Brazen Wolfe Tabletop

The Thren Plant

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“It’s not much further. You will see the Thren soon.” the elf called Thren; a namesake of the plant she had explained when asked, called back. The party had been walking for the better part of a day and into dusk and they were searching for a place to set up camp. Thren often disappeared nearly into thin air before appearing again to guide them deeper into the woods.

The party had once or twice marvelled at how stealthily she moved, leaving not a single trace of her passing, taking nothing and weaving through the woods like they were an extension of her being. She had led them to water, fruits and berries and even stopped them from encountering a pack of monsters from selecting the party as the target of their hunt.

But as the sun set Thren had looked for a small clearing and with the parties help had selected space for them to set up camps. She shied away from the flame as the fire was lit and instead chose to climb into the branches of a tall nearby tree. “There are many things that stalk the woods at night and the smell of food, the light of the fire and the heat from it will attract things that you wish you hadn’t. Do as you wish but I want to see the Thren in the morning.” she had called down as she unslung her bow and her form all but disappeared into the trees.

She was right of course, the night was filled with creatures appearing at the edge of the firelight, a few arrows darting from a nearby tree saw the creatures fleeing into the night, limping, crawling of stampeding away. Dawn saw that where ever blood was spilt from these brief encounters small sprouts of plants were pushing through the dirt. “The forest feeds on itself, the balance is maintained and we can continue on in peace” Thren would comment when ever another sprout was found.

The parties supplies had also suffered and so they relied on Threns’ knowledge of the forest and its paths to find food that morning, but it was a limited affair of bitter berries that left their tongue numb and small seeds that did nothing to sustain those with larger appetites.

After a few hours Thren gestured forwards, “The Thren are through there, in the grove amongst the dark trees. I will be there shortly but there is something I must prepare for.” she announced as she took out a small blade and knelt nearby. As the party entered the edges of the grove the few shafts of direct sunlight revealed a low grassy clearing with several large plants near by. A heart-shaped leaf stood out near the light shaft which matched the description Tyreal provided them.

As they moved towards the leaf something bright white caught the suns beam next to the leaf. A human skull. Looking around the clearing several more bleached white skeletons were scattered amongst the grass and near each of them another tall plant grew near by. Looking back towards Tyren the elf was gone but it wasn’t long until an arrow was fired at the adventurers. A figure stepped out of the woods, Tyrens form was now made from bark, moss and vines and her skin had a mushroom-like texture.

“The Thren need to feed and need a place for their spores to burrow into. You will feed the Thren for weeks and we are tired of waiting.” she said as several more figures lurched into the clearing.

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