Expedition 54: Flower Power

### Detailed Writeup

Five adventurers leave Port Vrall at dawn, northward towards the inkwell mountains. A thin path leads up between the peaks, and the morning sun gently warms the descending slope into the Bluewood, marking an almost poetic farewell to the light as they plunge into the shadows. Silvert, the team punching bag, and Clarity, the team brain, lead the charge with their knowledge of plants.

The first flower noted is the Dela's Orchid.

Botany report: This broad-blossomed flower exhibits a beautiful gradient of the white center out to a deep, regal purple in the petals. The stamen are black and accent the center. It grows native to brent.

The group collects a great many, careful to preserve roots for buyers, then goes on. In the process of searching for another specimen, one member spots a glittering nest of foreign-looking branches (of course they're foreign, they aren't stone). Within the nest are coins of all denominations, totaling to 230gp in the golds and silvers alone. Bea collects these, climbing the very sharp tree carefully. She leaves the coppers. Never does it occur to her to throw the entire nest down.

After a seemingly endless trek of mansplaining and searching for flowers, we see a tree with beautiful flowers hanging down. We identified them as Night Queens. Ironically, Silvert tried to give a set of these "flowers of heterosexuality" to Clarity. These things were a pain and took hours to harvest.

When we had finally collected the Night Queens we continued on our path. It was at this point that they happened upon a curious sight. Four people stood petrified, though their features betrayed no fear. It was as if they were petrified midway through their constitutional, though they were in pristine condition. Clarity suggested that they might have been petrified by the same thing that petrified the woods. If so, they may be an invaluable archeological clue to what happened to the bluewood. Silvert made a VERY accurate map of the location, so we will be able to find them again.

Silvert follows this success with a moment of baffling incompetence as he walks face first into a bush of Juliet's Roses and is almost immediately put to sleep by the poison. Uzmir notes that these plants come from all over the world. How strange that they all gather in this place. Perhaps this is another clue?

The party makes a great discovery in the form of the Bluewood bypass. Reaching frost stone will be much less perilous now. The road is called "Queen's wood walkway." Who is the Queen?

Another flower! Forge Crocuses. The Fuschia blossoms really stand out under the blue trees.

It was at this time that the party reached an impasse. We could go home with our loot or we could press on into the night. The party was split and Silvert was the deciding vote. With much persuasion he was convinced to vote to go home. He then rolled an 11 on random encounters.

We wandered into a lost frost giant and prepared for battle, but he recognized Nexrin and wanted to talk. Uzmir cast the only spell he ever casts and used tongues to direct the giant to the bypass that we encountered earlier. So, with their bags full of money and flowers they returned to Vrall. Silvert will sell the flowers on the 'morrow.