Cela and Skye followed the wolf-druid as Marigold led  them toward the tree. The shifted Druid’s sense of smell seemed to track a distinctive scent.

Then, the animal pulled up short. Her nose went from ground to air, once, twice, three times. She then stopped moving forward, rather she wove in and around two or three trees just off the trail. Then after much snuffling, she lifted her front paws onto one of the trees, and let out a low whine. Not a growl or a snarl, a whine.

As Skye and Cela cautiously approach the tree to see if their quarry is perched in the branches, although it seems unlikely as the the lowest branches are a close to ten feet from the ground. As they reach the trunk, they are startled when the wolf jumps away from the tree, knocking the pair of them. The reason is obvious a moment later when a long drawn out yell is heard, as something large falls through the branches and lands at the base of the tree.

Simon!

The warlock seemed uninjured from the fall, but not at all right. His eyes are wide, his skin was pale, and he was shaking. He sat on the ground, his arms wrapped around his knees, rocking slightly, just looking up at the halfling and the tabaxi and the wolf.

He did not respond to any questions. He just looked at them for many moments. Then he finally spoke, "Cela? Skye? Is that really you? Are you real?" He reached out with an open hand and touched them, pushing against them as if he expected his hand to pass through them. When he finally realised, or accepted, that they were solid, he rolled onto his knees and wrapped his arms around the pair of them and hugged them as sobbed!

Simon responded to any questions with a shaking head, and a husky whisper, "I'm not sure…I was taken. It makes no sense. I can’t explain."

His voice sounded slightly different too, tinged with an accent, or perhaps an accent that was always there but far less pronounced than now.

He eventually stood and although he appeared a bit unsteady, he looked at the pair (and the wolf), and silently waited for them to take the lead.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:34, Fri 15 July 2022.

Skye was confused by what was happening. Cela saw someone she didn’t, and she couldn’t see pockets, or more the undead perversion he became as he mocked her. She was a perplexed as her, but shouldered her bow and readied the hand crossbow in her arm, reaching for cela’s hand with the other, she nodded, she was solid, real, and that comforted her. Her thoughts went into her friends. Whatever this is, it’s trying to fool us. We are stronger together.

It’s at that point that Skye notices marigold and Thistle.they made their way to the big tree, and skye walked over, one hand holding Cela’s, the other ready with the crossbow. She moved closer to the tree just as Marogold jumped back, knocking her over.

Frowning, she was about to say something when she saw something drop in front of her, large, human sized. As the figure moved, Skye was speechless…..Simon. He was different, paler, and something in his eyes, but it was him. Simon reached out, touched Skye’s arm, then enveloped the both in a hug.

Skye pushed him back, gently and looked up. “Huh….it rains humans here. Officially the weirdest day yet.” She looked at Simon, serious, stern but friendly. “Simon….focus. Something here is messing with our minds. Your smarter than me so you need to get your mi d sharp and help us. What in the nine hells is going on here?”

"Of course...focus...sharpen mind..."

Simon reached out with his hand and absently touched the dog, "Good, good...you're real too.

No. Not nine hells. But so much fire. City of Brass, I think. I need a library.

What is wrong with your mind? The same as mine?
This message was last edited by the player at 03:53, Fri 17 Sept 2021.

Marigold snuffled Cela’s hand and rubbed up against her leg. Thistle shuffled alongside Skye, looking like a Dire Wolf next to the Halfling Ranger. He whined nervously, then sniffed toward the trees. After the dog scented the air, he barked at whatever he smelled out in the Swamp. The air smelled even sweeter.

OOC:

Skye & Simon, give me an Intelligence check, please.


This message was last edited by the GM at 04:12, Fri 17 Sept 2021.

"That's an odd smell...still...better than brimstone."

---

Simon rolled 12 for INT check.

The halfling looked at Simon through narrowed eyes, concerned for his mind. “Fire? City of brass…why does that sound familiar?” The halfling furrowed her brow, but shrugged. She shook it and looked at him. “Cela and I are seeing things - seperate things that aren’t real, but feel so real. I saw Pockets as we remembered him, but then he behaved, I dunno, strange. As he spoke he changed into what those ghouls looked like.”

She looked around. “I’m no expert on magic, arcane, divine or even nature based - I’m a hunter, plain and simple. This stuff messing with our heads isn’t my thing….give me a trail and something to kill, then that’s me. This weird stuff…” She shuddered, then smirked. “…who thought I’d be the voice of reason here?” She mumbled

---

OOC: Skye Keenshadow rolled 18 using 1d20 - intelligence check

When Simon mentioned brimstone, he felt the swamp grow hotter. The humidity dissipated, reminding Simon of the arid heat he felt near his desert homeland. Instead of jasmine, he smelled the pungent scent of burning incense. Although Skye still stood beside him, he also saw another.

Nearby, Skye watched Simon’s face grow vacant. His jaw fell slack as he fell under whatever spell induced the fearsome vision in Skye. The Halfling Ranger realized that they couldn’t believe anything they saw, but couldn’t touch. As she peered around their immediate surroundings, Skye saw several leaves flutter. Each leaf rustled and roots shook, assembling into the Shambling Mound that nearly devoured her!

However, as her heart hammered with fear, Skye remembered that they’d destroyed the Mound. Her companions identified the root stem and they’d ended the threat. Whatever Skye saw, it wasn’t an actual Shambling Mound. Again, she noted the excessively sweet smell of an unfamiliar flower. Then, she remembered that their unseen enemy worked with all manner of exotic plants.

"S-S-S-Sarraamosh! Wha-wha-what are you doing here?"

Simon face is a mask of puzzlement. He looks to the sky, and points, "But...there...not ten minutes ago...you said...you said you would leave me to find my way...not like Hazim...and it's all changed..."

The warlock then opens his mouth and grasps his tongue between thumb and forefinger, pulling for a moment, before releasing it.

"Still there!"

As his hand drops, he brushes against Skye.

"I-I-It's all right, Skye. Sarraamosh is not a threat...he rescued me."

He looks ahead again, "Why are you here?"
This message was last edited by the player at 02:19, Sun 19 Sept 2021.

Skye looked on as the leaves and roots made their way u to a familiar monster - the shambling mound they destroyed, and a moment of fear crossed her mind. It quickly faded when she remembered what happed to it, and the face was replaced by anger. “Quit playing your games….” She was about to go in when something in her mind clicked.

…the flowers!

She thought for a moment, then reached into her back, tore an old shirt as a mask to filter out some of the smell. She tore two more and went to Simon first. “Don’t worry…I know he won’t hurt me. Place this over your nose - the smell effects you” She done the same for Cela.

Simon continues to stare ahead, waiting for a response from Sarraamosh.

He absently takes the piece of cloth from Skye and holds it over his nose as the halfling requested.

"I don't mind the smell...incense reminds me of home."

---

If I recall, Cela is offline until Monday, so I am posting without waiting for her to chime in.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:06, Sun 19 Sept 2021.

When Simon covered his face, the cloth stifled him, making the interminably humid swamp feel even worse. However, he also noticed that Sarraamosh boomed a little less loudly when he spoke. You dare turn away from Sarraamosh, the Viceroy of Sandstorms?!” Not quite as scary when Simon covered his face. Skye’s quick thinking provided him an anchor to the real world.

OOC:

Advantage on your next Intelligence check, Simon. If you beat DC 20, I’ll let you identify the flower in question.


 

(OOC: Skye Keenshadow rolled 19 using 1d20+2.  nature check.)

"NO! I mean, of course not! I would never turn away from you...not after what you did for me.

But...you sound father away...you're not going to send me back to Asmar the Horrible are you?"
Simon rolled 17 and 12 for INT check with ADV.

I think Simon is still very confused...but the fear he felt and the lessening of that fear might snap him back to rational thinking.

Just noticed I had some errors on the character sheet, Simon's INT of 11 gives him +0 to rolls, not the +1 I used last time.

"Simon.  There was a little girl who was kidnapped.  Have you seen her?"

In the dimmer recesses of Simon’s memories, he thought he recalled a former instructor’s tales of flowers with hallucinogenic properties.  Between the lingering effects of his own delusion and his unspoken ordeal in the Swamp, though, he was too rattled to remember the proper name. However, Skye suddenly recalled a warning from an Elven Wizard that she’d dismissed as poppycock. The Wizard had warned her of a dangerous flower that thrived in lush climates such as jungles and the southern swamps. The Devil’s Dreambloom, a flower that tormented anyone who smelled its sweet scent with fearsome hallucinations as potent as the dreaded Phantasmal Force spell!

"DEVIL'S DREAMBLOOM!" Simon shouted out loud.

"Zahra al-Taheri came to the library. She had a book that described a plant that grew in jungles and swamps. An intoxicating, sweet smell that would cause severe hallucinations.

She wanted to know if I could find her any information for using the blooms as she had located a source.

YOU ARE NOT REALLY THERE, SARRAAMOSH!" Simon shouts again and unleashes a bolt of Eldritch energy at the blue-skinned creature.

The warlock's eyes do not move from Sarraamosh as he pulls his cloak over his face, to thicken the filter across his nose.

"Until I fell from that tree, Cela, I was not here...I was away for many days...but it seems that time moves differently...but that may be for another time.

I have seen no little girl...we need to get away from these blooms."

---

Simon rolled 13 for 9 Force Damage.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:23, Thu 23 Sept 2021.

As simon spoke the memory of the lesson from Chyaron, her old hunter mentor came into focus.

Don't take nature for granted, as it has it's own natural defenses. The swarmtrap is a carnivirious plant big enough to eat a child.. Crushvine ensnares with vines tighter than a python. There is even a flower which it's scent causes powerful halusinations.

...devil's dreambloom.

Skye's eyes came open, obscenities coning out in the halfling language as she covered her nose. "I knew something was up"

She smiled as she punched Simon in the arm playfully (But possibly a little harder than she realised.

"...sorry" She mumbled

"Lets find this girl"

"It's been two nights since we left the ship.  The... whatever it is.  It's sight and hearing?  if I can touch it, it's real?"

Suddenly, a breeze wafted through the trees, caressing their faces. The air felt cooler, a welcome change from the usual languid heat of the swamp. That wind gently dissipated the cloying perfume of the Devil’s Dreambloom. “May Nature provide you a welcome respite,” Marigold said, standing behind them again in her human form.

She walked toward Cela, gently placing her hands on Cela’s furred cheeks. Whispering in an unfamiliar tongue, Marigold released Cela with a satisfied smile. The Monk instantly felt as clear-headed as she’d been when they first undertook their search. “I purged you of the Dreambloom’s insidious poison.”

Cela smiles when Marigold finished her cure.  "Thank you.  I could tell that it wasn't real, but that didn't make it go away."

“I invoked a lesser version of the Restoration spell, but that should aid you against poison…”

Marigold was cut off by Thistle’s growl. Her fellow Druid remained in canine form for extra protection. His muzzle bared as he growled, facing the point among the trees where Skye thought she’d seen Pockets.

The wind picked up speed, stirring leaves as the sky darkened overhead. Cela & Skye saw storm clouds rumbling. They heard the first rumble of thunder. Thistle broke out of Marigold’s hands and dashed off down the trail. Seconds later, they heard him bark, then a high-pitched yelp that ended in a young man’s scream, broken off abruptly with a wet gurgle!

Cela looks like she's about to say more, but runs off towards the scream instead.

Skye nodded as the Druid aided Cela. She was about to speak when the growl, whine and gurgle sounded. The halfling moved as the tabaxi did, her hand crossbow on her arm ready, she moved slowly. “Smells like a trap…” She muttered as she moved forward

"You were a snake the last time we met!" Simon observes. He is also cut off by Thistle's growl and sudden departure.

The sounds of death spur Simon to action, and he chases after Cela, muttering "Falsa Vita".

---

Simon rolled 6 using Fiendish Vigour - Temp Hit Points.