Eat Your Heart Out

## **Synopsis**

In Chapter 35: Eat Your Heart Out, Jillian diffused the situation with the Laqha'Phuyu by claiming that Graven was unwell – using some kind of magic to partially obstruct the cleric's connection to his god so that he could regain control of his faculties.  With much trepidation, the leader of the acolytes withdrew his men and allowed us to be on our way with a word of warning that they would not hesitate to attack if we crossed paths again.

As we rode north, Jillian confronted Graven about the incident – but it was less of a scolding than a practical assessment of whether or not he could be relied upon in the coming days.  The rest of the group shared some concerns about Graven's well-being, but there was little to be found in the way of answers or explanations.

With the path leading to higher elevations, the party reached a large crater that Jillian had anticipated as a natural landmark – though she briefly doubted her own sense of direction as the crater did not have the appearance she was anticipating.  Instead of an arid basin – we were met with a lush, overgrown rainforest, its vegetation unlike anything we had seen in the mountains thus far.

Taking an alternate route meant significant backtracking and possibly bumping into the agents of the Laqha'Phuyu once more – so we gritted through our apprehension and vowed to pass through the jungle as quickly as possible.  Immediately as we entered there were unusual signs of activity: animals confused by the plant life, flowers that seemed to be tracking Erland's movement and pressure building inside potion bottles.

After reaching a central clearing with the ground covered in a thin layer of moss, we noticed an enormous fern-like plant wrapped around what appeared to be an elven man.  Jillian recognized the hood he was wearing as the uniform for those working in the laboratories at the Harvesting Yard – information she had acquired prior to leaving Mukmu from her confidant, Kelcettra.

Believing that this person might have something in their possession pertinent to the scouting mission, Erland and Safira tried to approach without disturbing the fern – but as Safira reached for a small pouch that the elf was clutching in its left hand, she inadvertently snapped off a part of the plant, triggering a hostile response that forced us into combat.  Our flora foe proved to be tremendously resilient – drawing power from its long fronds to protect its inner core – but with a satisfying jab of Erland's quarterstaff, he pierced through to the soft interior and brought the plant to a wilting halt.

In addition to the elf's uniform, which may prove useful at a later time, we found on the body a brass key and a severed hand that appeared to have strands of mycelium growing from the palm.  We didn't know what to make of this – but felt it was important for deciphering what was happening at the Harvesting Yard, and we packed up to continue through the jungle… though not before Erland, ignoring warnings and pleas from the party, consumed a part of the felled fern after experiencing an overwhelming feeling of hunger.

The next milestone on our journey was a series of hot springs high in the mountains, which provided a bit of welcome relaxation after an eventful morning.  Erland recruited Orba to sit down with Jillian and discuss their findings from the Natural Studies Institute, the details of which she was less than thrilled to discover had been kept from her up to this point.  The three of them mulled over how all of these pieces might connect… the walls of force, the Lemonade Man, Marvyn Bishop's pumping machines – but determined that until we got a good look at what exactly was happening inside this camp, many of our questions would remain unanswered.

## Trivia

* Natural one count: five natural ones were rolled in this Chapter. 2 by Matt, and 3 by John.