Tag: maidenbane vines

#Lore24 – Entry #322 – Fantasy Month IV #17 – A Messy Situation

From the journal of Angeliqua “Goldeneyes” Cartacustos

For those readers who may not be aware of the exact timing, these journal entries are indeed written well after the events described within them; I can’t very well catalogue my thoughts when I’m being assailed by ravenous vines covered with lust-inducing venom, now can I?  As an example, this and the last entry were both written once the party safely returned to Vindinium.  As to how that happened, do read on.

I am uncertain how long the druids allowed the vines to enjoy our bodies, for it is all a pleasure-shrouded haze of frustration in my case, though perhaps Risai and Korvalis may indeed have a different opinion on the matter.  I would daresay Risai may have enjoyed the predicament for a time, and perhaps Korvalis as well, though the wrath he would bring upon the druids following our eventual escape may indeed indicate the opposite. 

We were taken into a well-hidden camp deep within the Thistlewood, nestled among some of the ruins of the ancient draconic city, the vines shaped and controlled by the druids to keep us restrained and at their mercy.  I can recall Risai fighting against the binding vines, to little effect other than the vines seemingly redoubling their efforts to feed upon her essence.  As my memories of the hours or days that we spent in captivity are hazy at best, I will skip to the parts I remember, the night we were to be sacrificed.

I believe their ritual was intended to correspond to the peak of the full moon, for the druidic cult had dedicated themselves to preparations during our captivity and grew ever more excited for what was to come, to the best of my recollection.  I am thankful that our companions who had not been captured remained vigilant, for on the day of the ritual, the druids rested later and more deeply than normal as they prepared themselves, leaving only a handful to keep watch over us.  Ellisar saw to cloaking our party members with his magic, while Shassk saw to dealing with our guards in a silent, if most gruesome, manner, aided by magical silence from Ellisar.  Once the druids controlling them were dealt with, the maidenbane vines lost interest in us, thoroughly gorged as they were upon our vital essence.  Gresilda thankfully had prepared several spells to remove the lingering effects of their poison upon us, giving us a proper chance to carry ourselves out of the hidden enclave, cloaked by more of Ellisar’s invisibility.

I was content to make a hasty retreat to Vindinium, but Korvalis would have none of it, insisting that he had to pay the druids back for their actions.  This was the first real conflict amongst our party, and I could understand wanting revenge, certainly, but our best interest lay in retreat to fight another day.  Still, Korvalis, once he had regained his equipment, set off on his own, followed soon by Shassk, while the rest of us rode ahead toward the river crossing a few miles away.  We would wait until sunset for them, and if they didn’t return, then we were to assume they had been captured or killed.  Nobody liked it, but Risai and I were nearly exhausted, and Ellisar and Gresilda had little left in the way of magic.  I still don’t know exactly where Korvalis found the energy to do what he did.

It was just an hour or so before sunset that our two wayward party members returned, the smell of blood heavy upon them, remarkably light of injury. I didn’t get all the details, but Korvalis seemed sated in his bloodlust, and all Shassk would tell me was that even he was now rather unsettled by the deadly efficiency with which Korvalis dealt with the druids. “I have never seen so silent a death befall so many…” was all he told me. There would be no further need to worry from that particular cult.

With that dark mood firmly established, we pushed onward to the village, arriving a couple hours after sunset, where we could finally take time to recover from our long excursion.

#Lore24 – Entry #321 – Fantasy Month IV #16 – Detours and Detainments

From the journal of Angeliqua “Goldeneyes” Cartacustos

Upon leaving the standing stones, the greatest source of my frustration finally stopped their incessant buzzing, returning to their more normal routine of random stimulation that only left me mildly frustrated in comparison.  The southeasterly course we had picked was not as easy to navigate as our previous route and thus took us several more days to traverse, but didn’t seem to pass through any kobold territory, so at least we were unmolested in that regard.  There were dangers aplenty, though, for with game being plentiful, it meant we also encountered more predators that were none too pleased to have intruders into their territory.  Though mostly your more mundane cougars, wolves, and the like, we did have to deal with another flame-drake that came at us from above.  I must say that for once I was quite pleased to see Ellisar’s Staff of Many Bindings be used, for it made short work of the creature once its ability to fly had been taken from it.

Our luck would not hold, however.  As we neared the region where we were likely to find the next set of standing stones, we began to see signs of humanoid habitation in the form of painted markings upon the rocks, old campfires, bones of harvested game.  The rock paintings indicated orcs, likely one of the many tribes of them that the Heroes had been facing on a semi-regular basis since they had begun their work in the region.  Soon enough we would begin to see cooking fires in the distance indicating a very large population of them.  Thus far, only a scant few tribes have proven themselves the least bit civilized, the Empire’s loyal Badaxe Clan foremost among them, so it was unlikely that these tribes would be willing to entertain outsiders in their lands, especially when said outsiders are likely responsible or killing a great many of their kin.

Thus, we were forced to move with extreme caution, detouring off our planned route for several days, following Shassk and Korvalis as they navigated a route that would avoid the worst of the orcish population.  At least we would gather some useful information about their location and numbers for future use.  Once we had come out of orcish territory, we had to swing back to the northwest, circling the rim of the valley that housed the standing stones for another day before we finally found a passable route down into it.  Thankfully the orcs had not claimed the area for their own, and like the previous stones, the primal energy that lay heavy upon the site had kept them away. 

We completed our next ritual without incident and made haste to clear the area, driving swiftly to the southeast once more in the direction of Vindinium.  Our good fortune would run out as we neared the Thistlewood and Lake Thistlelonica, on the far side from the village.  As we ventured along the upper shore of the lake in search of the river that fed it, and a crossing that would get us to the village, we found ourselves facing a sudden ambush that even our guides had failed to notice, for it was not at all what we had come to expect.

In our haste to return to the village, we had failed to notice the curious nature of the overgrowth in this region, the thick canopy of leafy vines that spread like a green sea over the hills, wood, and shore.  We skirted the mass, not wanting to go through blindly, but the mass of vegetation came alive, swelling and rising up like great leafy serpents.  Our horses were spooked, rearing and dancing wildly at the sudden movement, and Risai, Korvalis, and I were unable to control their wild behavior and were thrown.  As we tried to recover from our misfortune, bruised and dazed from our falls, I heard shouting and chanting in a language that I would later come to recognize as the secret tongue of the Druids.  Walls of thorns sprang up between us and the rest of our party, and the very trees began to come alive against us.  The vines closed in around us as spells filled the air, and try as I might, I could not keep the vines away from me or the others.  Risai’s heavy mace was mostly useless against the vegetation, as were Korvalis’s daggers. 

In my case, the vines swarmed around me in a fury, and as they latched onto me and their secretions began to tingle upon my skin, I realized that they were a form of maidenbane vines, for I grew somehow hornier and lethargic in their grasp, dropping my scimitar as they coiled about me and ripped my clothing away.  I suppose I was the lucky one here, for I was at least somewhat protected from their most erotic probing by Lady Armenia’s chastity gear, though they still found their way to my rear and into my mouth.  Fight as they would, Risai and Korvalis were likewise subdued by the combined strength of the vines themselves and the potency of their poison, leaving them helplessly wrapped in their invasive clutches.

The sounds of battle would fade as the others were forced into a hasty retreat, and through our pleasure-addled daze, we would see the fur- and foliage-covered druids we had not noticed approach us, watching with satisfaction as their vines continued to hold us helpless before them.  Using their magic, they urged the binding maidenbane vines to move, and we were brought deeper into the cover of the Thistlewood, for what purpose I could not imagine in that moment, for I was lost in the pleasure haze, even if the accursed chastity gear prevented me from climaxing, even with the poison coursing through my veins.

#Lore24 – Entry #65 – Fantasy Month #5 – Maidenbane Vines

 

From the journal of Angeliqua “Goldeneyes” Cartacustos:

 

A rather disgusting creature of uncertain origin to be sure.  The Emperor’s gardens have some of these on display, as do some private collectors, and rumors abound that they are actually popular with the elite of Draconis Magna as ways of experiencing their own depravity, though I suppose more often it is the kerryns who are forced to endure the touch of these creatures within the city.  Contrary to the name, Maidenbane Vines don’t exclusively target females, and don’t go after virgins first, as many an unfortunate (or I suppose fortunate, depending on one’s proclivities) man has discovered. 

Maidenbane Vines can generally be found within thick growth woods or jungles, most often near areas of civilization, for their primary food source is humanoids, though it is rare that one dies to these creatures, usually only those unfortunate enough to fall victim to them when no help is forthcoming, and perhaps only if they are particularly susceptible to the secretions of the vines or are unlucky enough to find themselves in a colony of the monsters.  These vines are difficult to spot, blending in well with regular vegetation, or perhaps even hiding the bulk of themselves underground until they burst forth to attack an unsuspecting victim.  Visually, they appear like any other vine, though if the creature hasn’t fed in a while, their color shifts from greenish hues to pinks and reds, growing from a central trunk that shares similar coloration to surrounding trees.  There is another telltale sign of their presence, their scent, which is sweet and thick, like certain other plants, but with a distinct honey-like quality, which only grows stronger once the plants become active.

Striking from ambush, Maidenbane Vines will lash out at their targets with multiple tendrils, usually half a dozen or so, and in some cases of extremely old plants, up to two dozen have been observed.  Their strikes are not usually deadly, but meant to daze and disorient, then constrict upon the chosen victim, wrapping them up and drawing them closer to the main body of the plant.  These vines are especially adept at immobilizing its targets, for its tendrils are not only strong, but their secretions serve to pacify the victim, filling them with lustful desires.  The plants are likewise adept at stripping the pacified victims of their gear and clothing, tearing through clothing with ease and finding gaps in armor or breaking straps when needed.  Once a victim is sufficiently restrained and pacified through overwhelming lust, the plant’s main body will open, revealing its moist interior, and extending its particularly phallic stamen, and the plant will begin to feed in ways that I could go into detail on, but will only describe as deeply erotic for the sake of brevity.

Once sufficiently sated, the Maidenbane Vine will then retreat back within its shell to languish after its meal, and release the likely exhausted victim, who, if unable able escape at this point, may suffer another attack hours later.  In most cases, the victim is fatigued and covered in the plant’s nectar secretions, perhaps with some amount of bruising and a rash on their skin, but generally unharmed (aside from, perhaps, their dignity), left feeling extremely aroused and perhaps even craving more if they are particularly vulnerable to the plant’s secretions.  The plant itself is at its most vulnerable when it has a victim within its grasp and is ready to feed, for its interior is extremely soft compared to its outer shell and the resiliency of its vines.  It is not unheard of to distract these creatures using slaves, then attack them once they begin feeding for an easy kill.

As to the origins of the Maidenbane Vines, they were first recorded following the demonic incursion and Great Cataclysm some two-thousand years ago, and tend to be more common the closer one comes to the original incursion point.  Further evidence of a demonic origin comes with their peculiar vulnerability to holy magic and their tendency to be able to sense those who can use it.  Those of particularly strong faith can sometimes force these creatures to retreat, similar to how they can turn undead, and divine energy can harm the creatures similarly to how it harms denizens of the lower realms, though it is not nearly as effective.  The plants, sensing the divine gift, will often try to attack a priest or priestess first, and with a greater animosity, though curiously only those who follow those gods of a generally good nature, further cementing their likely demonic origins.