Thanks to the tree stride power of Phoebe the Hamadryad, the SPI agents and allies reached what they believed to be the heart of the World Tree, the secret womb of the Fruit of Life, only to find that the vision of the Fruit was a powerful illusion, masking a pit into which they would have fallen, had they naively approached the Fruit.
Beyond its threshold, Freki sees Enoki and his poodle moth Cornelius entangled in an enormous thornbush, and hears him crying out for help!
Meanwhile, the others see half of Freki’s disappear as he stands at the threshold. Moving quickly to investigate, everyone save Vondal (who projects into his familiar Murky) advances toward the threshold’s edge until they can see what was going on.
Freki shoots a grappling arrow at Enoki and Cornelius, hooking them and pulling the duo out of the thorns, though not without some painful tears to Cornelius’s wings. Enoki has free-floating How Dare You energy, but is more concerned about healing Cornelius. Fortunately, Enoki is able to heal him quickly.
The other agents continue to advance cautiously until they are outside the threshold… when they suddenly hear a voice behind them. The illusion dissipates, and standing at the edge of the previously concealed pit is a fully armored knight clad in green armor made of wood and bone:
Speaking in a masculine voice, the knight demands they cease their attempts to interfere with the Fruit, or face destruction. “Leave or perish. The fruit must not be disturbed.” The scholars in the group recognize this figure as a Green Knight, a supernatural fey creature summoned to aid the cause of the wilds in times of need.
Bec kneels and explains to the knight that we need the Fruit or the tree will perish anyway.
The hamadryad Phoebe says, “Stand down, sir knight. It is as she says.” The knight, however, says he is bound to protect and says we will be destroyed if we persist.
Bec asks Phoebe if the Seed can be moved without disturbing it.
Freki attempts to point his drawn bow at the Seed, but he can’t actually see it.
Callie asks the knight who summoned him, but he ignores everyone’s questions and says this is his final warning. Enoki agrees that’s a great question, but also tells Callie the green knight won’t answer because “they never do. They’re really one-track.”
Oz slyly approaches the knight, playing dumb, until suddenly *stab!* he slays the knight in one blow!
As soon as the knight discorporates,
Freki’s bird companions Hugin and Munin speak in Freki’s mind, warning him that there are unseen threats in the Megil’ram (which Freki somehow mentally understands to mean “Thornbush” or literally “Wall of Swords” in elven). They dive from the canopy overhead into the thornbush, and a flock of songbirds (which Freki recognizes as shrikes) burst forth from the bush and fly away in fright.
At the same time, a series of mental attacks on Oz commences. Oz feels his body begin to pulse and stretch—some foul magic is happening to him. Resisting with all his might, the disturbance dies down… and then begins again as strong as ever as a figure concealed head to toe in a cloak of leaves, feathers, and bone appears at the edge of the thornbush, crying out in frustration.
Bec theorizes on the spot that at least two different people must be using magic on Oz, since one person could not have hit him twice with such a powerful spell so quickly. Unfortunately for our plucky murder machine, the second time he does not muster sufficient resistance, and he feels his body and mind crunched into a tiny metaphysical ball and reformed into… a giant narwhal!
“Stop!” the figure shouts at the agents. “This is the moment I’ve been waiting for. I cannot let you do this!”
Freki demands that she/they turn Oz back. When she refuses, Freki attacks, transforming, tearing into the spellcaster and knocking off her mask with two powerful claw attacks. Under the skull mask, they see:
“Isis! What are you doing?” exclaims Eixam. Callie and others get the impression that Eixam is surprised and frustrated that Isis is here, doing this. Eixam transforms into a swarm of vermin: locusts, spiders, scorpions, and centipedes, rolling over Isis and nearby thorns, devouring everything in their path, and lacing Isis with innumerable bites and stings.
Oz gets turned back from a narwhal (how?). Back in human form, he clambors to his feet, tumbles over to the figure, and does a bunch of damage.
Vondal burns Isis with a volley of scorching rays.
Enoki begins casting a summoning spell…
Callie casts bless on herself, Oz, and Freki, then summons a spiritual weapon and slices up Isis some more.
“No! Isis!” exclaims Phoebe, rushing forward to cast cure wounds on her!
Meanwhile, the thornbush grows supernaturally fast, straining toward all the interlopers, and twines itself around Isis to form a protective barrier from further attacks. But the swarm of Eixam eats through the bush as fast as it can grow in the area surrounding Isis, and Sartus casts command plants to further interfere with the thornbush’s attempts.
Still bleeding profusely, Isis desperately reaches out to touch something unseen next to her as she casts some kind of giant growth spell, which radiates outward… A faerie dragon appears next to her, and promptly begins to balloon to a much larger size, along with three remaining shrikes from within the thornbush.
In one smooth motion after completing the casting of her spell, Isis swings up onto the faerie dragon’s back… but Oz does not miss the opportunity to tear into Isis, who thusly lays across the dragon’s back, dying.
The faerie dragon waggles its eyebrows, flicks its tongue a couple of times, turns invisible again along with Isis, and casts another polymorph on Oz, this time turning him into… a crimson jellyfish! Suffocation rules, here we come!
Bec, concerned about the danger now posted by the three enormous shrikes, charms one of the two birds near here with her hypnotic gaze.
Oz, dissatisfied with his squishy existence, decides to end it all by declining to hold his breath (crimson jellyfish only “breathe” water according to D&D5E rules), and begins to drown.
Enoki completes his spell, and a buttload of mushrooms spring up from the tree trunk floor in a huge radius around him. He commands them to push back against the thornbush, and its sharp vines begin to recede.
Freki exercises his conscious will, takes control of the beast, and reverts to his elfin form. He then kills jelly Oz, causing him to return to his natural form also.
The faerie dragon, from higher up in the air above the edge of the thornbush, offers to parlay in a cute and resounding voice: “You don’t have to do this. It’s not too late to talk.”
After some appeals from Vondal that the SPI needs the Fruit to Save the World!™, with the dragon seeming unconvinced, the party reluctantly agrees to parlay. Even Eixam seems willing to talk, as they regain control of themselves enough to reform into a bipedal shape.
The dragon appears with Isis still slumped across his back. “You’re being dumb, you know. The real threat is down there.”