Ven 43, 2424 - Chapter 2 - Session 3 - Upon Closer Inspection / Beauty is only Skin Deep

We set off. The further from town we got the quieter the forest grew. Not a peaceful calming quiet but the kind that hides unease and hollow life. We should hear birds chirping and the wind rustling. Instead silence as if the tress themselves know the corruption is slowly seeping in to their roots. We saw a doe with mange and sunken dead eyes.
The crew we hired to help around camp was very beneficial as it allowed us to focus more our own preparedness
Odra spent some of the mornings during the travel drilling us in some more complex combat strategies and tactics.
Amani was very interested in Nellie and this bomb she promised. She explained a bit about the Leyline theory she has and how they are like a vascular system interconnecting to each other. The idea is her bomb could disrupt the main artery thus cutting off the capillaries that are spreading the corruption which is originating from the syndicate's industrial complex.
Z'ed took watch that night. She spoke of a strange creature she saw on her patrol, like a tree Ent but not quite. Sunken glowing eyes and twisted bark. Upon investigating the creature had vanished but nearby where it was spotted there was a marking left in the bark of tree. She brought it back and Thalara could recognize the writing. It was an old druidic rune that meant "The Roots Remember".

The next morning scouts reported sighting a similar creature and the same rune. They say they saw the corruption getting thicker, more machinery and felled trees and cleared areas of the forest a couple hours south of our position.
We continued until about midday. We came upon a clear area that for the first time in days felt like nothing was watching us. Rask took a quick look and gave his approval. The rest of the caravan started setting up camp. Nellie started putting up some wires and contraption to tap into the leylines and warned to not touch the live wires unless we with to be unlive.
We each pitch-in in our own ways to help with the general set up and then the defenses of camp. Z'ed helped camouflage some of the tents using natural foliage so we will be harder to spot. Odra helped optimize the layout of the camp. Amani helped plan out a strategic evacuation plan should things turn sideways in a hurry. I spent my time with Nellie constructing some utility tents with work benches and labs for her and Rask to help their engineering and crafting. Klackers spent his keeping moral up around camp and patching up any injuries from the work which allowed progress to continue uninterrupted. Odra took some salvage from the crates used in our travel and repurposed with Rask to set up explosions so any intruders will be welcome with a face full of rusted nails and splinters. Amani helped set up the hired help so they can hold their own if anything happens while we are out and about. Klackers helped set up a field triage center in case of any major medical needs. Z'ed said some prayers which seemed to calm and encourage some of the workers who saw it. I helped Nellie set up a focus circle to stop a bleed in the leyline and stabilize it.

In the morning Amani and Klackers convinced the scouts to put some colorful language in their morning report and got a good laugh upon hearing Odra read it to the camp. She was not amused. Everyone else got a chuckle out of it and it helped lighten the mood.
We decide to scout up and get our eyes on the Hollowood Yard for the day. We see guards patrolling, watching over slaves branded and drained and dejected. Giant mechanical constructs lumber around gears grinding, steam spewing from pneumatic pistons and metal steps on metal grates. This is a major operation and the syndicate is dug in deep here.
We decide to divide the complex into areas. The Grove Cradle; some large tree that for whatever reason they have left untouched, The Chain Pits; where the slaves are kept, The Overseer's tower; where whoever is running this place is probably hold up, and the Rail Spurs; where the main supplies for the complex come in. The Refinery Heart; where the raw material is refined into arcane vials and recourses.

We talked about it and decided to approach the Rail Spurs to get a better look. Glowing magic rails trail off out of the yard behind massive iron gates. The area is busy and heavily watched.
Next we crept up closer to the Overseer's Tower. A black spire looms over the entire area. Scrying runes and lenses all over the outside keep a vigilant watch. Guards stationed at the bottom never leaving their post. This is one vault of a tower. Further on the Chain pits were enclosed by circular cages. Filled with slaves too useful to dispose of. A few guards rotate through the area. Screams are heard coming from a poor soul who sounds like he is getting experimented on. We move on swiftly before we are discovered. The Cradle Grove was next. This tree was huge. Its roots driving deep into the soil entwined in the leyline siphoning its energy into the factories. A twisted dryad tied to the tree forced to watch over the process. If the tree loses its connection the whole operation could be disrupted. Lastly we had just enough time to check out the Refinery Heart. Inside the sap of the tree is refined into arcane material and poured into crucibles.
there were a couple more areas to check out but we couldn't get close enough in the time we had. Those being the Logging Trenches, The Processing Floor, and The Emberkilns. We snuck back out as easily and we entered and made our way back to camp.
We arrive at dinner time to warm meals waiting for us and we gathered to discuss what we learned. That tree seems like the biggest cog in the whole operation. And all orders and information comes out of the overseer's tower.

Before bed I searched out Klackers to ask him to help with my appearance so I can try to impress Nellie with a more attractive and refined face. With newfound confidence I head back to the fire and wait for Nellie to approach. She stops mid step and lets out a chuckle. She told me she appreciates the effort but its my mind that is beautiful and enticing. She walks off to her tent with a soft almost shy grin as she wished me a good night. All in all I would say it was a step in the right direction. Hell yea Flint you dog!

The next morning we have a quick breakfast and decide to go check out the last few areas of the complex we didn't get to yesterday.
The sound of machinery and saws on wood emanate from the Logging Trenches. The Emberkilns, colossal furnaces and stacks kept alive by fire elementals at the base. So much ash and soot fill the air that the workers there need respirators and protection for their lungs. Finally the Processing floor where the felled trunks are stripped and splintered by metal teeth of machinery and tools.

With all this new knowledge we were split on what course of action would be best. Some of us wanting to go back to the Tower. The others wanted to help the slaves. We hesitantly decide to split up and go our separate ways. Odra, Amani, and myself go back to the Overseer's. Odra discovered the detection crystals are very alert and we must avoid them at all costs to stay undetected. I think if we can stay out of sight we could sabotage the structural integrity of the tower.

At the Chain Pits Bruin, Klackers and Z'ed learned all about the pens. The Prisoners are so dejected and mentally broken that if they were released they will probably attack anything that moves. But given the right healing and help coping they will more than likely join the resistance.

That worked so well we group up and break off again to check out the Processing floor, Klackers and myself and the Refinery Heart with Z'ed and Amani. Odra and Bruin went back to the Overseer's Tower to see if we missed anything there. With everything we were able to fully checked out we feel confident we can actually do this.