Brother Nature

Thumbnail for Season 1 Chapter 12 featuring Billy

## **Synopsis:**

In Chapter 12: Brother Nature – we arrived at the Broken Crown checkpoint ready to rationalize the bound and sleeping Graven as we drove through.  The opportunity never presented itself, however, as we found passage restricted only to travelers on foot – not a realistic option for us given what we needed to accomplish.  Apparently some smugglers attempted to move contraband goods through the area, and as their cache was discovered they fled into the nearby Creeping Ravine.  Until the fugitives had been taken into custody, the soldiers would not allow any wagons to move past.

A potential solution arose when Safira overheard a conversation between two men of the Broken Crown – one of them who we would come to know as Dubravko Magomet, a ranger who seemed desperate to track down his brother who had disappeared after riding out to apprehend the smugglers.  Dubravko was willing to bargain for our help – the Creeping Ravine was a potentially dangerous place, so in exchange for locating his brother he would make sure we were first through the checkpoint.

We accepted, and it wasn't long on horseback before the forest floor became too soft and muddy, forcing us to continue on foot.  Carefully navigating our lush surroundings, we began to move down the steep walls of the ravine and came upon a soldier trapped in a cage of overgrown vines.  Cutting him free, Dubravko recognized him as Cyrus Kennard – a Broken Crown wizard who explained that he had been cut off from the rest of his team after vicious plants erupted from the ground and attacked them.

With Cyrus guiding us to the area where he fled from, we scaled an obstruction of mud, dirt and rocks – sliding down to the other side where we entered a glade, rife with vegetation and a ground made up almost entirely of crisscrossing vines.  At the far end of the glade, we spotted a man restrained against a tree that Dubravko believed could be his brother – but as Beezaura and Orba prodded the vine lattice to see what might be underneath, they were yanked below to a subsection of the area.  Beezaura was able to hoist herself up near the constricted man to find reddish vines emanating from his mouth that seemed to be siphoning his blood or energy away.

Following the vines to their destination on the lower levels, we identified a number of bulbs that seemed central to this organic operation – and Safira took a chance and popped one using her sickle, releasing a torrent of blood and awakening some kind of botanical beast that lumbered toward us.  While Erland, Beezaura and Orba captured the attention of the creature, Safira and Dubravko sprinted from bulb to bulb – bursting them as new plant life rose to defend their lair.  As the last bulb exploded, the man on the surface was released – and we seized the moment to come together and strike down the mass of vines with Erland delivering the decisive blow.

Climbing our way out, we rushed to assist Dubravko's brother, who was alive but in poor condition.  Making haste back to our horses, we rode back to the checkpoint where the injured could be seen to at a medical tent.  Cyrus's account of what happened convinced the captain of the guard to send further aid to the ravine, and Dubravko kept his promise – allowing us to bypass the line and continue our journey northward.

## Trivia

* Natural one count: two natural ones were rolled in this Chapter. 1 each by John and Riley.