos.  Aerridomos welcomed them to the Citadel of Radiance and begged them to come find him as he needed their help.  They tried to think back to Aerridomos but got no response.

In their search for Aerridomos they found a storage room in which most of the stuff had decayed away over the years but a few odd things survived. They also noticed that there was a small red light flashing in the ceiling.  No one could recall if it was flashing when they first came in.

They traveled down a curved corridor with many large round windows that let in a great deal of very bright light. Along this corridor a small room was found with control panels in one wall.  A button was pushed. Shade screens slowly proceeded to cover the windows blocking most of the bright light.  There was much relief... until the screens started malfunctioning!  They jerked to a stop and a loud grinding noise started.  They could feel the grinding as well as see cracks forming in the floors and walls.  There was intense panic as they worked at turning the screens off.

Not long after they stopped the shade screens from destroying the facility they saw a mechanical guardian coming toward them.  Natan thought to try to talk to it but it sprouted a sword made of some kind of energy and advanced aggressively. 

Feylor was sorely wounded by the time they defeated it.  Natan disassembled it arm and took the energy sword for his own. Elif took the shield.

Guardian in the Citadel of Radiance

At the end of the hallway they found Aerridomos. It was actually some kind of artificial intelligence that had never known anything but this place and it had known this place for a very long time.  It told them that the Citadel floats in the sun and was built to send energy to complexes on the planets within this solar system.  The Citadel of Radiance still  mostly continues doing just that but it is decaying and the party's presence here has made things worse.  Aerridomos begged them to free him.  It did not want to be destroyed when the Citadel collapses. It told them of a panel that would allow them to transfer it's essence to a complex on one of the planets. It knew nothing about where it would be sent but anything should be better than destruction.

They decided to free Aerridomos. In return Aeridomos told them that a very powerful device, some called the Wishing Well, was in a nearby room.  It might be able to help them in some way. It might even be able to fix the Citadel. But Aerridomos wanted to be gone before they tried it, just in case. They sent Aeridomos on to where ever it went  then went to have a look at the Wishing Well.

There was a great deal of experimenting with the controls for the Wishing Well. They found that Natan was best suited for using it.  His first experiment with the power at his disposal was to heal Feylor, which was quite successful.

When they were first told of the Wishing Well their first reaction was to let it be destroyed because they felt that it sounded much too powerful and it could fall into the wrong hands.  However, after Natan got familiar with it he found that it has some severe limitations... and it could be useful to them.  They also discussed the possibility that there were villages and cities built up around places were this power was being sent. The power suddenly stopping could ruin the lives of many people.  They decided to try to fix the Citadel. (A great deal of XP was spent on making sure this worked)

Natan needed a long break after his work with the Wishing Well.  They calculated the time they had left on their protective suits and let him rest as long as they dared. They then returned home to their home planet.  Upon their arrival Natan checked with the portal guardian to see if anything had happened while they were gone.  There had been only one incident. A birdman had stuck his head around a corner, looked things over for a minute then left.

With a quick check around the same corner they saw that the murden were in the process of lifting their makeshift wall back in place.  If successful they would be trapped!  They made a headlong run at the wall and jumped on it hoping to crush the birdmen beneath it.  Their ploy was mostly successful though several rolled out of the way and there were a couple leaders standing back watching over the proceedings.

In the fight that followed one of the leaders threw a cypher at Feylor but missed. (Feylor now carries it with a note; Throw at enemy.)  The other leader "changed." He grew a couple feet taller and more savage. He ended up being the last of the murden to fall.

Mutant Murden
by michalivan on deviantART

There was only one more level to search below them.  They found more living spaces and a common eating/living area.  They also found a pile of cyphers and about a hundred shins in a finely carved box.

They then left the facility realizing that this place had nothing to do with the thing that was knocking down trees but someone sure wanted them to think it did.  And sure enough when they got back outside and had a look around they found bits of tracks that had been mostly wiped away.  These were left by the people that had the well worn, sturdy boots that Alivia had tracked here.  These people had made no effort to hide their tracks until after they had led to the murden hideout.  Someone was definitely manipulating would be pursuers... and the murden.

The tracks led through the ravine so they followed them. As they neared the far end they saw a large beast laying dead in their path. Oddly this dead beast had large blue flowers growing out of it. Or so they appeared.  As they neared the "flowers" launched into the air any flew at them.

The end of session 3

The Great Trees Session 2

PC's:

Feylor - Tree Native - Became very popular in his younger days but when his people tried to make him their leader he had to change the way they thought of him.  He is now mostly thought of as an entertainer. An Intelligent Jack who Controls Gravity

Alivia - Tree Native - One of the villages best hunters.  Her right arm has been replaced with a mechanical arm. A Swift Glaive who Hunts with Great Skill

Natan - Found in the ruins buried beneath the Great Trees. Many refer to him as the mechanical man but he is actually a blob of liquid metal controlling the mechanical man from inside.  He has a great deal of knowledge about the human anatomy.

A Mechanical Nano who Talks to Machines

Corbin - Brought to the Great Trees to be a bodyguard for a nano that was going to assist in the exploration of the ruins below the Trees. Corbin brought with him his animal companion Gar.

A Rugged Glaive who Controls Beasts

Corbin's Little Buddy Gar

Elif - A wanderer. He is always on the look out for more numenera to fuse with his flesh. 

A Clever Jack who Fuses Flesh with Steel

New character introduction

Elif had been living in the forest, away from people.  He was tired of being around people that judged him just because he has mechanical parts.

He knew people lived in the huge tree nearby but he avoided them like he avoided everybody else but when he saw their tree fall he had to go see what he could do... and find out what could knock over a tree that big.

When he arrived at the Fallen Tree he saw that one of those huge jiraskar was trying to get to the tree people who were hiding among the branches of their downed tree. Elif was at a loss at how to help without just meaninglessly sacrificing himself.

A few hours later a group of people came onto the scene and launched an attack at the beast. They used numenera, one of them was flying, and the woman had a mechanical arm. And one seemed to be completely mechanical!

This looked like a group that could accept him for who he was.

 Session 2

Corbin stood next to the jiraskar filled with disappointment that it had died before he could even reach it.  It gave a little death twitch and Corbin kicked it to help relieve his frustration.  That was when the Tree People came to see what had happened.  They believed they saw Corbin kill the beast that had been trying to eat them for the last several hours.

(GMI:  Corbin is described as not being a people person)

Corbin was swarmed by grateful people. They congratulated him on his skill in beast killing.  He denied being the one to kill the thing but they just appreciated him more for being so modest.  He was their hero and they loved him for it.  Everyone had to thank him personally, shake his hand, pat him on the back...

The rest of the party was looking into something very different.

When the jiraskar fell it became suddenly very quiet... except for the sounds of trees falling.  From Feylor's vantage point in the sky he could see trees falling on the other side of the Great Tree.  Feylor could also see a long, wide swath of fallen trees.  And he saw that if you follow the path of tree destruction you could see that it was headed right at the Fallen Tree and would continue directly toward the Twin Trees.

They went to check out what was knocking the trees over. It was on the other side of the Fallen Tree and getting there was not an easy task.  The Trees may be easier to climb on their sides but were still taller than half a dozen people standing on each others shoulders.  When they got over the Tree they found a large thing slicing through the forest at a very slow pace.  It floated barely a foot off the ground, was about seventy feet wide and was less than three inches thick.  (Kind of like a large flattened out boomerang)

Natan's mechanical affinity allowed him to "talk" to this huge piece of numenera.  He found that it's programming was repeating "Pull" over and over. He tried to get it to stop but it required a specific control device to change it's directives.  He did find out that since it's most recent hard reboot the distance it had traveled and that it's direction of travel had been altered twice.

Natan also did a quick bit of calculation and figured that at it's current speed this thing would reach the Twin Trees in approximately 22 days.

While Natan was getting information from the numenera Corbin came over to join them and was followed by all the surviving members of the Fallen Tree clan.  They explained that they were planning on heading out to the Twin Trees this morning but the jiraskar kept them trapped until Corbin came and rescued them.  Feylor stepped in and told them they would be well received and wrote them a letter of introduction to show when they got to the Twin Trees.

Elif walked up to the group and introduced himself. They mistook him for one of the Tree people.  He let them know he was not and that he wanted to join their group because he felt they had some things in common. He revealed to them that was partially mechanical himself. He told them that he had been spending time away from people because of poor treatment from those who didn't understand or approve of what had been done to him. Feylor let it be known that he didn't approve of such short sighted thinking. Followed by, " You look trustworthy, why don't you join our group."

The party immediately set out with their new member in search of where the devastating tree cruncher came from.  When they got to the spot where the last direction change was programmed in it was getting very close to nightfall.  Alivia being the party tracker had a look around to see what she could find out. (Rolled a 20)

Alivia - The only PC we actually have a pic for

There were four sets of boot prints, three male one female.  The boots were well made but well used.  Two of the males stayed in the center of the "path" while one of the males walked a hundred paces to the north and the female the same distance to the south. (The path of downed trees runs mostly east and west)  The two that spread out came back and joined the others and they all walked back the way they came.  One of the men that had stayed in the center walked with a bit of a limp like his left knee was bothering him.

It turns out that Feylor is the only one that knows that Natan is secretly a couple gallons of liquid metal controlling the mechanical humanoid from inside. It also turns out that Feylor is quite the practical joker and he has an oddity that changes the color of any liquid poured through it.

They camped for the night. The only protection they had was the force dome tent they had borrowed from the merchant and it barely held four people but they were now five. Feylor and Natan decided to leave the mechanical part of Natan outside the dome but bring the liquid part of Natan inside the dome, just in case.

Feylor, with his infinite power of jest, decided it would be hilarious to use his oddity for changing the color of liquids to change Natan... pink.  Feylor waited until he felt everyone was asleep though he realized that he wasn't sure if Natan even slept.  He decided to go for it anyway.

It turns out that Natan does not sleep. He was very confused as to what was going on. When he figured it out he was not happy. There was a large wrestling match in a confined space.  When the commotion woke the others Feylor assured them everything was alright, just one of his tricks getting a bit out of control. Really.

The next morning they continued following the trail of fallen trees.  When they got to the end, or the beginning, of the trail they found a nearby valley or large ravine.  The footprints led that way so they followed them in.  They soon noticed a door on one side of the valley.  It looked like someone had taken a metal door off of something, complete with surrounding metal wall, and used it to block the entrance to a cave.  Whoever it was then built a wall of very primitive clay bricks around it to hold it in place.

Elif checked the door and didn't find any dangerous contraptions attached to it so they cautiously opened it and entered.  Inside they followed a quiet dark tunnel. It began as dirt and stone but shortly the floor became a metal grating. A short while later the walls and ceiling also became metal. They walked along a passage in another ruin but this one was very different from the one under the Twin Trees.

The Twin Trees ruined facility was metal but a cleaner shiny silver metal. It also sections of wall that were another white material that the outsiders called synth. In the ruin they found in this valley the metal seemed to have more of a dull orange cast to it.

Ahead they could see the hallway lead to an open area with what appeared to be a large storage tank in the middle with a catwalk around it.  There was definitely a long drop off over that catwalk.  As they approached the railing to have a look at how deep the ruin was Elif sensed the danger as three orbs detached from the walls and headed toward them.  They shot bolts of red light that burned.

Corbin and his best buddy Gar attacked the first one but managed to run into each other and fall to the floor. (Free GMI)  Feylor decided that this would be a good time to use his Extra Time cypher. 

(He chose to take all three additional actions, all attacks, one on each orb thus taking 9 points of damage) Feylor, seeming to move at super speed, severely damaged the first orb, missed the second orb and missed the third orb so wildly that he fell over the catwalk railing (Free GMI)

Natan stepped up and spoke with machines (Rolled a 20)  and told the gazers that the test drill was over and they were to return to their ports and one demerit for the one that was damaged.

Corbin went to check on Feylor's fall over the railing and found him floating up from the darkness below thanks to his gravity powers and thanks to the fall being far enough that he had a chance to recover his wits in time to activate it.

They proceeded to climb down several flights of stairs. Each level was mainly just a catwalk around the huge tank in the middle until they got down about five levels. It was there that they a much larger open area with a poorly constructed house in one corner. As they looked at it trying to decide how to proceed a bird-like humanoid stepped out.  And without any apparent communication a group of the birdmen rushed out of the house and they charged.

The Foul Fowl - Murden

As the birdmen approached the characters brains became confused and irritated by some kind of mental static. ( They all failed their saves)

(And I failed by having them roll their Intellect Defense every round)(Not too big a deal)

Natan found the wavelength that the mental static was on and was able to jam the frequency in his own head. (Rolled a 20 - Immune to murden static in this facility) As combat progressed Feylor (Free GMI) was surprised by two more birdmen, though he handily avoided their surprise. This impressed Alivia who had previously been unimpressed with Feylor.

After the birdmen were defeated Elif decided to check the feet of these birdmen.  He found that their shoes were all fairly new and definitely not the shoes that made the tracks they had followed to this valley.

This area of the ruin had a fair amount of light.  There was window in the side of the large tank here and light and heat were coming through it. Near this window was a bunch of tools, mainly hammers, and a makeshift anvil. The window was large enough for anyone to climb through if they wanted. Natan, curious about what was in the tank, stuck his head through the window. He experience a very rapid increase in temperature. So rapid that melting metal seemed a definite possibility.  He pulled his head out pretty quickly.

The back wall of this room looked like a huge panel had been made from scraps and was jammed up against the wall and held in place by poles and large tree limbs.  It looked like the panel was blocking a doorway, a hallway or something was being held in another room... possibly.

They searched the house and did not find anything they thought might control the thing knocking down trees.  But they did find some cyphers and an artifact... and 5 shins.

The Great Trees Session 1

The Great Trees:  These are rare, huge trees within  the Ba-Adenu Forest.  They are generally about ten times the size of the surrounding trees.  Most have entire villages living within their branches.

The Twin Trees:  The Great Trees generally grow very far from each other.  However there is a pair growing close enough together that the villagers living in them have built a bridge between them.

Starting place for the adventure

The Facility:  Beneath the Twin Trees are the ruins of an ancient facility.  The villagers believe it to be a medical facility of some kind. They have found many types of medications and a mechanical man who knows a lot about healing people. And, of course, the facility waking up to replace a woman's lost arm helped this conclusion along.

PC’s:

Alivia - Tree Native - One of the villages best hunters.  Her right arm has been replaced with a mechanical arm.

Corbin - Brought to the Great Trees to be a bodyguard for a nano that was going to assist in the exploration of the ruins below the Trees.

Natan - Found in the ruins buried beneath the Great Trees. Many refer to him as the mechanical man.  He has a great deal of knowledge about the human anatomy.

Feylor - Tree Native - Became very popular in his younger days but when his people tried to make him their leader he had to change the way they thought of him.  He is now mostly thought of as an entertainer.

NPC’s of note:

Margus - the leader of the village within what is known as the Twin Trees.  He is a good and well respected leader who is pleased that Feylor does not want to be leader.

Jarvin - a trader from outside the Ba-Adenu Forest.  He has an artifact that keeps him safe as he travels through the dangerous forest.  He is the only trader that makes regular trips to the Great Tree people.

Session One

Corbin and Natan both noticed that the people who had grown up in and around The Great Trees seemed grumpy and irritated.  When questioned most claimed to have no idea what they were talking about. A few knew they were on edge but couldn’t figure out why.  Along about mid-day the irritation changed to intense sadness.  This time everybody agreed they were feeling the sadness but didn’t know why. 

There was a sudden scream on the east side of the trees.  When people arrived to see what the scream was about they noticed on the eastern horizon one of the Great Trees was falling.  This was an unimaginable tragedy.

The Twin Tree's leader, Margus, quickly grabbed Feylor and asked him to take a small group of people over to find out what happened to make that Great Tree fall.  Out of habit Feylor immediately launched into his denial that he was any kind of leader that he was just a simple entertainer. 

Margus quickly cut him off with, “ We both know that’s not true but we don’t  have time to debate this.  We need to find out what’s going on. And take the mechanical man.  His healing skills may come in handy.”

While Feylor was gathering Natan, the mechanical man, Alivia and Corbin realized what he was doing and volunteered to join the group.

On their way out they find Margus talking to the trader Jarvin.

Margus states, “We know you have some way to survive the nights in the forest and we need to borrow it. It’s important!”

Jarvin looked like he had just been asked to give up his favorite possession.

Corbin was well aware of the force field dome tent that Jarvin used.  He had traveled here with Jarvin and had slept in it a number of times.

After a few moments of indecision Jarvin gave up his tent for the good of the mission.

The party headed off to what was going to become known as The Fallen Tree.  The journey would take approximately a full day.

When Natan was found he was ruminating on information he had just referenced from the computer system that had "repaired" Alivia.  There were many words and ideas from the language of computer's creators that didn't have any correlation in the human tongue.

He had found out that the repair system could have replaced or regrown Alivia's arm but it didn't have the proper "stuff" to do it.  The system needed animal material as differentiated by Animal, Vegetable, and Mineral.

As they traveled toward the fallen Great Tree Natan was explaining this to Alivia and Corbin came up with a very apt analogy.  "Put in a pig get an arm out."

This gave Alivia a great deal to think about as they traveled.

A few hours of travel later - First Combat

A large number of creatures were fleeing the commotion caused by the falling of the  Great Tree. Three hungry carnivores tired of running thought the party would make a timely meal.

Gorgeous art from Kate Pfeilschiefter

Natan had never been in or seen or even heard of combat. So when unfamiliar creatures ran up to them, Corbin and Alivia pulled out some of their possessions and Feylor floated up into the air he did the first thing that came to mind.  He turned on his oddity.

Suddenly there fish swimming all around the combat.

This caused a bit of confusion on both sides of the combat. So it all evened out.

The party defeated the meal-seekers with only minor wounds and continued on.

As night fell the party made use of Jarvin's tent artifact. The force field dome that covered them was opaque and apparently camouflaged from the outside view because nothing bothered them throughout the night.  They did notice that off to their north was some randomly moving and flickering blue lights.  In the morning it was decided that investigating the blue lights would have to wait since they were on an important mission.

About mid-day the party approached the area of the Fallen Tree. They could hear a great deal of noise from a very large predator.  Corbin had heard stories about these huge beasts before him but he had never actually seen a Jiraskar before.  It was trying to get into the branches of the Tree. They could hear screaming and yelling from the people trying to escape it.

Feylor had a cunning plan.  He had a cypher that would make a wall of intense cold.  He floated up into the air upwind of the jiraskar and let the wind push him toward the beast. He dropped the cypher so that the creature would be standing in the damaging cold. The instant the wall came on the jiraskar seemed to know exactly where Feylor was floating.

While the Jiraskar was trying to figure out how to get the tasty morsel in the air Alivia fired an arrow which also had cold related cypher on it.

Between the cyphers and attacks from range and the damage that had already been done to it by the people hiding in the trees, Corbin ran up to the jiraskar just as it died.  His disappointment was immense.

We start our adventure in a tribal village that lives in the branches of one of the tallest trees in the forest.  There are not many more than a dozen of the giant trees.  Their inhabitants call them The Great Trees.  These Great Trees can exceed ten times the size of the average trees around them.  Some of the people living in the Great Trees actually worship their Trees. They claim they are their protectors.

Our starting village is actually a pair of the Great Trees. Most of the Great Trees are far apart sometimes taking days to travel between them. But these are close enough together that a bridge has been built between them hundreds of feet in the air.

This bridge was built using very strong cables found in an ancient ruin beneath the Great Trees.  This ruin was found when the Great Trees roots tore it open. Over the course of a few days there were very loud sounds of big things breaking beneath the ground. When things quieted down a hole in the ground was found that led into the ruin.

The worshippers of The Great Trees ranks swelled.

The ruin seems to have been a medical facility of some sort. They have found numerous types of drugs and one of the villagers got her arm replaced by the machinery. 

The worshippers of The Great Trees ranks swelled.

An Intelligent Jack who Controls Gravity - Feylor

Grew up in the Trees. Has become an entertainer mainly because he enjoys being into the public eye but does not want to be named village leader.

Connection: Was trying to impress a girl and tried lifting the newly found mechanical man but inadvertently dropped it from the Tree.

A Mechanical Nano who Talks to Machines - Natan

Was found in the facility below the Trees.  Is actually a sentient blob of liquid metal that is inhabiting a mechanical humanoid.

Connection: Finds that 'Gravity Man' has a terrible relationship with machines.

A Rugged Glaive who Controls Beasts - Corbin 

Was brought to the Trees by the one trader from the outside world that has been able to visit the Great Trees.  He was originally hired as a bodyguard for a nano that was brought here to study the facility under the Great Trees.  But that foolish nano managed to get himself killed just three days after arriving.

Connection: His animal friends find the mechanical man disturbing.

 A Swift Glaive who Hunts with Great Skill - Alivia

Grew up in the Trees. A very good provider for the tribe. She's fast. She often will run down her prey until it is exhausted making for a safer easier kill. Or she may let a carnivore chase her with the same result.  She recently lost an arm in a bit of a hunting accident. When she was placed on a bed in the ruins the area started working and replaced her arm... with a mechanical one.

Connection: Feylor once saw her seem to specifically kill a carnivore that was about to pounce on a, often referred to as, cute herbivore. The cute herbivore would have been thebetter meal. Alivia fears he may harm her tough reputation by revealing her soft spot.