Ghun and Orett both appear to badly damage the pair of twigjacks who disappear with a small popping sound. Daardra surmises that they used their dimension door ability to get away.
Eng will channel healing energy upon the party, exclude twigs.
Look for twig things.
Check out the carved doors.
Keep an eye out for the Twigjacks.
Highly alert.(except to how much damage he does)
(and, apparently, to his surroundings)
Ghun finds some ornate writing carved above the double wooden doors.
Further, if you make only half as much ironwood as the spell would normally allow, any weapon, shield, or suit of armor so created is treated as a magic item with a +1 enhancement bonus.
The doors appear to be unlocked. Of the twigjacks there is no sign.
Strange looking doors.
“Ready? Door made to open, not study.”
Appears to be made of Ironwood. Magically crafted by druids. Be alert.
Ready Ghun.
Ghun opens the door.
An extensive wooden bridge stretches across a wide, high chamber and overlooks an exotic garden far below. The air is hot and humid, and a powerful stench of overripe vegetation wafts throughout the massive, domed chamber. The ceiling overhead is a complex series of star-patterned glass that magnifies the rays of the sun directly above. At the far end of the bridge, interwoven branches form a doorway.
“That’s an interesting bridge.”
“Bridge?”
Fine construction, it looks to me
Probably built by Oreads...
Attack on Daardra
Attack on Orett
Shadow essence poison: Injury; save Fortitude DC 17; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; initial effect 1 Str drain; secondary effect 1d3 Str damage; cure 1 save.
Daardra cries out in pain as a thin cut appears on her forearm!
“What was that? What happened to you Daardra?”
“Fly things! Get them!”
Unghh! I don't know. I can't see them.
-1 str
-4 hp
Cast Fortune hex on Ghun and Cackle! TEE, HEE-HEE!
dang, they're moving to fast for me!
Ghun mashes his hammer into one of the imperceptible shimmering forms which lets out a high pitched squeal as it continues to fly out into the open spaces beyond the bridge.
Ghun DC 16 FORT or be blinded
Attack on Ghun (no DEX bonus)
Shadow essence poison: Injury; save Fortitude DC 17; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; initial effect 1 Str drain; secondary effect 1d3 Str damage; cure 1 save.
A winged humanoid hovers off from one side of the bridge, looking badly hurt, while another flies in slashing at Ghun with a small ornate blade before flying by to the other side.
"I think I almost saw something zip by that time!"
blinded
"Fly thing blind me!"
Cast Slumber Hex on non-injured flying thing and Cackle, There it is! TEE, HEE-HEE!
-4 hp
-3 STR
I still can't see them!
The party hears a light crashing noise as if something fell into the foliage on one side of the bridge.
Daardra DC 16 FORT or become blind.
Cast Slumber Hex on wounded flying thing and Cackle TEE, HEE-HEE!
-4 hp
-4 str
I've gotta add a monk chapter on small, fast flying things.
Daardra stuns the flying creature with her hex and sees it fall into the woods below the bridge.
The area is quiet, for now.
Lesser restore on Daardra.
Not sure what I can do for you Ghûn, maybe the blindness will wear off if it was a spell.
Or maybe not. Should we keep exploring? Or go back to the nearest town to see if we can get a cure for Ghûn?
Maybe we should try and get through the doorway
Move forward through the branch doorway.
Trying to listen.
A series of detailed woodcarvings depicting druidic worship decorates the walls of this room. To the southeast, a short flight of stairs leads to a dais, upon which sits a throne crafted of dead, overgrown brambles and thorns. Doors to the north, west, and northwest offer exits from the chamber.
Upon the throne sits an elderly elvish woman; it appears as if she has been waiting for you. Greetings friends, my name is Ewigga, and I am the guardian of the Vault of Thorns. To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?
Guardian? No one mentioned a guardian.
Anything stand out about the room, anything else present, other people?
"Hello Ewigga, hope I said that right, my name is Eng and these are my companions Ghûn, Orett, and Daardra. As guardian do you control all the creature's here? One of them blinded Ghûn, can you cure him?"
The room is filled with a series of 21 scenes masterfully carved into panels of all types of wood, including alder, ash, birch, fir, maple, oak, and pine. Starting just northeast of the door to the greenhouse bridge and proceeding clockwise around the room, the carved panels depict the tale of the druids’ final sacrifice. The initial images portray a horde of orcs rampaging across a marsh until they are met by a group of druids. The next several carvings show the orcs battling the valiant but vastly outnumbered druids and routing them back to a circle of standing stones. The next panel depicts the druids prostrating themselves before a single large stone menhir, followed by a series of carvings showing the druids—many in animal form and accompanied by all manner of beasts and plant creatures—issuing forth from a giant carved blossom and marching with renewed vigor into the center of the orc horde. The last few images illustrate a solemn scene of sacrifice, wherein the druids slay themselves. As the druids’ bodies fall to the ground, strange glowing globes of light rise from the mud of the swamp. The final panel depicts the spheres of light punching through the invaders in murderous retribution, driving the orcs from the marsh in terror.
Your tongue is quite sweet for that of a mortal, Eng. Sadly, what control I once had over most things here has been disrupted by the destructive force of some mercenary dwarves that sought to pillage my sanctuary and despoil its natural beauty. With the help of my swamp giant ally, I was able to drive them out, but not before they managed to damage the magics of this demi-plane and turn many of the fey protectors here against me. I placed the giant at the entry menhirs to deter any further dwarf incursions and have spent the last few days attempting to commune with the spirit of this place to bring it back in to balance and harmony.
I assume your half-orc companion is the one named Ghun? I do have a scroll that would cure his blindness and if you promise to help set thing a-right in the Vault then I will use it on him.
Eng feels very confident that the aged elf woman is not telling the entire story.
“Looks like your lucky day Ghûn! Well, except for the part about getting blinded in the first place. Of course we’ll help set things right in the Vault.”
An elf guardian allied with the swamp giant? This just keeps getting more strange.
The elderly elf reads from a scroll and a few moments later Ghun's blindness is removed.
Ewigga-You need to get to the Bramblemounds which lie in the last room of the Vault. There will be some malignant fey that have crept through the boundaries of this place from the First World. I can not engage them, but I can gift you with some items to help you defeat them. Once you reach the Bramblemounds and defeat its guardian the balance here will have been restored and I will be able to return you to your home plane.
In the next room you will find a path of lily pads guarded by a giant dragon fly. The pads will only hold so much weight and you will have to jump from pad to pad to make your way to the door on the far side. Desna guide your steps Eng.
Ewiggas gives the party:
4 potions of CMW
1 scroll of bless
“Thank you Ewigga. Everyone take a potion. I can use the scroll when we need it. Ghûn take the lead and open the door when ready.”
Opens the door.
An ornate staircase descends to a small platform. Several giant lily pads sway gently in the chamber’s air currents, each floating at a different height. Below the lily pads, a sheer drop fades into darkness, where a droning buzz reverberates off the chamber’s walls. At the other end of the chamber, a second platform and staircase lead out of the room.
There is a smell of rotting compost coming from the floor which is about 100' below the platform you stand on. The ceiling is about 30' higher and the platform on the far side is about 20' lower than your current position.
You think you would be able to jump from lily pad to lily pad and get across, but the pads don't look like they will bear a heavy load. There is a 5' gap between each pad requiring a DC10 Acrobatics check to jump across.
“Any thoughts on how to cross, use the pads or climb to the ground? The pads don’t look like they can take a lot of weight so only 1person at a time, so we will be split up. I also think there is a good chance I will fall, I’m not much good at leaping about, and not sure I would survive if I did. Do you have any helpful magic Daardra?”
Well, I do have what I call a Fortune hex. Seems to grant people good luck. I can try that on everyone. I think I can keep everyone in range if I go 2nd or 3rd.
Wait for fortune hex.
“Me heavy, try first.”
220lbs plus gear
Fortune Hex on Ghun, followed by a Cackle TEE, HEE-HEE!
next, I'll Fortune Hex Eng, followed by another Cackle, TEE, HEE-HEE!
continue with myself and Orett, Fortuning and Cackling, unless interruptions occur.