Blodgett nods. We'll help, yeah, he says. What we can, anyway.
The heroes get a night's rest at the Feedmill.
In the morning, Noala gives you a run down of the journey, [b]"It's going to take us the whole day. We can't do the normal adventuring thing where we take it slow. Even moving quickly, we'll not have a lot of day left. It should be reasonably safe, but I worry that taking too long will mean the blight spreads even more.
The journey to the Pen is long and challenging as expected. You arrive with only an hour of daylight remaining. The area resembles the blight surrounding the wolf den. The plants on the perimeter are sickly and dying. Noala grunts, "Last time was bad, but I think especially here, I should patrol the perimeter. Let me help a bit more this time though."
She hands you 2 lesser healing potions and 2 barkskin potions. After that, she heads off into the woods to begin her preparations.
The next morning Jasper makes a point of going through the coins that they've collected. Although he's not exactly the best with money, as Penryn knows, he manages the basic math needed to divvy out the coins they've found. "It amounts to 4 gold and 6 silver each. There are 4 copper coins left, but I think they're a nice tip to the innkeeper for our breakfast, right?"
He then goes into the stables to see Petunia. Spending a few minutes grooming and petting the beast, he gives her a few turnips and... cries a lot. He then returns to the inn and seeks out Delma. "I wondered if you'd be interested in acquiring the most loyal, well-behaved pony ever. She's a delight, full of personality and verve. Great at giving children rides, though she'll take you from home to work in a flash as well. And she's smart, so I've no doubt you can teach her more. A bargain too at 35 gold. What say you?"
The bartender makes the purchase and the two iron out the details. Jasper embarrasses himself by crying some more while she hands over the coins, though he leaves quickly thereafter.
After what might be 30 minutes Jasper returns to the group. He carries a longbow and has a quiver of arrows, the plumage poking over his shoulder. "It seems we're at war with a corruption of nature. I'm ready to fight it."
==============================
When Noala hands over the potions, Jasper makes some decisions for the group. He hands a healing potion to Blodgett and Penny, and a barkskin potion to Blodgett and Kaleb. "You three are often closest to danger, so I think it best that you be able to use the magic to help yourselves. For Cilik and Elvanthain, I'll do what I can with Erastil's blessings."
He then takes hold of his new bow, and adds, "Let's do what we must here."
The party closes in on the blight. The environment feels sick.
Deeper into this massive blight, the plants take on unnatural shades, and their branches seem to shudder and quake at the sensation of something passing. Up ahead is a wall of thick brambles with some sort of thorny iris in the center.
Jasper pulls the party up. Ahead are some dangerous plants. They don't look nearly as deadly as the last round of killer plants, but you never know... Unless you're Elvanthain. The elf stops the party immediately. There are two threats here. The plants with the long tendril are vine lashers, a mildly dangerous carnivorous plant. The other plant is a bit more subtle. They're known as poison blooms. If an animal comes within 10', it releases a mud befuddling gas...
(E)
(E)
(T)
(T)
(T)
Nature
Kaleb keeps his silver rapier in hand as he points to the plants and asks Elvanthain "I don't suppose you prepared and weed-killer today?"
Jasper readies his bow (Interact) then says, "Don't move yet, guys. And keep quiet. Let's think about what we're going to do before we do it."
He then tries to recall anything he can about the dangerous flora before him (Recall Knowledge x2), sharing what he knows about vine lashers and poison blooms.
Jasper confirms Elvanthain's comment about the poison blooms clouding one's mind if it gets too close, but that's all he remembers.
Round 1:
Penryn: Go
Hostiles: TBD
Blodget: TBD
Lucky: TBD
Cilik: TBD
Elvanthain: TBD
Jasper: TBD
()
Perception (T)
Avoid Notice (T)
Thinking
Penryn knows a thing or two, because he's seen a thing or two. He knows that these lashers, while not as dangerous as the last ones, are ambulatory - at a pace equal to a human. He also knows that the poison blooms release their spores in a wide area, perhaps 20' or so.
A moment after he shares the information, the plants go on the move! Two even get close enough to lash out with their vines.
for and it grabs hold of Blodgett.
for
Round 1:
Penryn: Think
Hostiles: ATK
Blodget: Go
Lucky: Go
Cilik: Go
Elvanthain: Go
Jasper: Go
Blodgett, remembering a point in his life where being grabbed meant punishment, struggles mightily against being restrained.
Desperation rising in him, Blodgett lets the anger in him explode , then squirms frantically.
Blodgett tears himself completely free! His memory of the last carnivorous plant is fresh in his mind as his blood boils.
Round 1:
Penryn: Think
Hostiles: ATK
Blodget: I want to break free
Lucky: Go
Cilik: Go
Elvanthain: Go
Jasper: Go
Kaleb winces in pain, bad memories of the previous encounter with plants still fresh in his mind as he sets of an arc of lightning between red and black.
Before blessing himself with a shield spell.
Kaleb's electric magic shocks one of the plants, though the other completely avoids it. The injured plant already looks seriously messed up after the spell. Just in case, Kaleb raises up a magical defense.
Round 1:
Penryn: Think
Hostiles: ATK
Blodget: I want to break free
Lucky: Elec
Cilik: Go
Elvanthain: Go
Jasper: Go
Black: 5
Cilik's acid burns away the plant. What's left shrivels and wilts!
Round 1:
Penryn: Think
Hostiles: ATK
Blodget: I want to break free
Lucky: Elec
Cilik: Kill
Elvanthain: Go
Jasper: Go
Jasper prepares for battle and begins a prayer. "Erastil, grant this bow your power as a symbol of your will. I will use it to stop the dangers before me."
He then moves into a better position to use the weapon.
Jasper prepares himself for battle!
Round 1:
Penryn: Think
Hostiles: ATK
Blodget: I want to break free
Lucky: Elec
Cilik: Kill
Elvanthain: Go
Jasper: Move and cast
Elvanthain lines up his crossbow and shoots at black.
and misses badly.
Elvanthain's bolt goes wide. Penryn sees his arrow sink in. Apparently these plants come with considerably less sclerenchyma, though it's a light hit.
The remaining trio of plants advance, each attacking a different target!
for . It then grabs him! It's a light grab though.
Miss
Miss
MISS
Round 2:
Penryn: Hit
Hostiles: ATK
Blodgett: Go
Lucky: Go
Cilik: Go
Elvanthain: Go
Jasper: Go
Red 1
Blodgett draws his greataxe and a wide grin breaks across his face, the exhilaration of combat showing his euphoria, as he dashes around to the far side of Red and attacks!
Blodgett's swing nearly ends the plant, leaving only a small bit of combative flora left.
Round 2:
Penryn: Hit
Hostiles: ATK
Blodgett: Hit!
Lucky: Go
Cilik: Go
Elvanthain: Go
Jasper: Go
Red 13
Jasper steps back, only to nock and fire two arrows in quick succession!
Kaleb's shield pops violently as it absorbs the worst of the vine. Kaleb does a gratuitous combat roll to get adjacent to red before getting it a serious stab.
Kaleb follows up his clumsy swing with a serious forking.
Jasper's two arrows quickly take out the green plant, and the remise of Kaleb's attack drops a second plant!
Round 2:
Penryn: Hit
Hostiles: ATK
Blodgett: Hit!
Lucky: Kill
Cilik: Go
Elvanthain: Go
Jasper: Kill
Elvanthain takes another shot at the closest plant.
He then reloads and shoots again
and tries to avoid shooting himself in the foot.
Elvanthain takes aim at the only plant and lets fly. The bolt strikes true, obviously harming the plant.
Round 2:
Penryn: Hit
Hostiles: ATK
Blodgett: Hit!
Lucky: Kill
Cilik: Go
Elvanthain: Hit
Jasper: Kill
Plant: 8
Cilik's splash is enough to wilt the final ambulatory plant! Aside form the poison blooms, it looks like a clear path in...
Penryn looks around, and thinks the party can get to the opening without trouble, so long as they stay away from the plants. The astute investigator can see that there's still plenty of healthy flora here, but it's doomed if the blight isn't solved. Most of the healthy plants are starting to get choked out by corrupted vines and plants.
"Kaleb, you're wounded! Here, lend me your bandages and I'll do what I can to help you."
Jasper sighs, unable to do much good. Instead, he whispers a prayer to Erastil, and the healing magic closes Kaleb's wounds.
Carefully, following Penryn's directions, the party approaches the door. The astute halfling gives the blooms a wide berth, protecting the party from a truly awful experience.
The strange doorway, made up of thorny branches winding clockwise in a broad circle, does not have a handle or keyhole.
|
Penryn studies the door of branches, wondering if the particular type of vegetation involved might have variable turgor pressure that could be used seal and unseal the opening, perhaps by regulating the osmotic flow within. More prosaically, he also looks for some sort of hidden mechanism that might open the thing.
Penryn thinks he's on the right track with his approach to the door, but he just can't get his thoughts together.
Jasper watches his cousin think, the looks at what he's looking at. He makes his own conclusions.
Kaleb keeps his eyes out for ambushes and other dangers while his allies work on the door.
Jasper looks very carefully. The natural construction of the "door" doesn't need to be disturbed. He finds one branch which will create a chain reaction to move branches and open the door. When all is said and done, Jasper opens the door.
On the other side of the wall of brambles is a yard dominated by three large, wooden cages and a pool of bubbling sludge. A wretched-looking horse stands in one of the cages, while another cage is filled with a swarm of gigantic rats covered in white blisters. The third pen looks empty, but it appears to be built around a small cave located in the hillside. There is another cave entrance on the north side, near one of the pens.
Within are a pair of orcs! They seem to be hard at work at... something, both are positioned at a cage door—one at the door a strange looking horse, the other perched atop the cage with a pair of strange rats!
()
Perception (T)
Avoid Notice (T)
Cover Tracks (T)
???
Sense Direction (T)
Round 1
Lucky: Go
Blodgett: Go
Jasper: Go
Hostile: TBD
Elvanthain: TBD
Cilik: TBD
Penryn: TBD
Jasper steps in and immediately spies the horse. Taken by the beast, he takes a moment to study it.
Seeing an orc near it he assumes the worst and fires off an arrow at them!
Kaleb strides past Tosscobble and follow up with his own thrown 3rd best fork.
Kaleb then follow up with the shield cantrip for the inevitable counter attack.
Kaleb's third best fork is way off target. Jasper's arrow however, is dead on target. The orc's wound is serious, and Jasper feels like he's got the orc's number.
He spares a look at the horse, and there's something... wrong with the horse. It's skin looks like stone, some kind of stoneskin.
Round 1
Lucky: Miss
Blodgett: Go
Jasper: Hit
Hostile: TBD
Elvanthain: TBD
Cilik: TBD
Penryn: TBD
Black: 7
Blodgett moves forward with his axe in hand.
Finally happy to fight something that bleeds, Blodgett closes distance! The orc responds by hurling his bucket of putrescence at Blodgett:
, but it goes wide, sizzling the grass. He then takes out a knuckle dagger and rushes to meet the halfling.
To the north the orc opens the horse's cage with a shout and an order to attack. He then also draws his weapon.
The horse closes to Kaleb.
Round 1
Lucky: Miss
Blodgett: Move
Jasper: Hit
Hostile: Open the gates!
Elvanthain: Go
Cilik: Go
Penryn: Go
Black: 7