Veggie Tales
Gary would like to follow up on the Lizardfolk trail he discovered last time while investigating the Vegepygmy village, since the trail wont be visible forever but he knows where it was at least. Before the party heads out they make a stop by Carl’s Club and Gary picks up some carpentry supplies and materials to make a covering for the Manticart so it’s a little like an Oregon Trail wagon. Nahala finally finds a Wand of Magic Missile as well as a Wand of the War Mage and gets both. Reed gets himself some studded leather armor, including lace up leather pants from the “special” section of leather goods at the back of the store, and Elmer gets a bulk candy style grab bag of assorted clerical supplies, including some healing mushrooms. Elmer tries to negotiate with Carl about the mushrooms and, failing that, ends up just making direct eye contact while pocketing several of them and then running out of the store, so Carl writes up an IOU.
The party also briefly stopds by the blacksmith so Gary can make his gauntlet a little “punchier”, whatever that may mean in this case.
They travel down to Dwarfoe’s Bridge and camp in their campsite, which they continue to improve in the time remaining before dark. Gary has put up some basic walls including cover to fire from at the tops and a set of lean to style shelters to at least get people and equipment out of the rain, if necessary. Elmer uses some of the scrap stone from the bridge repairs to build a stone oven in the center for cooking and warmth in the winter months. The party goes to sleep.
During Nahala’s watch, she hears a faint rustling noise from the far side of the river, then a sort of muffled splash, as of something large trying to slowly slip into the water. She leaves the camp and hides in a bush to keep an eye on both the riverbank and bridge and sees a large, indistinct shape pull itself out of the water near the bridge. She engages and Gary is woken up by the first spell Nahala casts, leaping up from his bed and looking to the walls for Nahala, he yells “WHAT THE FUCK” and charges out of the camp to try to find her. Woken up by the yelling, Reed and Elmer get up as well, Reed going up to the wall and Elmer following Gary.
The mass of plant matter lumbers slowly toward Nahala as she backs toward the fort and manages to get itself between her and the nearest entrance, though this does mean that Gary and Elmer can attack it effectively as well. Nahala hits it repeatedly with her Ice Knife and Burning Hands, unfortunately only doing half damage because it’s resistant. Reed tags it with Witch Bolt but, unfortunately, it’s immune to lightning and he’s healing it instead. Nahala and Gary have the monster trapped between them but it beats the absolute hell out of Nahala and she goes down, only to be revived moments later by Elmer. Gary really lays into the monster with his greatsword while Nahala circles around, heading for the safety of the camp but reluctant to lose the chance to attack while disengaging, so she gets downed again before she can reach safety. Gary is engulfed by the monster and crushed inside it but bursts free as Elmer dashes into the fray to revive Nahala again. Gary staggers free of the monsters clutches but then it turns and engulfs Elmer, just as Gary cleaves it in half with his greatsword.
Within the giant pile of now dead plant matter the party finds a huge cache of assorted coinage, jewels, jewelry and other valuables, undoubtedly the grisly remains of its previous victims, worth about 2400G.