As Falric and the party approach and shine the ghost-light lantern’s light over the menhir, the thick vegetation covering the monolith quickly withers away, revealing a faintly glowing, olive-hued stone. When one brave soul touches the menhir, he disappears from sight.
You each appear near a lone menhir standing in a clearing in a vibrant forest filled with thick, verdant plant life. Exotic flowers drape the standing stone, which pulses with brilliant chartreuse light. A path lined with rose petals leads from the monolith to a giant floral bloom carved from wood. Two carved wooden stamens stretch out toward the pulsating menhir, extending from either side of a set of ornate doors carved into the giant flower. An overpowering fragrance of flowers and sweet grass permeates the air. The sun above sits at its zenith, basking the area in light and warmth.
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"I...hmmm...bloody druids, where's th' stash?!" mutters Morti, looking about at the unexpected jungle.
Perception
Initiative
Eli examines the pretty floral landscape.
"Bloody hell...reckon I ougta've expected plants, this is a druid thing..."
The party is surprised as suddenly, 10' ahead of them, from a rupture in the material plane appear two tiny, vaguely humanoid creature, who appear to be made completely of bundles of sticks wound with thorny vines.
"Woll, hello lil' guys!" Morti exclaims in surprise as the twig creatures appear.
Falric moves quickly around the left side of the tiny creatures to end up on its opposite side in order to make it easier for one of his allies to flank with it!
Round 1: Twigjacks
The fey critically stabbed by Falric screams in pain as it is severely wounded but not dead yet. It shoots its shards of splinters at the Halfling. The second fey shoots its splinters at the party.
Barundar roars when the sharp, spine-like twigs pierce him through the gaps in his armor; he brings his dorn dergar to bear at the twigjack attacked by Falric, hoping to eliminate the most immediate threat to the group.
Caught off guard by the appearance of the twigjacks, Morti also fails to evade the blast of thorns.
He steps up to the wee fae beastie that blasted him in the face and attempts to smash it with an overhand blow.
Reflex
Eli shrieks as she was pierced by the rain of splinters! She uses a magic missile against the injured creature.
Damage
Barundar's blow finishes off the wounded twigjack and it crumbles to the floor. Morti and Elisen severely wound the 2nd one, who still lives after the onslaught. It unleashes another spray of splinters at the party, catching Morti and Eli again. It then tries to run away.
Learning from the twigjack's initial spray, Morti dodges most of the second blast and steps in to smash the creature as it turns!
Morti slices the twigjack in two as it tries to run, ending the threat.
You open the door on the other side and see an extensive wooden bridge that stretches across a wide, high chamber and overlooks an exotic garden far below (80' below). The air is hot and humid, and a powerful stench of overripe vegetation wafts throughout the massive, domed chamber. The ceiling overhead (80' above you) is a complex series of star-patterned glass that magnifies the rays of the sun directly above. At the far end of the bridge (80' across), interwoven branches form a doorway. The bridge is 15 feet wide, with no railings or supports.
"....Inn't this a treat th' druids ha' left for us!" Morti exclaims with some sarcasm as he takes in the scene. "But din't trust us no' t' pick th' flowers, i' seems."
He examines the bridge ahead of them with some suspicion -- no self-respecting bridge is built of wood, after all -- for soundness.
Upon closer inspection, Morti notices that the wood used in the construction of the bridge is quite sturdy, sturdier than if the bridge were made of stone in fact. It is quite a marvel of construction and magic may be involved.
”Well, this just seems like the perfect spot for a trap, doesn’t it? One of you boys want to run across the bridge a couple times and see if any creepy crawlies decide you look like a nice snack?”
"If we're jus' offerin' a snack, sounds like Falric best go!" Morti winks at the halfling.
There is a haze and mist rising from the intense heat and humidity in this greenhouse so you can barely make out the floor and Morti and Falric spot two exits from the ground floor, apart from the exit on the other side of the bridge. The garden below is also abuzz with sounds of insects and small lizards.
"Yeah, sure, ya know I love bein' bait!" Falric takes a deep breath and saunters over the bridge looking for threats seen and unseen.
Morti keeps a watchful eye on the garden below, crossbow at the ready, for any emergent threat.
Az does the same, waiting to see if Falric makes it safely over the bridge before he attempting it himself.
Falric moves carefully 30' over the bridge as the rest of the party waits..Suddenly, Falric and Elisen feel magic start to affect them, as darkness seems to cover your eyes! The rest of the party sees no visible threats.
Fort
Round 1
Falric resists the fey magic, but Elisen is blinded! The halfling barely sees two fluttering sets of wings flying toward him at top speed! He has no time to react before they are on him! He feels dagger pricks aimed at specific vital points on his body, causing Falric intense pain and deadly wounds! He sees two small fey creatures lurking at the edge of illumination, its fine features bleeding away at the edges, making it appear blurred and out of focus. The only reason you can see them currently in the bright illumination of the greenhouse is because their wings are fluttering!
Feeling weak and realizing the end may be near, Falric lashes out at the closest fey, starting his battle dance first.
Seeing Falric stagger under the fey blades, Morti moves to help him, calling on Angradd to boost his own defenses.
Elisen delays, not wanting to injure any of her friends if her magic went astray.
Barundar follows behind Morti, eager to help his fallen comrades, but doing his best not to rush in foolishly, no matter what his instincts may be.
The severely wounded and weakened halfling starts to dance and move in such a way as to mesmerize these fey creatures of light until his small scimitar strikes out and lands a devastating blow on one of the creatures! Yet despite the halfling's determination, the creature still stands.
Round 2:
The fey flanking Falric stops flying and the party loses sight of it in the bright light, effectively turning itself invisible. It then takes a 5' step toward Barundar and lashes out at the flat-footed dwarf!
The wounded fey attempts the same "drop to floor invisible" strategy with the wounded halfling. However, the dancing Falric, even though unaware of the blow, is too fast and the fey misses.
The blinded Elisen is helpless and scared afraid to move and possibly fall off the bridge in her current condition.
Falric spits out the venom in his bloodstream in disgust, as he continues dancing.
He then lashes out where he thinks the small wounded fey may be but misses.
The pain of the fey's attack brings a shout of pain from the dwarf and he winds up to take a big, sweeping swing at the creature where he last saw it.
Barundar lands a powerful blow on the invisible fey, guessing correctly and he hears it scream in pain, although he cannot see it. It still lives though, as these little bastards are tough.
Morti weighs healing his companions' wounds, but the doctrine of Angradd wins out. "Th' best defense is guttin' th' enemy first!" he growls, stepping forward.
As he passes a hand over Falric's eyes, the halfling can suddenly see the fey antagonists clearly. see invisible
Round 3:
Now that the halfling can see his fey attacker, his full defense comes into play and his opponent misses by a mile.
Meanwhile, after Bar landed a devastating blow on his fey opponent, the fey tries to stab the dwarf again but the blow bounces off the dwarf's armor! Falric sees Bar's opponent, so he can indicate to the dwarf the square where his opponent is, giving him normal 50% miss chance.
"Bless you, Morti....you're a lifesaver! There are those bastards! Let's kill 'em!" Falric continues dancing and winds up a graceful slice at the winged fey creature!
Still unable to see the creatures, Barundar aims for any blood spray that might be left behind by Falric's slicing!
With Falric's vision restored, the halfling striker spares the fey no mercy, as his scimitar slices through the air, striking the fey at its midsection, cutting it in two!
Bar's weapon slams down on the ground, but no screams are heard from the lone fey remaining, so the dwarf presumes his attack missed.
Morti steps into the fray, hoping to get a lucky blow in and finish the threat --
--but his hammer swings harmlessly through the air.
The wounded fey, seeing the brutal manner in which Falric sliced his brother in two and the close attacks by the dwarves, decides to flee, hoping its "invisibility" can keep it safe!
Hearing the sudden rising flutter of wings, Morti takes another swing at the sound!
After waiting a few moments to be sure the greenhouse has returned to (relative) calm, and no more immediate threats present themselves, Morti moves to attend to Elisen.
"Looks like yer jus' magicked, an' not injured - should clear up if we wait a few moments."
Morti's warhammer crushes the last fey like a fly against the surface of the bridge. The threat is over. Unfortunately, Elisen was struck with a Blindness spell so her condition is permanent.
"Thanks, Morti, ya saved ma bacon!" When told that Elisen is permanently blind, at least until we reach civilization again, "Poor Elly..we should go forward but we can't drag her with us in her condition."
Morti frowns - "Aye, ah don' wan' t' lead ye inta harm, Eli -- but ah don' know how long we'll be; don' wan' t' leave ye here on a bridge either where ye can't move lest ye fall off."
Morti suggests leaving Eli here for now, but look for a more stable waiting place through the next door and possibly come back to move her forward.
Meanwhile, he administers curative magic to his companions from his wand, before taking Falric's suggestion and crossing the bridge to open the far door.
"Thanks for the healing and good thinking, Morti. We'll be back for you, Elly. Don't move." Falric casts Cure Light Wounds on himself, bringing himself to full hit points.
"Aye, that spell wis juist whit we wantit! thank God ye hud it ready, Morti. Eli, ye dinnae need tae keep up wi' us. We'll clear th' wey fur ye 'n' come back wance tis safe. Na need tae pat ye thro' unnecessary danger." he says, following Morti over to the door.