Chapter 11: Blighted by Twigs
The Loud Boys in the Lost Mine of Phandelver, a D&D report
For some reason, travelling in between towns always seemed to become a blur. It was as though time condensed and disappeared. One moment, the three adventurers were standing on the edge of the Alderleaf property, walking towards town; the next they were already on the outskirts of a ruined town, Neverwinter Woods on their right and an ominously smoking volcano to the north looming ahead. The old overgrown lane wound between dilapidated buildings choked in vines and brush. They could see a steep hill rise in the middle of the settlement, crowned by a stone tower with partially collapsed roof and an adjoining cottage. Kila paused next to a wooden post that someone had helpfully nailed a sign to and leaned over to read it, his armour creaking.
“Dee, an, ger-er-reh, deh-an-grer…”
“Danger,” Jake helpfully read. “It says there are 'Plant monsters AND zombies! Turn back now!’ Should we?”
“Why would we do that?” sniffed Kila.
“Because it says it’s dangerous in there,” Jake pointed out. His fingers searched out the rainbow cube from one of the many pockets in his wizard’s robes and started unthinkingly twisting the mechanical parts nervously.
“So? I’ll just chop it in the face.” Kila brandished his greatsword, which flashed jauntily in the morning light. “Easy.”
Uayak squinted up the path before them. “Do you remember any of this?” he said to Kila.
“Well, we left Thundertree when I was a baby, so…” Kila let the sword hand as he looked at the ruins. “The volcano exploded without warning. My parents had to leave everything behind and start over. They used to tell stories about the bread the bakers made, and haggling with the apothecary, and the time Dad climbed the statue in the town square when he got drunk and Mum yelled at him to come down… You can still see where the buildings were, but it’s not the same, is it?”
Jake had wandered ahead in the meantime, clicking and twisting the cube, and was inspecting the wall of what might have once been a farmhouse. “Hey, the door’s gone,” he said. “Maybe we can go in and take a look.”
“Yeah, maybe there’s still something valuable in there,” said Uayak. He sniffed at the air, and paused with head cocked, listening. “I can’t hear anything, can you?”
Jake shook his head, and Kila strode forward with armour creaking and his greatsword clanking in its scabbard against his back. He stopped in the doorway and said, “Nope, I can’t hear anything either.”
Sunlight shone in patches through the holes in the roof and dappled the weeds growing in the dirt floor. A thicket was spreading along one wall, and a tree had pushed through the corner. Another open gap where a door had once opened broke the wall opposite them. An overgrown field scattered with low, thorny bushes was visible through the gap. The wind rippled the long grass and they could hear the rustling of branches in the breeze.
Uayak started poking in the corners of the farmhouse. Kila paced the inside of the walls. Jake was glancing around. “Something doesn’t feel right,” he said.
“Is that your magical senses telling you that?” said the halfling, now pulling back a vine that was veiling the old fireplace. He grunted in dissatisfaction. “They must have had enough time to pack when they left.”
“Wait,” said Kila, stopping abruptly. “Are you looking for things to steal?”
“Yes, why?”
“But… stealing is wrong…”
“They’ve had decades to come back and get their stuff, it’s really not stealing anymore. I’d call it foraging.”
Kila started to protest, but a squeal from Jake had the rogue and the fighter turning with weapons in hand. Both jaws dropped at the sight of a twiggy thornbush whipping a branch across Jake’s knees and ripping the velvet of his robes. Several more bushes were somehow scrabbling on their roots through the gap in the wall towards them. Jake was yelling and stumbling backwards, his hands twisting in the air.
Kila rushed forward with his greatsword raised over his head at the ready. The shining blade swept down and back up again, scattering twigs in all directions. Uayak came dancing in from the other side, stabbing and slashing rapidly. The air was full of splinters as Jake managed to finish casting and fire erupted from his hands, lighting the plant monsters and the splinters in the air. The tiny sparks around them winked out as the monsters hissed and crackled.
Jake looked down. His robes had been shredded by the razor sharp branches and blood stained the rags.
“Are you all right?” panted Kila. Little bits of ash from the burning splinters settled in his hair.
“I think they’re just superficial wounds,” said Jake, just before he bent over and vomited blood onto the dusty ground.
Uayak, squinting out the gap in the wall, groaned. “I can see more coming. We need to get out of here!”
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Time for Chapter 12:
You can find Chapter 10 here:
And Chapter 1 is here: