CHAPTER 1.07 - ASSASSIN VINES

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Following the well marked and well-travelled path, Wolfram soon senses that the natural light has grown more gloomy (abeit subtle) and he feels that the environment has grown more oppressive with the trees closing in. He shakes off a brief moment of drowsiness and proceeds along the path.

The trees here are tall, with little underbrush near their bases. Visibility is good with only the occasional wisp of mist seen forming. After an hour he sees the path is blocked by thick vines, creepers and bushes and this seems to be spread widely in the area directly ahead. Rather than moving around he approaches the odd foliage to assess how widespread it is and to see if he can push through.

The bushes are thorny, bunched thickly together and difficult to separate. Wolfram climbs a nearby tree and looks further. He sees the clumps of bushes are entwined by vines and creepers but can be gotten over and around with minor incovenience if he wants to use the trees to get around and past them. He does this.

All goes smoothly until he moves near a tree that is partially covered by a vine that is rough and thorny with a width of a man's arm. His movement seems to trigger something in the environment and the surrounding bushes start quivering and thrashing around violently. Then the vine unwraps and attempts tp strike him, narrowly missing.

Wolfram hefts one of his axes and stands his ground as the vine lashes out again. It connects solidly with his left shoulder, breaking through his leather and tearing with its thorns. As it does so, the vine grabs hold and then tightens and squeezes, causing further injury as it wraps around Wolfram's left arm. This restricts his movement.

In response Wolfram drops his axe and tries to break free. He is unsuccessful and sustains more damage as the constriction increases. Then he is lucky and gets free, for a moment. He strikes the vine, slicing into it defiantly. It recoils briefly and then whips back suddenly, connecting again and bringing Wolfram down unconscious. The vine proceeds to snake around his limbs and smother him. It tightens briefly, before relaxing when it senses Wolfram is not moving. The amulet gifted to him by Mab helps Wolfram regain consciousness and heals him. He waits and decides to pretend he is dead, until he has completely recovered.

Then Wolfram strikes. He reaches out for his fallen axe and sunders the vine before it can react to his sudden movement. He cleaves through it in several places and the remainder recoils back into the bushes and other creepers.