Stonehell: Hothouse Blues

Session 82 was played on 10/28

Eiric, wizard 7 (Kat)
- men at arms (Mulligan)
- linkman (Nolmar)
Brie, wizard 4 (Apprentice to Eiric)
A-A-Ron, Thief 6 (Henchman)
Orpheus, Human Fighter 6 (Henchman)
Darryl, Cleric 6 (Henchman)
Karl, Dwarf 7 (Julia)
- Hobart (dog)
- men at arms (Dar, Lorman, Cadwell)
Lex the Cheeseman, Fighter 4 (Henchman)
Koltic, Cleric 3 (Chris)
- Grishnaz, Goblin
Blix, Fighter 1 (henchman)
Kili, Dwarf Cleric 3 (Matt)

Heading into the Hothouse, the party keeps to the west and south, following the long hallway. The weird light makes all of the vegetation seem more vibrantly colored than it does on the surface, and the smell of growing and rotting plants overwhelms any other smells. Disturbingly there are occasional bones that can be seen sticking out of the thick loam.

Off in the far end of one room they spy a hive of giant bees. Avoiding that, they turn into what was once a large dining hall. Long tables and benches, now covered with moss and small plants run the length of the room. 3 thorny bushes uproot themselves and scurry toward the party. THeir spiky branches scratch ineffectively against the armor and shields of the front of the party, and they’re quickly hacked apart.

Beyond the dining hall is a kitchen with a bush growing out of the sink. Nolmar collects some berries from it. The pantry door is wedged stuck, but Karl forces it open. The smell of rotting flesh blows over everyone and all of the newer hirelings are overcome with nausea. Everyone else manages to keep their lunches down. Karl, Orpheus, and A-A-Ron, head in, and make sure it’s safe. The pantry is free of dirt and vegetation, but among the slowly rotting hunks of meat hanging from hooks is the body of a former adventurer. The armor and equipment of the warrior long rotted was of no interest, but the small pouch of coins and jewels were snagged. The next room over is a dry pantry, and another dead adventurer. This leather clad thief was wearing a fancy hat and hair pin that had survived the years(?) since her death. Karl put on the hat. The rest of the party rushed through the stink of the meat pantry to catch up.

The next room was another kitchen. This one covered in large dandelion like plants. One of them puffed out a cloud of fluff that stung like mosquitoes. Nolmar and Lex took the brunt of the fluff, and tried to brush it away, but where it touched skin, it stuck! Karl sprayed them down with PowerThirst and lit them both up. Lex suffered through it, but Nolmar was only saved by the quick intervention of Darryl. Deciding that trying to make it through the kitchen covered in that white fluff was too dangerous, they sprayed another bottle of PowerThirst, and tossed in a torch and went back the way they came.

Bees! Swarming out as the party returned to the hallway, the bees attacked. Kili and Nolmar both dropped from anaphylactic shock, while Brie, Eiric, Orpheus, A-A-Ron, and Hobart only suffered minor swelling once the stingers were removed. Thankfully most of the bees died after stinging. Karl tried giving Kili the Badger Hammer, but the anti-poison effect didn’t help. Darryl’s curative magics weren’t effective either. Karl then remembered that he had an antidote potion. Amazingly, it worked! (25% chance of success!!)

Further down the hall, from another large room, the party catches the attention of 2 large soggy plant monsters. Thankfully they were slow, so the party just moved on. Unfortunately, the plant monsters weren’t the only things that had spotted the party. A patch of mushroom-men armed with spears were coming their way, and with the plan monsters behind them, the party was surrounded!

Karl, growling with frustration, soaks the lead plant monster with PowerThirst, but the flames don’t catch. It’s too wet. Eiric cracks a lightning bolt at them, and they both explode in a shower of rotting plant bits. The mushroom folk, rather than closing with their spears, toss terracotta balls toward the party. The first releases a blueish mist that knocks out Mulligan, Kili, and Holdred. The second sprays a sticky mucus over the party which quickly firms up trapping them in place. Karl freaks, and tells Eiric to burn them out! Drop a fireball! Anything as he flails ineffectively. The mushrooms then run off!

“Now what?”

From the south a large spider appears, silvery black and the size of a small pony. It climbs up onto the ceiling of the hallway, over the sticky mucus. It waves its front legs at Eiric, who recognizes that it’s a spell, but she isn’t sure what spell. It cocks its head, 8 eyes looking intently at Eiric, when she hears a new voice in her head…

Gains: Coins, fancy hat, jeweled comb
Kills: giant bees, sump monsters, strolling nettles, dandelion fluff
Losses: Nolmar