A Flower of Life and Death
Hunt for the Hydra, part 2
General Summary
2nd of Mystra, 636 Golden Era, Day Four
The party's rest in their Dine hunter's hideaway was anything but peaceful, and each of them were plagued with nightmares. Each had unique dreams, but the common thread between them was hopelessness. Xorn dreamt of being left alone in the dark. Ernie watched as his home burned around him unable to move. Myr was unable to reach their only friend before they were taken, by whom? They did not know. And Ollie stared into the great abyss of the ocean unable to see the surface condemned to sink. As for anything beyond personal significance I doubt it, but it was not a coincidence that all four were haunted by these dreams at the same time.
In the morning the weary party entreated with Oakbrow, who remained close by to watch over them, and asked him to take them as close as he could to the bloom hydra's hunting grounds. He agreed. As they traveled the learned many things about the forest and their circumstances. Their dreams were the result of Nox's influence, and all creatures suffered like this in the darkest parts of the forest. When Oakbrow learned of the reason for the party's hunt he confessed that he may be partially to blame. A few days back he had been tracking a group of assassin bugs that had strayed far in search of mates and food, and they had managed to evade him. However something else arose from the conversation. At the mention of Khaya Owens Oakbrow was in disbelief and told them they must deliver a message to Khaya for him. The exact message was "Ranyinde still lives, her new name is Fenumiel." With a sense of urgency Oakbrow quickened his pace to the hunting grounds. Once they arrived he bid the party farewell, and went off in the woods as though something serious had been set in motion. Oh how right he was.
It wasn't long before the group came upon the remains of an old temple. The walls had mostly fallen, the roof was not existent, the ground was closer to marsh than soil, and the forest encroached on every inch in an effort to reclaim its land. It was here in these ruins that the party found the bloom hydra, but what they didn't expect was to also find was a swarm of assassin bugs on the hunt as well.
They decided to use the chaos to get the daisy bloom, and hoped the two sides would be too focused on each other to bother with them. And they were half right. Chaos ensued but the assassin bug swarm seemed never ending and a single bite from one could prove fatal, in fact it almost was. After sneaking up on the bloom hydra Ollie had managed to rip the daisy bloom from the hydra, but before he could escape he was paralyzed by an assassin bug. At the same time the bloom hydra also suffered a stroke of bad luck, the kind that left only one other target for the swarm of assassin bugs.
Collectively the group decided retreat was the best course of action, but as Ollie was incapacitated they were faced with a choice. Or it would seem that it wasn't really a choice at all. Xorn provided support from afar while Myr and Ernie attempted to rescue their comrade. Effortlessly lifting Ollie onto their shoulders Myr took off leaving Ernie to guard the rear. In what could only be described as a feat of heroics Ernie dodged every single attack the bugs threw at him. Mandibles and stingers connected only with air or shield as he danced between them almost supernaturally, and in a split second he found an opening and ran. Together with the treasure they sought the party raced through the skeleton of the temple and after a few hours of running the panic inducing hum of insect wings could no longer be heard.
The party's rest in their Dine hunter's hideaway was anything but peaceful, and each of them were plagued with nightmares. Each had unique dreams, but the common thread between them was hopelessness. Xorn dreamt of being left alone in the dark. Ernie watched as his home burned around him unable to move. Myr was unable to reach their only friend before they were taken, by whom? They did not know. And Ollie stared into the great abyss of the ocean unable to see the surface condemned to sink. As for anything beyond personal significance I doubt it, but it was not a coincidence that all four were haunted by these dreams at the same time.
In the morning the weary party entreated with Oakbrow, who remained close by to watch over them, and asked him to take them as close as he could to the bloom hydra's hunting grounds. He agreed. As they traveled the learned many things about the forest and their circumstances. Their dreams were the result of Nox's influence, and all creatures suffered like this in the darkest parts of the forest. When Oakbrow learned of the reason for the party's hunt he confessed that he may be partially to blame. A few days back he had been tracking a group of assassin bugs that had strayed far in search of mates and food, and they had managed to evade him. However something else arose from the conversation. At the mention of Khaya Owens Oakbrow was in disbelief and told them they must deliver a message to Khaya for him. The exact message was "Ranyinde still lives, her new name is Fenumiel." With a sense of urgency Oakbrow quickened his pace to the hunting grounds. Once they arrived he bid the party farewell, and went off in the woods as though something serious had been set in motion. Oh how right he was.
It wasn't long before the group came upon the remains of an old temple. The walls had mostly fallen, the roof was not existent, the ground was closer to marsh than soil, and the forest encroached on every inch in an effort to reclaim its land. It was here in these ruins that the party found the bloom hydra, but what they didn't expect was to also find was a swarm of assassin bugs on the hunt as well.
They decided to use the chaos to get the daisy bloom, and hoped the two sides would be too focused on each other to bother with them. And they were half right. Chaos ensued but the assassin bug swarm seemed never ending and a single bite from one could prove fatal, in fact it almost was. After sneaking up on the bloom hydra Ollie had managed to rip the daisy bloom from the hydra, but before he could escape he was paralyzed by an assassin bug. At the same time the bloom hydra also suffered a stroke of bad luck, the kind that left only one other target for the swarm of assassin bugs.
Collectively the group decided retreat was the best course of action, but as Ollie was incapacitated they were faced with a choice. Or it would seem that it wasn't really a choice at all. Xorn provided support from afar while Myr and Ernie attempted to rescue their comrade. Effortlessly lifting Ollie onto their shoulders Myr took off leaving Ernie to guard the rear. In what could only be described as a feat of heroics Ernie dodged every single attack the bugs threw at him. Mandibles and stingers connected only with air or shield as he danced between them almost supernaturally, and in a split second he found an opening and ran. Together with the treasure they sought the party raced through the skeleton of the temple and after a few hours of running the panic inducing hum of insect wings could no longer be heard.
Rewards Granted
- Daisy Bloom from a Bloom Hydra
Character(s) interacted with
Oakbrow
Related Reports
Report Date
27 Oct 2022
Primary Location
Related Characters
Bloom Hydra
An artistic representation of a bloom hyrda
Assassin bug
an artistic representation of an assassin bug
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"As for anything beyond personal significance I doubt it " Press X to doubt