You rise up and as you get a different angle you can see a white shape hidden amid the dense foliage of the enclosure. It almost looks like an irregularly shaped bowl...
Given what Samuel said and what you see, you immediately recognize it as a Basidirond, a strange plant that consists of four spidery stalks, long green tendrils, and an inverted bell-shaped cap filled with spores. The strange fungal basidirond is a deadly plant monster that feeds on mineral-rich moisture, be it runoff from cave walls or fresh blood. It's spores are hallucinogenic and while immune to cold, cold will slow it and prevent it from using it's spores.
Oh crumbling ice, Samuel is walking into an ambush, Letitia thinks with alarm.
"Samuel! I see it now! It's a spore-thrower! If you breathe the cloud you'll start seeing things!"
She considers its weaknesses and calls to Ashling. "Use the Mantle of the Black Rider! Cold stops it from releasing spores, so your aura will hamper it, and you can kill it with ease."
She floats within 50 feet and blasts it with ray of frost to suppress the plant creature's spores.
Ashling is quick to activate the cloak and the cold aura, at command. Although steps a but away from the others Cold stops its spores? I have spells that create cold if you can point to where to aim following the ray of ice, she has her answer and charges in the direction drawing a scimitar, intent on chopping down whatever plant is hit
Drawing his bow and nocking an arrow, Llewellyn remarked "Not sure I want to get close to that... Besides I have no cold magic."
"Cold only shuts down the spores! Steel will be needed to destroy the plant!" Letitia shouts and not being very successful in keeping the impatience out of her voice.
"Copy that" Samuel halts immediately and starts to retreat "If it's stuck here and slow as Letitia says, maybe we let it root itself out of the fight. No need to waste bullets or blades, unless it moves toward us, then I'll trim it down to size"
He steps back cautiously, keeping his aim trained on the plant just in case. If the plant does not attack, he will propose to keep following the edge to the south-east then south.
Letitia rises up into the air and advises her friends as to what lies in wait in the fenced garden.
The magical ray hits a number of plants in front of the creature, frost climbing branches and leaves, but does not penetrate to affect the fungus beast!
There are a few more puff of white stuff as the creature moves slightly, but otherwise is remains in place.
retcon post coming!
Letitia's ray of coldness strikes the fungus beast squarely within it's spore-bearing cuplike surface, frost spreading it's tendril across it's mottled surface.
It thrashes about, instinctually seeking out the cause of it's distress
Global Condition: |Party Condition:
Callix HP: 75/75 - AC: 20/14/16 Status:
Letitia: HP: 54(+4)/54 - AC: 18/12/15 Status:
Llewellyn HP: 59/59 - AC: 23/21/13 Status:
Samuel HP: 78/78 - AC: 23/18/16 Status:
Ashling HP: 61/61 - AC: (23/19 if cold)21/15/17 Status:NPCs:
Baindirond HP: -1| AC: ?? T:15 slowed
"Ah, well, let's have this done then!" Samuel steps forward looking for a clear shot and puts his musket into work.
With practiced skill, he quickly reloads the musket with a single move.
In his stage voice Llewellyn bellowed his whole hearted agreement, "Indeed Mr Samuel! GET IT!"
Somehow, as if by magic, this stiffened everyone's resolve to take the fungus down. Llewellyn for his part trickled power into his bow causing it and the arrow he had nocked to glow softly. With practiced ease he pulled back, drawing the arrow to his ear, sighted by instinct and loosed!
Samuel's musket booms and a good half of the fungus creature's 'bowl' body disintegrates! It thrashes around as Llwellyn's magic infused arrow strikes the remaining body, scattering pieces of it to all sides!
The remaining twig like legs totter and twitch until they fall to the ground, lifeless.
The boom from Samuel's musket echoes back a number of times before fading away.
"Well, that is some fast food. Guess it really couldn't leaf well enough alone" Samuel quips, lowering his musket and surveying the remains of the fungus creature.
He wipes the barrel of his weapon with practiced skill and turns to the group "Let's not waste time. Southeast, then south, as planned. This forest's already seen enough of our fireworks for one day"
He gestures forward, stepping carefully while keeping an eye on the surroundings.
Letitia takes advantage of the remaining half a minute of her Flight hex to go higher in the sky to survey the surroundings. When the magic expires, she floats gently down to the ground.
She follows the rest of the group as they make their circuit around this strange realm.
Callix groaans at Samuel's 'humour', and takes a pull on her aleskin before turning her attention to assisting the search...
The crushed white stone path contiues to the south, gently turning westward around the herb garden. A small section of the path leads to the door of the storage hut, while the path continues back towards the gazebo.
To the south, a large area of scraggly bushes and thorny brambles grow in wild profusion.
You ascend about 30ft higher than you were when your head gently bumps into what you can only assume is the proper roof of this 'room'. As with the walls, the illusion of the sky causes some disorientation this close up. You don't notice anything else of interest while up there, just what is revealed on the map linked.
When Letitia describes hitting her head, Llewellyn gives an incredulous laugh before saying, "Wait. Is this all an illusion and we're really inside a building or something? Maybe there's an exit somewhere..."
Following the eastern border, Llewellyn cautiously made his way south.
Letitia arches an eyebrow at the half-orc. "This is hardly a novel phenomenon. Remember in Artrosia, the first time we met the Warden? We were in a cave yet it appeared to be a meadow. This magic is far more powerful and appears permanent, but I do not find it surprising that Baba Yaga can accomplish such feats. We remain, after all, within the Dancing Hut."
She lets the others take the lead as they follow the circumference of these strange gardens.
Samuel Soulkeeper lowers his musket after spotting some bleached bones among the thorny brambles "Hold up" he says raising his free hand to signal caution "There are bones in the middle of that thicket. Could be a trap, or something that's been using this patch as its dinner table"
Samuel approaches searching the area more thoroughly.
If nothing else is found, he just leads on following the strange circumference as proposed by Letitia.
The moment Samuel steps into the brambles to get a closer look at the bones, a number of spiky vines whip out of the undergrowth. At the end of each of the vines is a large, mouth-like orifice.
All four of the mouths strike Samuel, each of them seemingly trying to grasp him and draw him within! . One of the mouths grasps Samuel tight . The others snap back into the undergrowth, hidden from view. However, the central stalk of the plant, now that it has caught some prey has become visible in the middle of the bramble patch, quivering in plant-like anticipation.
You are grappled and cannot move. You can attack (at -2 ) but not if it needs two hands to do so. You can try to break the vine mouth's grapple with a combat maneuver vs a CMD of 30
The Giant Flytrap. A hardy plant that grows in areas with poor soil but abundant animal life, this dangerous predator is an immense version of its more common (and much smaller) kin. Whereas the smaller flytraps supplement their growth by catching insects, the giant flytrap does the same with animals, humanoids, and anything else foolish enough to draw too near.
Global Condition: |Party Condition:
Callix HP: 75/75 - AC: 20/14/16 Status:
Letitia: HP: 54(+4)/54 - AC: 18/12/15 Status:
Llewellyn HP: 59/59 - AC: 23/21/13 Status:
Samuel HP:30/78 - AC: 23/18/16 Status: grappled
Ashling HP:61/61 - AC: (23/19 if cold)21/15/17 Status:NPCs:
Viney Plant HP : ?? AC: ??
Global Condition: |Party Condition:
Callix HP: 75/75 - AC: 20/14/16 Status:
Letitia: HP: 54(+4)/54 - AC: 18/12/15 Status:
Llewellyn HP:59/59 - AC: 23/21/13 Status:
Samuel HP: 64/78 - AC: 23/18/16 Status: grappled
Ashling HP: 61/61 - AC: (23/19 if cold)21/15/17 Status:NPCs:
Viney Plant HP : ?? AC: ??
"Samuel!" Letitia shouts and steps forward a few scant paces, bringing herself within range of her hex but hopefully outside the plant creature's reach. As a precaution, she activates her hyperboreal robe to punish the plant if it tries to grab her.
"It's a giant flytrap! It will digest him if we don't get him out of there!" she tells the others, then strips the strands of fortune from the creature.
If the creature succumbs to her hex, she cackles madly to extend the duration of its misfortune. (As a swift action, using the hag's blouse.)
Seeing his friend all tangled up by some overgrown vine twisted Llewellyn up inside. There was only one thing to do, and it wasn't reaching for his bow! Instead he pulled out his flute and started playing in a frenzy that was at once light and airy yet layered with incredibly complex arpeggios that follow so rapidly that it sounded sound jumbled and disjointed at first. But the music started to seep into your soul and there was a delightful freedom to it, one that had a supernatural effect!
Llewellyn then contrived to add an extra layer into the music, a percussive beat with his feat and his hands that grew faster and faster and faster in time with your now racing heartbeats!
Samuel trembles as the plant gets a grasp on him, only to be surprised by the music enveloping him just afterwards "That is..."