"The wonders of Boccob never cease to amaze. With magic all things are possible, if one is patient," Herodian says as he looks out at the jungle.

Pointing to the vines overrunning the railing, "Might should be careful near that. Sometimes magic warps plants and they become more dangerous than they seem at first glance."

"Is da wind blowing?" The dwarf asks loudly. "Acause I swears dat plant jest moved." he says pointing at the railing.

Salenth takes a careful peek over the railing. Though obviously impressed by the impossible garden, her gaze remains cold. "I like this place not." She grips her mace tight, the steel reassuring her. "Regular jungles are dangerous enough; I dare not imagine the kind of horrors that may lurk in the one below. However, we might have no other choice than to venture into it". She points to the rope tied to the railing. "That's probably as good of a lead as we're going to get. Do we risk following that path, or should we find another way to get down?"

"I think we should follow the path." Cal says matter-of-factly. He moves to where the rope is tied to the railing, careful to keep a healthy distance from the shifting vines.

Ranzarth looked over the balcony to the area below to see if he can see where the rope touched ground, curious if hey could see anything else that might give the location of the scouts away. His eyes watched the vines carefully though to ensure they did not move towards them if they were truly alive or if it was a simple trick of the mind.

"I agree, that we should follow what appears to be the scouts' trail, if we are to find them.

Although that rope looks far less interesting than the Levitation Portal we used earlier!"

“If we’re using the rope, I suggest we go one at a time.  We’ll want that thing to still be in good shape by the time we’re done, in the unlikely event we ever decide to leave this place.”

"I could levitate someone down there. However I only have one Levitate spell memorized and I do not have a Fly spell memorized today. I must say looking over this jungle a fly spell might of been handy today," Herodian told the others.

Lumwik's concern over the moving vines drew Trisvyre's attention to begin with, her thought being the scouts may have climbed down the vine to reach the jungle floor (if they went that way at all).  But the dwarf's concern that the vines were moving on their own gave her caution.  She'd heard of plants trapping their prey and in the forests of Geoff there were examples, but nothing of the size that could threaten a person.  But here, especially with the tale of what had happened to some of the residents, who knew?

So she inspected the vines from a safe distance to try and determine if they were indeed moving with purpose.  Then she turned her attention to the rope someone else spotted.  That seemed almost certainly the way the scout had gone, though she still scanned for confirmation in the telltale markings they were trained to leave behind.  Regardless of what she spotted, she joined Ranzarth in scanning the area where the rope reached the jungle, in case any evidence of her brethren could be seen.

"Save the levitation for coming back up," she suggested to Herodian without looking away from the jungle.  "Going down is easy.  We'll need help to climb all this way back up."

"I have a few spell options should we need to get back up here quickly and cannot make it to that rope, or the rope itself is a trap." Ranzarth offers as his survey of the field below continues.

Herodian nods at the suggestion, "That seems a wise choice to wait for our return."

At Ranzarth's words he asks "Does anyone have a mirror that we could use to see towards the bottom of the rope to see if it is indeed obviously trapped or if the scout made it no farther than this?"

Ella had been listening to her companions discuss using the rope for some time without offering any comment one way or the other. When the issue seems settled, she approaches the rope to get a better look at how sturdy it might be. Since being alerted to the possibly moving vines, she draws her flaming sword, just in case...

"Let's see what we have here," he says in an assured tone.

OOC: Approaching rope/vines. Ella will volunteer to go down first, assuming the rope looks sturdy.

Wandreck keeps an eye on Ella, knowing that his magic boots may enable him to leap to her defense, should the need arise.

As Ella and Sir Cal move to examine the rope, the vines clinging to the walkway railing suddenly untangle and stretch, the thick green tendrils reaching for the two adventurers, any question regarding their ability to move now moot. As Lumwik springs into action, a third vine moves to bludgeon him.

OOC: As several of the adventurers are paying close attention to the mysterious plants, the party isn’t subject to surprise.

18:44, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 2 using 1d6.  Initiative - Party.

18:45, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 5 using 1d6.  Initiative - Vines.

However, the vines, moving with remarkable speed, win initiative.

The vines snake out of the mass of growth, even as more of the plant appears to pull itself over the railing. The individual tendrils lash out hungrily, their movement like the tentacles of a creature from the deep sea.

18:54, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 15 using 1d20.  Vines - Attack.

18:55, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 2 using 1d4.  Vines - Damage.

18:55, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 8 using 1d20.  Attack - Vines.

18:55, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 5 using 1d20.  Attack - Vines.

One the vines manages to snag Sir Cal’s leg, squeezing the elven warrior’s calf with surprising force. Ella is able to block the vine seeking her out with a deft movement of her shield, while Lumwik parries the vine striking at him with his axe.

OOC: It is the party’s turn to act.
This message was last updated by the GM at 14:08, Wed 30 Sept 2020.

Azad will move to the edge of the balcony, staying away from the vines, and leaving room for the rest of the group to swat at it with weapons.

He will peer over the edge to determine if the vines on the balcony appear to be appendages of a single creature or plant on the lower level.

If so he will blast at the main body with a Magic Missile.

---

17:28, Today: Azad Rola rolled 16 using 5d4+5.  magic missile.
[spell noted on character sheet]

Ella brandishes her flaming sword in an instant and strikes the grasping vines with ease...


OOC: Hit AC -9 for 9 points of damage if S/M or 7 if large.

19:43, Today: Ella rolled 22,9,7 using d20+4,d8+4,d12+4 with rolls of 18,5,3.  attack/damage.

Ranzarth sighed heavily as the plant creature struck out at his companions, others were already charging in on the limited walkway they were on and he was unsure he could get close enough to also add his blade to the fight, instead he chanted a quick word of power and pointed his finger towards the plant vines, 5 glowing motes of energy formed upon his finger tip before it was released and moved unerringly towards the vines, striking it


OOC: Cast Magic Missile for 16 damage


21:15, Today: Ranzarth rolled 16 using 5d4+5 with rolls of 3,2,4,1,1.  Magic Missile.

Wandreck lashes out with his sword, trying to sever the vine that is oppressing Sir Cal.

08:17, Today: Wandreck rolled 7 using 1d8+3.  Dam.
08:16, Today: Wandreck rolled 11 using 1d20+3.  To hit w/sword.

"As I suspected. That's why I asked if anyone had a mirror, if we could have seen to the bottom of the rope we might have seen the scouts, or what remained of them," he stated.

"Let's see I could raise a wall of fire, no no that might destroy to much. Ah let's see I'll give Sir Cal the strength to hopefully escape his captors," Herodian further stated.

He moved and touched Sir Cal casting Strength spell on him.

09:26, Today: Herodian rolled 8 using 1d8.  Strength Spell, Sir Cal, hoping Sir Cal based on description is fighter if not DM can roll and substitute appropriate die.

Trisvyre maneuvered herself for an attack upon the vines that had attacked the other party members.  But in her haste to get an opening her slashes were slightly wild.


OOC:

19:57, Today: Trisvyre rolled 7,12 using d20+2,d20+2.  Attack vines.  Second attack might hit?
19:58, Today: Trisvyre rolled 8 using 1d8+2.  Damage.  If second attack hit.

Axes are good for chopping, and vines are close enough to trees, the oversized Lumwik strikes out.

20:23, Today: Lumwik rolled 10,17,15,20 using 1d20+9,1d8+12,1d20+9,1d8+12


Hits AC  2 for 17
Hits AC -3 for 20


HP 101/101

"By Cuthbert's cudgel!" Salenth had expected trouble, but not so soon! Though a mace might not be terribly effective weapon against vines, it's the best she has in this situation. She hopes St. Cuthbert's rectifying touch will be enough.


17:33, Today: Salenth Ravanys rolled 20,6 using 1d20+1,1d6+2.  Attack, Damage.
Hits AC-3

"Gah!" Cal exclaims as the vine grabs his leg. His struggle to maintain his balance makes him slower to react than the rest of the party. Once his weight is readjusted to his other leg, he swipes out quickly with his thin blade at the vine attached to his leg. Those trained in elvish swordplay would recognize his attack as a one-handed Weaver's Retort.



16:59, Today: Sir Cal rolled 11,13,27,18 using d20+9,d8+11,d20+9,d8+11.  counter attack vine.

Hit AC 2, 13 damage
Hit AC -10, 18 damage

The adventurers react swiftly to the attack of the vines. Azad and Ranzarth’s searing missiles blast several of the the thick tendrils apart, while the other company members efficiently slice or crush more of the encroaching plants. In moments, the walkway is littered with the remains of the strangling foliage, some of the separated vines still thrashing about violently as the last vestiges of life leave them.

Azad, who has peered over the balcony, is unable to make out a central body from which the vines originate, though they do appear to stretch all the way down to the dark soil some eighty feet below. The closest comparison the wizard can make to the plants’ structure is that of the dark leaved ivy that has overtaken the walls of many towers and libraries that he has studied in. Though the adventurers have driven the tallest of the vines back with their efforts, Azad can see that more have begun to rise, moving up to the balcony’s railing with surprising swiftness.

OOC: The party has succeeded in destroying the tallest group of the vines. At the moment, there are none that can still threaten them. However, in another round’s time, more of the plants will be able to reach over the balcony’s railing to attack.

[Draconic: "Bloody, bloody hells!"]

"There's more ivy climbing up this way! And quickly!"

The wizard looks like he might cast a spell, but then he pauses a moment and a smile crosses his face.

He holds his staff up, and utters a command, "Augue!"

A bead of like streak from the staff, aimed at the spot on the ground where he believes the vine originates, and then it blossoms into a ball of fire!

---

Cast Fireball from staff for 29 points damage; save for half. (2 charges deducted).