Winterbloom

Scribe Notes

Summary

'AdventureWinterbloom': The name of the adventure
GM: Michael Manning
Season: Autumn 826 WK
Night: One Day
Level: Low

Party

• Spigot - Soldier
• Vath - Military Commander
• Storm - Unit Commander
• Calliope - Soldier
• Moist - Soldier
• Walks in Clouds - Soldier

Time on adventure

7 days

Employer

Ellie Wick, a herbalist in the distant town of Thornwood

Mission

Deal with a blight

Pay

Hope

Scribe Notes

Orders to Thornwood

A tired man comes
Strange flowers consume the fields
We sharpen our blades

Arrival in Hope

A young human arrived at the Guild in a state that suggested he had spent several days travelling without the benefit of proper military training, adequate supplies or, judging by his appearance, much sleep. Despite this, he had successfully completed his mission and delivered a scroll case and a letter addressed to the Guild. The letter came from Ellie Wick, a herbalist in the distant town of Thornwood. A mysterious blight was spreading through the surrounding countryside, affecting both plants and animals. The villagers had been unable to contain it and were now requesting immediate assistance. Guild security assembled a mercenary unit. Storm was appointed party leader, with Vath assuming military command. The remaining personnel were Spigot, Calliope, Moist and myself to record military events.

The Guild confirmed the scroll accompanying the letter was highly magical and would transport us to the region. An efficient means of deployment, although I have always maintained that a proper march builds character, strengthens the legs and provides ample opportunity to identify those who should never be entrusted with the unit's supplies. Following inspection by Vath and final preparations, we assembled around Storm as she read the scroll aloud. There was a brilliant flash, and we found ourselves standing beside a dirt road on the outskirts of a small town called Hope. Our deployment had been successful.

The March to Thornwood

Silent village waits
Vines creep beneath quiet fields
The forest watches

Ellies House

We entered Hope and Calliope gathered intelligence. She moved easily among the townsfolk, speaking to several locals and established our location, the condition of the roads ahead and the best route to Thornwood which was several days away on foot. Under normal circumstances, perhaps, but their estimate was clearly based upon civilian walking speeds. We were a military unit with an objective to accomplish, and Storm saw no reason why several days could not be reduced with the proper application of discipline and an invigorating marching pace. We set off at a suitably invigorating pace and completed the journey in one and a half days. Upon reaching Thornwood, we found a small settlement whose inhabitants were clearly frightened. There was little of the activity one would normally expect from a village at that hour; doors remained closed, few people lingered in the streets, and those we did encounter watched the surrounding countryside more closely than they watched us.

It had the familiar atmosphere of a settlement that knew an enemy was nearby but did not know from which direction the attack would come. We were directed to Ellie Wick, the local herbalist and author of the letter that had brought us here. Ellie was a well-dressed, middle-aged woman who maintained a composed manner despite the obvious strain of recent events.

Ellie invited us into her home, which doubled as her workshop, its shelves crowded with jars of herbs, dried plants and the tools of her trade. We gathered around her table while she provided tea and chairs, although none were suitable for a giant, so I remained standing. Ellie explained that the blight had first appeared almost a week earlier, when farmers felling trees south of Thornwood discovered a strange flowering vine. Within days it was spreading rapidly, choking the surrounding vegetation. More disturbing were the animals found with vines wrapped around them and growing directly into their flesh. Some remained alive and had become dangerously aggressive.

Before we could question Ellie further, shouting erupted outside.

The Battle of Thornwood

Flowers drink the flesh
A voice whispers through the ranks
We will never bloom

Animal Attack

We rushed into the street to discover that several cows and dogs had entered the village.

Under ordinary circumstances, this would hardly constitute a military emergency. These particular animals, however, were covered in thick, writhing vines and were charging through the streets, attacking anyone unfortunate enough to be in their path.

Vath immediately assumed command, direct our military unit effective, with Spigot and Moist proving to be every effective soldiers on the battlefield. The engagement was short and decisive. The cattle were unusually formidable opponents, displaying considerable aggression and an apparent disregard for their own survival. Nevertheless, the unit maintained its discipline and brought them down, sustaining only minor injuries.

Moist examined the carcasses and confirmed Ellie’s account. The vines had penetrated the animals' flesh and grown throughout their internal organs, they had been thoroughly infested, their bodies serving as hosts for the invading vegetation.

Spigot then reported hearing a voice inside his head.

"The Gardener sees you. You are worthy of blooming."

We returned to Elly to report our findings.

The Herbalist's Basement

Roots beneath our feet
Whisper promises of bloom
Fire is our answer

Basement

Ellie confirmed that our observations were consistent with her own research. She had collected several cuttings from the strange flowers and was keeping them in her basement for examination, and offered to show them to us.

Upon opening the basement door, we discovered that the situation had developed somewhat beyond the normal requirements of botanical research. The cuttings had grown at an astonishing rate. Thick vines covered much of the basement, winding around furniture and climbing the walls. Several enormous flowers had reached the height of a human.

Vath and I began descending the stairs to assess the infestation.

We had barely entered when voices echoed inside our heads.

"You cannot outrun what lives beneath your feet."
"Why fear the rot? This is what you will become."

This was sufficient intelligence to establish that the plants were not only hostile but capable of communicating directly with their intended victims. We withdrew.

Vath ordered the immediate destruction of the infestation. Grenados were deployed into the basement, and the unit evacuated the building. Ellie understood the necessity of the decision, although she was understandably distraught at the destruction of her home. We assisted her to gathered whatever possessions we could carry before abandoning the building to the flames.

It was regrettable, but the alternative was to permit a rapidly expanding, magically hostile organism to establish itself beneath an occupied settlement. From a military perspective, there was little room for debate.

Into the Blighted Forest

Vines claim every tree
We march where the flowers watch
Steel answers their thorns

Treacherousforest

Following a brief consultation, Storm decisively ordered the unit south into the forest, toward the location where the blight had first appeared. We marched south for several hours, following the route described by Ellie and observing increasing evidence of the infestation as we advanced. At first there were only isolated tendrils among the undergrowth, easily mistaken for ordinary vines. Further on, the growth became increasingly obvious: vines wound around tree trunks, unfamiliar flowers appeared among the ferns, and patches of ordinary vegetation had been smothered beneath thick mats of roots. It felt less like following a trail and more like advancing steadily into enemy-held territory.

By late afternoon, we reached the clearing where the farmers had been felling trees. The area had been thoroughly overrun. Thick vines carpeted the ground and crawled across the fallen timber, while enormous flowers rose above them, some nearly the height of a person. At the edge of the clearing stood a great oak, considerably larger than the surrounding trees. Its trunk was almost completely concealed beneath layer upon layer of the unnatural vines, which climbed into its branches and hung from them in heavy coils. The concentration of growth was greater here than anywhere we had previously encountered. Whatever had happened in this forest, we had clearly reached an important position.

As we approached, the vines suddenly animated and attacked.

Razor-sharp leaves lashed at the unit while the plants released their poison. We responded with blades and flame, cutting through the vegetation and destroying the larger growths. The fighting was particularly fierce around the oak, where an enormous flower had established itself in the centre of the tree. The unit maintained its formation, and through the disciplined application of sharp steel and considerable violence, we eventually destroyed the defenders. The clearing was secured.