Code Of The Rats
"From Spuds To Studs"

8. Room of Humor and Wisdom

By Dave Dollar
Art by Chris Myers

As you exit the dampness of the passageway behind you, the air becomes both fresher and warmer. A gentle breeze blows through your hair and the mingled scents of sweet flowers caress your nos. trils. Bird songs drift liltingly over the lush hedges as the summer sun purges the chill from your body. You seem to be standing somewhere outside Roshia's estate, at about noon on a summer day. Or perhaps you are somewhere within her expansive gardens, but the sights and sounds give no clue as to your specific location. The mountains, vegetation and climate all indicate that you are not far from Villano, but you cannot place exactly where. Around you is a garden of thick, robust, nine-foot tall rose hedges in full bloom.

A path of fine, white gravel leads from the doorway (which hangs eerily in the air behind you) to a towering, ancient oak tree, standing alone in the center of the garden. About ten feet down the path from you, two branch paths meander off through the rose hedges. One goes to the left, and one to the right. Next to the left path is a short, wooden sign, carved to say, "DANGER! Man Eating Flowers!" Just before the right hand path is a similar sign reading, "DANGER! Woman Eating Flowers!

GameMasters

If the party proceeds down the left path, they will find exactly what the sign indicated - a man eating flowers. He appears to be a green, skinned elf, clad only in a kilt made from fresh, green leaves. A wreath of braided flowers rest on his head. Ignoring all else, he is blissfully plucking the red blossoms from the hedges around him and devouring them, petal by succulent petal. At his feet is a sealed bone scroll tube. The sprite is not hostile in the least. He is, however, mute, and has nearly vegetable intelligence. He will in no way hinder the players from capturing the scroll tube. The sprite is pleasant and friendly. He will silently offer the characters some roses to eat.

Yes, this clearing does have a man eating flowers. It also has danger; a point your players are likely to forget. The scroll tube contains an exquisite painting of a bouquet of white roses. The painting is cursed: any character looking upon it will be instantly transformed into a bouquet of white roses - just like the one on the scroll.

The sprite is just wild about white roses (having eaten only red ones for so long) and will snatch up the character, lightning quick, and devour him. Provided that the party has lives remaining, characters killed in this fashion will reappear at the intersection of the paths.

The situation down the other path is similar. The roses of the "Woman Eating Flowers" side are white. Instead of a mate sprite, this clearing contains a female sprite. The scroll changes characters into a bouquet of red roses. Like her brother, she will devour transformed characters almost instantly. Again, killed characters should hopefully return at the intersection of the paths. Characters saved by their quickthinking partners before they can be devoured, take a few minutes to wilt before they are considered dead.

The scrolls work only once and their magic is destroyed if they are taken from the room. The curse does not work on vegetable fife forms. If the sprites are attacked they will retreat by melding into the thorny hedges, where the characters cannot follow.

The oak tree in the center of the room is sentient, as well as being very old, very intelligent and very hostile. He also has some magical control over the rose bushes. The tree is nasty tempered, foul-mouthed and resents on sight anything that he encounters. If a member of the party approaches him, he will command the hedges to silently move in and close off the exit. Then after gratuitously insulting and threatening the party, he will ask them a riddle. He will gruffly instruct that only one person answer at a time.

A wrong answer is just what this guy wants to hear. If a wrong answer is given, he will vigorously swat, the answer giver dead with a thick, gnarled limb (of which he has plenty for everyone). If a more powerful character happens to take several swats, well ... so much the better. If he is given a correct answer he will order the hedges to allow the group to leave. These are the rules he is forced to abide by. Otherwise he would just swat the puny fleshcreatures into fertilizer and call it art.

The Riddle Of The Tree

"Standing against the wind and sun, I make the homes of Man.
I shelter the poor and slay the strong, With gut and steel at hand."

The correct answer is "Wood," or "Tree."

Should the characters start digging through the foliage in an attempt to escape the gauntlet, they will discover that the outdoor scenery all just an elaborate illusion. The room is as it appears on your map. Sorry, adventurers, no shortcuts.

Score Chart

+7 For correctly answering the riddle.

+5 For best role player.

+2 For anyone proposing that the outdoor scene is an illusion.

.3 For unnecessary vandalization of bushes.

-3 For smarting off to the oak tree (and acquiring a sizable lump on the head).'

-10 For incorrect answer to the riddle (splat!).

-15 For unprovoked attack on the sprites.

-15 For attacking the tree (and being killed in self-defense).

More Code of the Rats Introductory Fantasy Adventure

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