The vines were growing thicker, both in number and in girth. Gordon didn’t like them much, too many hiding places for insects, but sticking with Nyx seemed like his best option down here and the spotted courser ahead of him was moving confidently, if cautiously, pushing the vines aside. Between the pair of coursers, the stupid cat that had landed on Gordon’s back a while ago walked with its tail in the air, looking quite as if it owned the place. Gordon couldn’t help feeling some resentment towards the creature, but even a bard from the surface knew there was no point in trying to tell a cat what to do, so the creature travelled with them for now.

The vines were getting worse, but at least the tunnel was widening out a bit. Gordon shouldered through the vines a little faster to come shoulder to shoulder with his companion. The cat tried to get ahead of them both, but Nyx stuck out a foreleg and scooped it back. “Something’s wrong here. Wait.” Gordon paused, assuming the instruction was for him, the cat sat and started washing itself, pointing its bum toward the coursers, as if to express an opinion on being told what to do.

Nyx reached back and pulled one of her packs open, a blue light floated out and ahead of them. Gordon noted that once again Nyx squinted at even that much light when it was close to her face. The flame floated slowly away and illuminated the room ahead. Vines hung from the ceiling and cast writhing shadows in the moving light, vines ran thick and snakelike all across the floor, vines, vines, vines everywhere. Nyx had never been bothered by vines before, even Gordon was coming to think of them as part of the scenery.

The light reached deeper into the cave, Gordon peered through the confusing shadows as it stopped illuminating something huge, and slightly translucent, that glowed a reddish purple shade in the blue light. The scene resolved into a giant sinister looking plant. Sinister looking mostly because Gordon could see the shadows of bones against its fleshy petals. It was big enough that if you couldn’t see it you could walk right into its trap. Suddenly worried Gordon looked for the silly cat. To his relief it was still where he'd last seen it. “Is the plant dangerous? I mean, can it attack us?”

“It can move a little, but only a very little, it’s still a plant, still rooted. It traps, not hunts. We can pass it, but you should carry the cat.” Nyx’s magic lifted the protesting cat onto Gordon’s back, though this time it felt like the claws went into his pack at least. The dun courser didn’t object, he just hoped the cat wouldn’t jump off into danger.

With the light floating above him Gordon picked his way through vines that seemed to move and tangle about his lower legs. He considered stomping a few, but he wasn’t entirely certain how far the plant could move and he didn’t want to invoke its wrath.

By the time they’d crossed the chamber Gordon was sweating with tension, so much that he was sure his coat looked brown rather than golden yellow. There wasn’t any noise of pursuit behind them though, and as the vines thinned back out to what seemed to be normal down here Nyx’s light drifted back down into her pack. Gordon took that as a signal they were out of range. The cat was still with him too, that was good. Let the horrible plant feast on horrible insects here in the dark.