The group gets no response as the different members offer there greeting. a slight breeze is the only thing that causes any motion in the branches. Nothing is visable in the upperboughs of the trees and nothing seems to be moving about in the surrounding woods. After a few minutes of talking toward the tree T'sal suddenly drops to her knees as her eyes widen in a look of confusion. She seems to be unable to regain her balance and composure.

As the group got closer to the tree the smell got stronger for T'Sal and an instant later she felt like she was going to be sick. Her head is spinning and her vision blurs in waves and she falls down.

Between the waves of blurriness she clutches her staff and attempts to crawl back down away from the tree. She hopes that her party members have seen her fall and that they will come to her aide. She manages to yell 2 words in elvish, "Away" and "Tree" and then the dizziness takes over her head!

as T'Sal crawls down the hill a large satchel falls from the branches and lands at the base of the trunk.

As T'Sal stumbles and crawls Anvil hears him quietly mutter something he can not understand. What he does know is that a group member is down.

Anvil goes over to the fallen to help him in any way possible. He skirts the tree in doing so, keeping a close eye on it and the bag.

He tells Rat - "If you want to get the bag, go for it. But we might be better off dealing with T'Sal first. It is more important than a bag."

Trillian watches as T'Sal crumples to the ground and begins to the ground. He re-aligns his arrow at the tree, waiting for an attack, but nothing comes from the tree. The elf almost jumps and lets loose an arrow when a satchel falls from the upper branches.

He hears Anvil address Rat, but is unclear what he says. Whatever it was, Rat is now moving towards the tree, his eyes set upon the satchel. He notices Anvil and the others moving towards T'Sal.

Trillian has a moment of indecisiveness. Should he assist Rat in getting the satchel or should he go with the others to help T'Sal? Noting the two groups and his position, Trillian decided his best option was to work his way closer to Rat and protect the group's flank.

"I have you covered," Trillian says to Rat in an unknown tongue.

In the dwarven tongue, Trillian will say to Anvil, "Careful, I cannot carry all of you."

Trillian will keep a wary eye on both groups as they advance. He has an arrow ready to pull and fly at a moments notice. If anything attacks the group, he will fire an arrow at it.

The excitement of the moment first grabs Rat. He stops a second gathers his thoughts, drops his knapsack quickly fastening the silver dagger in his belt, and takes out in a very quick scamper, only a feisty Hafling, trained seriously in the mountains for climbing can do. He knows he is fast and a small target, and he knows that he can hold his breath for 60-90 seconds on a run if necessary. While the "fallen member" is being rescued, and while her rescue by a hero adventurer is a diversion, Rat is going to collect that satchel for the group. He hears someone say "got yer back" as he charges.

(It is Rat's intent to run to the satchel, holding his breath, grab it, and bring it back.)

T'Sal's dizziness fades and she regains her focus. As she turns back to look at the tree she sees Rat going for the satchel. The tree has long vines that have nooses at the ends and it has a large mouth with wicked teeth that it used to eat the orc that ran up it's trunk. Her eyes get wide and she stands up ready to cast her Magic Missile spell.

She yells at Trillian, "shoot at the tree Rat is in danger!"

She yells at all the others, "cover your noses and mouths with some sort of fabric there is something in this mist!"

Anvil sees T'Sal regain his feet and composure and hears his warning.

Having been warned many times on airlines to always put on his own air mask first, Anvil immediately pulls his tunic up and over his nose and mouth. He orders Sprinkles back and to stay.

With that he turns back to the tree - yelling to T'Sal, "Can your magic missile save Rat if the tree catches him?"

He then announces so that all know his plan, "I'm moving closer with my sword in case the Rat is caught - but if he gets away we ALL stay away!" He does this as he is in the process of moving forward.

Anvil will stay out of range as long as the Rat is free. If the Rat is caught he will attempt to charge close enough to cut him free. In the meantime he yells, "I want a bonfire!"

Rat rushes toward the satchel and the dogs go nuts. Barking and snarling they run toward the tree not heeding any commands. Rat makes it to the satchel and all can see the sudden terror on his face as he grabs the satchel and turns for his return trip. The dogs start jumping in and out from under the tree.
i will consult with Rat be PM on his combat as of this moment only T'sal can actually see what is occuring although the rest of you know the situation. The outside members may consult with each other as far as action is concerned but Rat at the moment will not be able to take part in group conversation.

being quite alarmed by what he sees and what may be coming at him, nevertheless being a quick little sucker, and feeling that he can react quicker than that tree, having already secured the satchel, immediately attempts to scamper back at the group. "You can do it, Rat!" he says to himself as he focuses on the quick scamper to safety. He yells "SHOOT!" to the Team. He is only seconds away from needing a gulp of air. He dashes .........

If he is unlucky enough to be "detained", just as he is about to be hit/caught he will toss the satchel on towards the group.

. . .Trillian gave little thought to his action. He pulled the arrow fletching to his cheek, took aim, and fired at the trunk of the tree.

It was only when he fired the arrow that he took notice of the tree more closely. The mighty oak was not an oak at all, but something more. He noted the shape of the vines on the tree branches and their strange resemblance to a hangman's noose. No, this was certainly not a pristine oak!

The elf cursed at himself as he pulled another arrow from his quiver and fired again at the tree. Of everyone in the party, Trillian knew that he, as an elf, should have noted the strangeness of the tree. Instead he had been careless and now Rat and T'Sal were in grave danger. He drew another arrow and fired. . .

Trillian will continue to fire arrows at the tree until Anvil directs him otherwise. He will keep his distance from the tree unless a party member is in mortal danger at which point he will change his actions.

Trillian's aim is true as the first arrow leaves his bow, whistles over Rat's head, and sinks solidly into the truck of the Hangman's Tree. Alas it is a small victory as he tries to recover from the effect of the mind altering airborne toxin brings about the dizziness and confusion that befell T'sal his second arrow flies high and wide as he is forced to a knee to steady himself.
Trillian will take 1 rd to recover and return to the battle

...the Halfling run and dodge the trees vines as he gathers the satchel. Now that she has recovered she is ready for action.


T'Sal will wait and see if Rat gets away from the tree unscathed. If he gets caught in a vine she will use her Magic Missile spell to engage the tree.

The little halfling puts on a show as he darts, dashes, and dives around and through the hanging vines. The hangman tree is ill equiped to attack such a small and agile target. The tree is not used to having to deal with anything that knows what it is, it gains it's meals more by suprise so it's no shock when Rat flings himself out from under the deadly branches to safety. The group gives a communal gasp as Rat, Anvil, And the cleric go through ther wave of dizziness. The odor dissappears as a vibration rumbles in the ground. As the group looks on the roots of the hangman tree come up out of the ground and the tree starts a slow crawl away from the group. The dogs are content that the threat has passed and take the time for a quick doze.

nears full recovery, he breaks into a big smile, especially as he sees that T'Sal and the others are all OK. He places the satchel on the ground where he picks up his knapsack and personal stuff and puts himself back together. He looks to everyone, especially the pretty Dark Elf, and says "Guess I'd better check this thing for traps and hopefully we can see what's inside. Do you guys agree?" He awaits their comments or affirmation.