It was late and the party was exhausted from their victory against the zmey. Although they wanted to press on and rescue Chairo, they knew they'd be doing her a disservice if they tried to face Kerok at anything less than full strength.
They spent a restless night under the Legion Oak and left first thing in the morning, following a map that Hazel made for them. The griffons landed about a mile away and bid them good luck.
The closer the party got to Kerok's lair, the more corrupted the forest became. Plant life had turned black and looked dead even though they still grew. Even more eerie was the lack of animals, they had clearly fled the area.
They finally came to a large open area walled off by thorny plants. Lavaell cast a spell that let them pass through unharmed and they saw Chairo chained to the ground at the north end. In the center was a large tree with a giant heart with black and purple veins running into the ground.
Some party members began trying to free Chairo and others attacked the heart. The moment they damaged it, two fighters and two spell casters appeared, along with a giant moth that circled overhead.
The battle was well in hand with the fighters and spellcasters until the moth entered the battle. With a flash it teleported and two party members dropped unconscious along with three of their enemies. The moth flew into the battle making attacks with its tentacles and beak. Suddenly it was a much harder battle. Still with all this happening, there was no sign of Kerok.
Enemies and allies that had gone uncounscious slowly woke up. Dodgy cast a powerful healing spell using the Orb of Upcasting combined with his Armband of Healing. The battle wasn't over yet.
While they got their footing back Kerok arrived, furious that all his work was being destroyed. The party methodically dealt with the remaining casters and fighters and turned their focus on the moth and Kerok.
With a final push they brought down the giant moth and everyone focused their attention on Kerok. Stevenar dealt the killing blow in both cases, bringing the battle to a close.
They were able to unchain Chairo and revive her, and she helped them cut down the tree that held the heart which Kerok hoped to use to take over the Eastern Margreve. The party had accomplished what the Margreve had set them out to do.