"Explore the mysteries of the universe with Grandmother..." muttered Llewellyn, "This is Baba Yaga we're talking about, she doesn't strike me as the caring sentimental type. I doubt we'll ever know what actually happens but I wouldn't be surprised if it was a dark fate indeed."
Llewellyn considered what kind of entity might have consumed Syvet.
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Letitia scowls as Llewellyn voices the same creeping doubts that have threatened to overtake her about her Grandmother. She pushes them aside.
"Nothing in nature does this," she says as she fails to think of anything like the creature that consumed Syvet though he continues to exist.
She snaps her fingers when an idea comes to her.
"Syvet, I can try something. I can turn you back into a cat. If you allow the magic to take hold of your body, but fight to keep your mind, this monster you've become will be lost to the spell. It may not be ideal, and you may lose the ability to speak, but this constant battle will be over. May I try it?"
A note of hope colors the cat's voice, "Do you think so? Please, anything to escape this prison! Though I'm sure the creature will resist!"
Letitia nods, and tells her companions her plan. "I am going to attempt a spell. If Syvet resists, then its malicious other may take over and attack us. If it is at all possible, try not to slay him."
"All right. Do what you can to force it to succumb, but hold to your mind!" she urges.
She casts the spell usually considered to be a curse, warping the creature into that of a simple cat.
Samuel steps forward, steadying his musket as he points it at the stump "Witches and their cats. Never simple, is it? Don't worry, Letitia, I have got your back"
With a sharp motion, he readies his musket. If the spell fails and the monster breaks out, he shots to his legs, trying to make him prone to give Letitia a chance to get away.
The magicks that Letitia unleashes surround the stump and cat in a pulsating arua of differing colors, the cat a whitish hue, the creature a dark malevolent purple. The creature's nature is revealed as two long tentacles rise up out of the ground, and the stump splits open to reveal a slathering , sharp toothed mouth.
Both auras slowly begin to merge, the cat's remaining undisturbed, while the creature's distorts and shudders. After another moment, the creature thrashes about and the magick is thrown off, the auras dissapating and disappearing.
"Ah...I could feel the end was near, but the creature is too strong!"
"It and I are one. When it caught and consumed me, I used the power granted me by my mistress to stay myself ....but with the creature. We exist together...and must die together.
It does not sound like anything in nature that you've learned about.
Letitia's hands ball into fists and she trembles in intense frustration as again her spell fails to take hold! A strangled sound escapes her throat as she struggles to stop herself from screaming out loud.
Through laborious effort, she repairs her veneer of control.
"I am sorry it did not work. I would like to rest, prepare the spell again, and return to try again. I should have hexed you first, but I had hoped it would not be necessary because I want you to keep your mind. I will return, and I will not stop until you are saved from this affliction."
Letitia backs away from Syvet. "My spell failed, but I wish to try again. And again, and again, until it works. I will NOT--!" She cuts herself off as she feels an unfamiliar wetness on her cheeks. She spins away from her companions so they do not see.
"Thank you....I cannot leave so I will be here if you choose to try again. Just be wary of the beast. You saw how long it's tentacles are ( 15ft), if you come to close, I may lose control and it will have you. "
Samuel nods in understanding "Let's continue our exploration. Maybe we find another way to free the cat"
With that, and if others have nothing else to add, he moves west to north-west clock-wise.
Llewellyn follows Mister Samuel, "Who knows, that wouldn't be the strangest thing here by a wide margin."
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When Samuel and Llewellyn begin to continue their exploration, Letitia tries to surreptitiously wipe her eyes and compose herself. After a few deep breaths and several hard blinks to drive out the redness in her eyes, she turns to follow the group in its route around the perimeter.
With the tears mostly purged from her eyes, she puts them to use to stay alert to dangers that may lay ahead.
Skirting the area around the cat and stump , the group safely transits the clearing.
Leaving the clearing, everyone notices that the faerie lights are once more circling the cat.
Following the crushed stone path, ignoring the path that leads back to the gazebo, that leads to the next area of forestation.
This time however, towering tropical vegetation grows in profusion and the canopy of green foliage gives the impression of a leafy ceiling overhead. This creepers choke the trees and taller shrubs, each straining to reach the light above.
Where the stone path enters the jungle, it changes to a path of soft, springy dirt.
Letitia eyes the canopy warily. "More potential for ambush predators. I could summon some creatures to go ahead and hopefully draw out whatever it is that lurks along this path."
Callix nods, "Not a bad idea -- seems a little more effective than just throwing a stick or a rock, in any case."
"Sticks and rocks are abundant. My magic is far more limited. We'll have a minute of the summoned being's services. So be prepared to move quickly behind him."
She chants and gestures until a hound archon appears ten feet down the trail.
"Quickly now, we fear an ambush up ahead. Go forward and draw out whatever may be lurking ahead," she tells the outsider.
The Archon salutes Letitia then begins to make it's way down the path, scrutinizing the jungle foliage to the sides and above.
The path bends slowly to the right , before turning back to the left and coming to a 3-way crossroads.
The Archon is looking down the new path to the left as if he sees something. It begins to message back to Letitia, "There is a building...", but it is interrupted when one of the nearby trees moves and lashes out at it.
Two thick vines slam into the Archon, battering it. Then at the same time a large mouth like branch strikes out and engulfs the celestial. It's form can be seen within the branch, moving quickly to be deposited in a pod-like structure hanging on the side of the huge plant. The pod seems to close in about the Archon, and it's struggles cease. The pod then falls to the ground, hidden by the undergrowth.
The tree then returns to its original position, blending in with the foliage. For now, you can tell where it lays in wait.
This is a moonflower. A taller relative of the flytrap.
It will try , like the flytrap, to 'eat' its prey, and deposit them in a pod to germinate a new plant
They have the ability to generate a burst of light....blinding it's prey.
"That is a moonflower. Similar to the flytrap, but I do not recall its differences. Though, fighting it at range would be best, since it made short work of the archon. And avoidance is less of an option, if we want to explore the building that my summons detected."
Llewellyn thought about this before saying, "Mmm a moonflower, I've heard a few far fetched bar room tales of such things. Not the most reliable of accounts, scant on detail but all seemed to agree that to get too close was to invite certain death."
With that he strung his bow and nocked an arrow, before approaching slowly, stopping a good distance away.
"Well, that was a good idea, Letitia" Samuel concedes, noting the tears on the witch's eyes "Better the archon than myself again"
And when attacking at range is suggested, he swiftly raises his musket and takes a proving shot.
"Be wary. We don't know how fast the plant moves, nor the reach of its tendrils."
Letitia throws a pinch of mica into the air while casting a spell, causing a cascade of glittery particles around the moonflower and anything else within a ten-foot area.
Callix asks, "Do we know how long its reach is?"
Samuel's volley flies true, taking a chunk out of the plant creature's trunk. Likewise, Letitia's spell covers it and it's surrounding area with glittery dust. It seems to have been aware of your approach as it turns it's trunk, mouth and tentacles towards you, as it begins to move through the foliage towards you.
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:
Moonflower HP : -23?? AC: 29 status : blinded 10 rounds, Will save dc 19 to nullify
Callix asks, "Do we know how long its reach is?"
"We don't! So stay well clear of it! Llewellyn, I hope you can use that song again today!" Letitia calls out as the thing approaches. She activates her Flight hex again and rises into the air in case it moves faster than she can run.
"I can if needed." replied Llewellyn before starting a bawdy tavern song, "♫♪ I once knew a maid, who did as she was bade... ♪♫"
With a thought his nocked arrow started glowing. He then took careful aim, drawing the arrow back to his ear and loosed at the moonflower.
Samuel takes another shot at the plant "Well, this time, someone else should find out the reach. One time experience at being eaten by a plant is just as much as I can cope in a single day"
With great training, he quickly reloads another bullet on the musket.
Callix says, "I'm not really one for keeping back.., but despite her complaint, she does step back and readies her bow..
Ashling draws her bow and fires, dont get close, understood
Samuel's firearm booms again, and again tears a chunk out of the strange plant! Llewellyn and Ashling's arrows thud into the wide trunk, causing some sap to spurt out of the plant. Callix' volley flies out into the jungle and disappears.
The Moonflower gyrates and thrashes it's large vines around, but with Letitia's glitter all about it , it doesn't know where it's adversary lies.
Lazlo give a hoot from where he sits on Letitia's shoulder.
Lazlo saw something moving about in the jungle to the party's left.
]
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:
Moonflower HP : -63?? AC: 27 status : blinded 11 rounds, Will save dc 19 to nullify, -2 on saves vs spells, spell-like ability 1 rnd
Round 2
Lazlo's hoot causes Letitia to call out, "Look to your left! Something is hidden in the jungle!"
She then flies closer to the moonflower while skimming the canopy to hex the plant creature to keep it blinded and to stymie any attacks it may make in case it gets into reach of her companions.
Llewellyn withdrew a couple of arrows from his quiver, and with a trickle of power they started to glow. Acting quickly he loosed twice in the space of six heartbeats.
Samuel seizes the opportunity to finish the plant before it reaches the party.
Letitia's call of attention takes him reloading the firearm. He looks to the left trying to see what is going on.
Callix and Ashling draws new arrows and fire them at the plant-creature.
A dark pall falls over the plant-beast, as both of Llewellyn's arrows thud into it's thick trunk, sap spraying. Samuel's volley likewise tears a chunk of plant flesh away! Callix's arrow stick into the plant, but falls away doing no damage. Both of Ashling's arrow however find their mark!
Though 'blinded' by Letitia's glitterdust, the moonflower seems to have enough intelligence to have figured out where all of your attacks are coming from. With startling alacrity, it 'steps' out of the jungle onto the path, moving on a squirming bed of roots.
In a matter of moments, it looms before you, tentacles waving, gaping mouth swaying.
Looking left you see nothing but jungle
Llewellyn continued to shoot, but he found he was having to shoot around his companions which made things akward!
Llewellyn continued to shoot, but he found he was having to shoot around his companions which made things awkward!
The moonflower was too close to everyone, and whatever lurked in the jungle that Lazlo had spotted could rapidly become a threat itself. With the plant creature hexed and glitterdusted, all it could do was grope blindly at its foes, but that still meant a measure of danger.
She elects to hex the plant, this time to wrack it with pain. Then she cackles to extend both effects.
with the moon flower so close, Ash drops her bow and runs over to the moonflowers main body, drawing the FrostThunder Hammer and wacks as hard as she can
Samuel grins as the moonflower lumbers forward, its roots writhing "Alright, you overgrown salad, let's see how you like a little extra seasoning!"
With practiced speed, he slams a faster load into his musket, the mechanism clicking into place with a satisfying snap, as he tries to finish the tree before it can hit the party.
Callix drops the bow and steps forward, her axe bursting into flames as she spins it from her belt, attacking the plant.
for
LLewellyn's arrows thud into the creature's thick bark, but none of the telltale sap squirts out to indicate telling damage, Ashling's volley likewise lodges in the bark but is ineffective.
Samuel's volley of musket balls is more effective, chunks and sap flying through the air! The Callix steps up and takes a chunk out of the plant's side with her axe!
Letitia's hexes take effect, and the creature sways back and forth, it's mouth part opening and closing, leaking sap and other fluids.
Everyone , with the exception of Ashling and Samuel, notices the trees to the left part and separate as another Moonflower emerges from the jungle....right beside Ashling! It's two tentacles lash her vicously, , followed by the plant's mouth descending to grab her! .
The mouth successful grabs Ashling, and it currently trying to swallow her!
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: 30/61 - AC: (23/19 if cold)21/15/17 Status:NPCs:
Moonflower 1 HP : -148?? AC: 22 status : blinded 7 rounds, Will save dc 19 to nullify, -2 on saves vs spells, spell-like ability 1 rnd, misfortune, roll 2, take lowest, 1 rnds
Moonflower 2 HP : ?? AC:22
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: 43/61 - AC: (23/19 if cold)21/15/17 Status:NPCs:
Moonflower 1 HP : -148?? AC: 22 status : blinded 7 rounds, Will save dc 19 to nullify, -2 on saves vs spells, spell-like ability 1 rnd, misfortune, roll 2, take lowest, 1 rnds
Moonflower 2 HP : ?? AC:22
As she feared, the thing in the woods was another threat. Thankfully, the first one was taking a beating and had been stymied by her spells and hexes so it was not much of a threat.
She wanted to try to finish off the first moonflower so they could concentrate their efforts on the new arrival. Yet she had done just about all she could against first one, so she decides to hex the newcomer. Then she cackles to sustain her magic on both plants.
"Letitia!" LLewellyn surprised himself as those words left his mouth. The granddaughter wasn't a friend exactly, but being being gobbled up by a moonflower was a fate he wouldn't wish on his worst enemy.
In his best mock drill sergeant stage voice he bellowed "Out you come!"
He then turned back to the damaged target and tried to shoot it with another arrow.
Pressed by the enduring thing, Samuel keeps shooting cartridges at the blinded one before it can become more dangerous.
LLewellyn winces when Ashling nearly gets grabbed but focusing on the first moonflower he tries to finish it off.
Both Samuel's and Llewellyn's volleys do enough damage to disrupt the flow of fluids necessary for locomotion, and it seems life, as the large plant creatures rears up and falls over onto the path.
Callix , flaming sword in hand, advances on the new arrival, cutting a most satisfying chunk out of it's side. Ashling, likewise, hammers away at the newcomer, her hammer bringing about a large swelling bruise on the plant's tough exterior.
However, the moonflower is intent on it's next meal. It's tentacles whip around and strike at Ashling, and as she recovers her balance from the avoiding the last strike, the mouth descends again, this time on target! . Though she wriggles and struggles, the mouth has her in it's grasp. It's fleshy veins and sinews pulse as it attempt to draw Ashling further into it's body!
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: 24/61 - AC: (23/19 if cold)21/15/17 Status: grappledNPCs:
Moonflower 2 HP : -44? AC: 23 status : misfortune hex
"NO!!" Letitia shouts as the second moonflower grabs up Ashling. Her original plan to keep hexing the second plant creature does not change, so she immediately hexes it again, hoping that its misfortune will allow her Agony Hex to take hold.
"Llewellyn! Slashing and cutting hurts it the most! Drop the bow, sing your song, and use a blade!"
"Tsk! Slashing the tree? Well, when only thing you have is a bullet..." Samuel keeps his pace of quickly recharging and shooting.
Swift action activate the Riders Cold aura then I'm gonna try to escape the grapple with escape artist