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As the last airrow went flying and the strange creature still flew on, Benson scanned the landscape ahead to see if he could spot a likely destination to which the beast was heading.
"Aspex, you recognized that thing. Where does it usually live? Caves, I would imagine. Is it native to this plane or would it have to travel here from some other plane? It's obviously not summoned."
Aspex fires a single bolt that finds its mark and finishes off the cloaker!
Looking ahead, the cloaker was heading to a small hill that is about another mile and a half away. Aspex notes that cloakers typically lurk in caves.
The party makes a longer trek back to Mercy, with the Sheriff waiting at the gates, a stern look on his face. "Where did you run off too? I asked you to stay just for a bit and...", Molune's voice trailing off as he sees the strange body being returned by Gob and Benson. "You got it?!"
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"Thought about that, but don't know what kind of scavengers are out here looking for an easy meal. Caves usually don't go anywhere." He says in reply to Benson.
"Yup we got it, and it's not a vampire. We brought it back to show you what it really was." Gob says as the lays the corpse down at the Sheriff's feet. "We have a good idea on where it was headed so if you don't mind we'd like to go check that out."
"Sure, I'll let the folks know you slew the... thing." Molune takes a lantern and takes a closer look at the abomination. "If that's not a vampire, then what is it?"
Nira, still with Hakime, only says "Travel?", upon the cloaker's demise.
"Suppose that's the least I can do for ya.", Molune inviting the party into his home connected to the carriage house.
"One of the reasons I was upset at ya for leaving is that I wanted to give you something to help root out the, uh, cloaker.", the Sheriff says as he gets some water boiling. "Still, if there are any others, then you may have need of 'em."
Unfurling a long cloth, there is a masterwork quality longspear, a scroll, a wand, and a pair of glowing arrows. "While some of these are goods left by the few travelers that visit, the arrow has been handed down my family for generations. My great-grandmama used an arrow just like this one to strike through the heart of a wild creature that was tryin' to tempt folk to a wat'ry grave. I didn't feel right not giving you everything I could to help defend Mercy, although if this is the creature spookin' the townsfolk and whippin bats into a frenzy, then you have earned it properly."
The scroll is of scorching ray, the wand is of bless with 20 charges remaining. Gob identifies the arrows as a pair of +4 fey bane arrows
Luckily, a number of bats still head towards where the cloaker was heading, providing an easy trail to follow.
Five miles south of Mercy, a dark crevice splits open near the base of a hill in the landscape. An oppressive heat pours out of the fracture and the area smells like rotting flesh.
Climbing down 30 feet , the party finds the bottom of the crevice with caves thick with an underground forest and trees growing out of the walls and ceiling at odd angles.
The fissure widens and opens into an underground forest. A mass of leafless vines covers all of the cavern’s walls, and a colony of trees with white bark and pale yellow leaves emerges from the walls and ceiling. Thousands of bats hang from the tree branches, and a thick layer of guano carpets the ground of hard-packed dirt.
You are able to identify the two most prominent plant species in the cavern. First, the trees are all part of a colony of quaking aspen trees, each connected to a single root system. It is weird, though, in that these plants should not be able to survive down here.
The second plant are the giant blossoms called corpse flowers; they are parasitic and typically bloom rarely, yet these plants seem to thrive in this environment. They are also the cause of the horrible smell in the cavern.
The entire area radiates a moderate transmutation and conjuration aura.
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"Lovely vacation spot," Wyeth says dryly as he pulls a square of cloth from his pack. "Might want to tie something over your nose and mouth, I've been told bat guano can carry diseases and we might be kicking up some dust if any of it's dried out." He proceeds to follow his own recommendation.
"Anyone see which way to go from here?"
-Posted with Wayfinder
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Benson lifts a bandanna normally around his neck to limit his armor from chaffling and uses it to cover his mouth and nose. Then he draws his elven curve blade keeps it ready for action. "Are those corpse blossoms dangerous?"
"If not, let's move forward and see what lives here. If that cloaker murdered Nira, we might find evidence of her body or her handwork around here."
Wyeth covers his nose from the stench which is luckily more offensive than gut-wrenching, but previous experience has taught him to be wary of strange odors. Hakime, Benson, and Marduk follow in suit.
Gob regales the party with his information, although Aspex cannot think of any reason why cloakers would have a special significance with plants.
Benson looks around for evidence of tracks or movement through the foliage. If nobody sees anything, he suggests ...
... west.
Benson cannot seem to find any notable tracks, and thus suggests heading westward.
The dense undergrowth makes for slow walking, but the party makes their way though the passage. It leads to a chamber with vine-covered walls that obscure the visibility, but a new odor hits the nose; that of a half-decayed female body in orange robes.
You find several bite marks, probably the cause of death. Given the state of the corpse, the woman has been dead for two months now.
One of the vines holds a trio of seedpods that look surprisingly edible.
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While walking, Marduk's nose starts giving him signals.
"Sniff....sniff.....
What's that bad smell?", he looks around, then spots the half rotten woman.
"Bah...that's not pleasant.
Bitemarks....i think those bites would have killed her, that's where one of the main vains is, arteries i believe. If i would have to guess, maybe 2 months dead?"
He steps back up.
"Hmm? Oh, hey, look at this.", (points at seedpod) "This looks edible. Anybody want a snack?"
@Gob: They look like cloaker bites! As Gob handles the seedpods, he realizes that they are hollow, but something glass is inside! Opening it, he finds a trio of vials.
These are magic seeds!
One is effectively a potion of greater desperate escape that counts as a potion of cure moderate wounds and a potion of invisibility. The next is a potion of protection from alignments which works like protection from chaos/evil/good/law combined. The last is a potion of resilience, which counts as a potion of bear's endurance and potion of barkskin.
Good stuff :)
Little Nira looks longingly at the body. "Nira.", she says, pointing at the corpse.
The passage Benson lead the party through continues west.
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Benson stands guard as those with more knowledge about creatures and magic examine the new finds. He wonders if the corpse could be our missing Pathfinder. When Little Nira identifies the body as such, he moves the arms and legs into a position of repose and lays his cloak over her respectfully. "Rest in peace." He then pours a little ale into his mug and takes a sip and then sadly pours the rest on the ground, the closest thing he knows to a religious ritual appropriate for the situation.
"Might these 'seed' pods be related to the plants we saw in the town?"
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"These are very interesting indeed, you are all lucky I like you otherwise I'd keep these for myself." Gob says as he explains what the seeds do and offers them up for who ever wants them. The wizard then turns his attention to lifeless body of Nira. "I do feel bad that we arrived to late to help her, but we should check her for any clues." Gob says as he checks the corpse for any possessions or items of interest.
Aspex doesn't find a direct match to the plants in Mercy, but the type of growth is similar: plants that shouldn't exist in an environment is instead thriving. Particularly the corpse flowers, those should only bloom about once a century, yet here there are hundreds, maybe thousands providing their odoriferous bounty.
The party secures the potion seeds, then continues to the next chamber.
The temperature rises toward the back of the cave. A tangle of vines spins and twists out of the rocky ground to cradle an enormous seedling. Both the seedling and the vines glow with a vibrant green light.
@Gob: You honestly have little idea what the seedling is. IF it has to be anything, it almost seems like the rare and mysterious ghoran, humanoid plants grown as foodstuffs that became intelligent. There is a similarity in descriptions of Ghorus seeds that you have read and the seedling seems to match that.
Benson warily prepares for something dangerous, rightfully cautious in the strange chamber.
Gob lobs the defoliant from a safe distance.
The vial shatters on the large seedling; as some withering occurs, the vines around the seedling cradle seem to converge and now protect it.