A Pair of Powerful Women - January 8, 2021

- Neil picks up one of the wizard bug staffs and sees that it looks like the same material as their shells.

- Sariel is chasing the wizard bug underground as an earth elemental.

- It goes away, then dives down. She follows it deep, deep underground to an open cavern.

- It's too dark for her to see, but she feel vibration all over the walls around her through her tremor sense.

- There are A LOT of creatures in this space. She does not sense Silvana in this room.

- Sariel feels a bug poke her before she can get back to the wall. Suddenly she is swarmed and pinned down by dozens of bugs.

- She transforms into a Fire Elemental instead. All the creatures on her burst into flames. The first layer of bugs barbeques away, but there are more and more and more of them to be replaced.

- Sariel is starting to wear down despite her fire elemental's form wasting bugs. She starts to feel a pressure building in her "chest". It gets more and more uncomfortable. It starts to be painful. It builds and builds and then Sariel explodes into a ball of fire.

- Back in the clearing, everyone is still poking at bugs or keeping watch where there's a sudden poof of a ball of flame that condensing into an unconscious Sariel who flops into a limp puddle of half-elf onto the ground.

- Zaril and Neil run to Sariel and start checking her pulse and for breathing and whatnot.

- Penny starts to growl, and then Luca sees a woman standing near one of the trees.

- She is tall and thin. Her arms and legs are a little too long. She seems to be dressed in tree bark.

- Zaril casts Cure Wounds (Lvl 8) on Sariel for 36 HP. Sariel wakes up.

- Neil asks the woman in Elvish "Do you serve the forest or the termites?"

- She responds, "I am the forest."

- Silvana walks over to Sariel and says, "You almost sacrificed yourself."

- "Isn't that why you gave me these powers? To protect the forest?"

- Silvana reaches out and touches Sariel. "You cannot protect the forest if you are dead." There's a bright light like sunlight, and Sariel is fully healed.

- Acta explains a bit about Ellilune and the titan.

- When Silvana realizes that Zaril can't understand Elvish, she switches to Common.

- They chat for a bit - Silvana does not know Ellilune as she is not of the forest, but she declares the whole group Friends of the Forest.

- She offers to Transport them (via Plants) back to Sariel's village, but first she grows a staff out of herself and she gives it to Sariel. It is a Staff of the Woodlands.

- Silvana looks at Acta, says, "You are a collector. I will help you collect." She takes Acta's hands and her hands grow warm. Her gloves are now Gloves of Thievery.

- Silvana looks at Zaril and says, "Perhaps this will help light your way." She closes her hands and then opens her hands and there is a ring there. It is a Ring of Shooting Stars.

- Silvana looks to Luca and says, "You are the strength of the party. The front line of defense." She touches Luca's belt and it becomes a Belt of Stone Giant Strength.

- Silvana goes to Neil and says, "You are also a person of the outdoors. Are you opposed to marking your body?" Neil rolls up his sleeve to show her a tattoo he got when he was in basic. "Good. This one will serve you as well. What type of damage concerns you most?" He responds with fire after a few minutes. She touches his opposite shoulder. His arm tingles and a Tattoo of Absorption (Fire). It is in the shape a tree with a great root system, and red is the dominant color.

- Silvana casts Transport Via Plants to send them back and says that she'll be watching and listen out for them until they can talk to Ellilune.

- Sariel tells her friends about the yearly festival where the various villages have a special place in the forest where they would all leave an offering in thanks for Silvana's supporting and the forest providing for all their needs. The offerings disappear without signs that animals took them. Most children who get lost in the forest would just appear in the village square without quite know how they got there not having passed back through the village.

- Neil spends the rest of the afternoon soothing Jinorah and playing with her in the village square with some of the village children. She is about the size of a 40 lb dog now.

- Zaril looks at the staff they took off the bug wizard staves, which looks like a bug's leg, and even has gooey ichor inside.

- Acta is going through her Bag of Holding and finds the bones from the house infested with demons on Lionshead Island, so she start contemplating what she might do with those. She decides to carve them into casting bones for cleromancy.

- Sariel is being slow-motion mobbed by the adult villagers asking what they found in the woods. She's assuring them that she's seen and spoken to Silvana again, and they are going to take care of the bug infestation before they leave. 

- Luca takes some time to polish her armor and admire her new belt and practice with her new strength, and maybe even some feats of strength throwing Zaril into the air so that she glide back down.

- Sariel and Neil go to Luthian to see if she can design and make a special backpack for Jinorah that will grow with her once she gets tired of playing. The rest of the party tags along as well.

- They show off their presents and Luthian tells them all they know about Silvana - that she is a Fae-being tied to the forest and who protects the people who live in harmony with the forest.

- Luthian says she thinks she can come up with something for a Jinorah's sized backpack.

- Zaril Sends to Luthian from across the room so that she can experience one.

- Everyone has a nice dinner and then head to bed.

- Neil is dream contacted by Ellilune as they agreed previously. She agrees to come help and will be there late morning the next day.

- 4,000 XP ea for 188,260 XP total ea.