Loose threads: Portal at the bottom of the lake, Escaped culprits, Fey influence?
Participants: Catchis Slake, Plumgrass, Aria Highcloak, Hakuto and Carthana Gellantara
Location(s): Apothecary's Garden
On a cold morning, our party of six: Catchis Slake, Rose "Silver" Thorn, Plumgrass, Aria Highcloak, Hakuto and Carthana Gellantara met up with the person who requested Guild’s help.
Young Venric, the apothecary apprentice, pointed us towards the area that he was to take care of and cultivate. Two days of travel later we arrived at the edge of the land, which, as per Venric’s description, had become a dangerous jungle.
With unexpected heat sapping our strength, we pushed into the jungle, wary of dangerous plants that had grown there, Bloodlash Bushes and Venus Flytraps among them. We soon reached a small clearing, with a large rock on the side. Hakuto decided to climb it, and on the way up they heard a faint cry for help.
On top we were met with a sinister view - a tree, that was being sapped by a necromantically enchanted briar, seemingly of fey origin. Once removed by Catchis, from the tree a dryad emerged. She introduced herself as Arestea, thanked us for the help and requested we find the culprit, claiming Venric was tricked into harming the land and her.
With a clearer goal in mind, and a way to track the direction in which sapped energy was going, we pushed on deeper into the jungle. Not a long time later, our trek was interrupted by previously mentioned plants - Bloodlash Bushes, and what appeared to be a vine that could lash out at everything around at once.
The danger was quickly dealt with by Rose, Plumgrass and Catchis, while Aria and Carthana were trying to keep Hakuto alive.
After a breather to treat wounds that we received, we started to move deeper into the jungle. After a while it started to feel like it wanted us to go in circles, but Hakuto, with Carthana’s help, easily found the direction they should move in. The compass was, however, behaving a bit weirdly, as if something was interfering with it.
We found ourselves at the edge of a pond, where we tried to rest a little more and to replenish our waterskins. We also sensed something magical in the depths of the water. Before we could investigate, however, we were attacked again.
From the treeline a giant Venus Flytrap emerged, followed shortly by what, according to Carthana, is called a Twigjack. First enemy that we dealt with was the Flytrap, which was a nuisance, with how it kept grabbing us with its roots and trying to swallow us, but an enraged Catchis made quick work of it. Twigjack was more problematic, with its mobility, and was even able to bring down both Hakuto and Carthana at the same time by showering them with sharp splinters, but was dealt with, and the two party members were quickly stabilized and healed.
Further investigation of the object at the bottom of the lake revealed that it was, in fact, a portal of some kind, the destination however was not determined. We returned to Arestea, who informed us that apparently the culprits fled, where to is unknown. Not wanting to risk another fight, we returned back to First Landing to report back on our results and our findings.
Hakuto brought back the briar mentioned before for inspection by the Guild.