Vonn Chestnut Grove
Located in the Feywild Expanse of Kutloc, near Basso Lake.
A narrow path narrows further to become a single step [one foot in a ditch style trail] - you past two walnut trees with large Walnuts, before a crowd of 12 tall Chestnut trees.
Amongst the trees there is no real path. The grass glimmers in places as the sunlight flicker through the canopy, creating a spiral pattern.
These are not Walnut trees these are Chestnut. Each in a different part of the annual cycle.
The magic in the air is like a flood. Even non-magic users sense it. The air bristles with a magical energy (feels like Elemental magic - see Types of Magic ).
The magical weapons in your procession glow and are warm to the touch.
"Magic is not some simple weapon; magic is an ocean, beautiful on the surface - but if the current is too strong it will pull you under, and all you can do is drown."
~ Epiture (Wizard)
There is another grove like this within Esau, called The Chestnut Spinney near Rascal Bay, within the Genx region of Malnax.
Looking up, the Chestnut trees look to stretch least 50 metres skyward. They have grown very vertically straight, with a little tapering of their trunks, which are firmly set and massive. Tall grass grows around the roots, (hiding the fallen chestnuts.)
DESCRIPTION
The bark is smooth on the 3 younger trees – with a maroon, with hints of reddish brown colouring. The 6 mature trees have become grey and darker, thick, and deeply furrowed bark. The furrows run lengthways. As they have aged, the twisting around the trunk is prominent showing the number of trees standing and growing. It reminds some of you of a large robe with twisted strands.The leaves are simple design [long 20cm; 7cm wide] lanceolate style with sharply pointed, widely spaced teeth, with shallow rounded spaces between.
The flowers appearing are usually seen in late spring or early summer. The ripe pollen carries a powerful, sweet odour, that some people find too sickly or sugary.
Show spoiler
* Constitution Roll not start sneezing and eyes watering – disadvantage on Perception.
Two or three flowers together form a four-lobed prickly calybium, which ultimately grows completely together to make the brown husk, covering the fruits.
Chestnut flowers are not self-compatible, so two trees are required for pollination.
The fruit is contained in a spiny (very sharp) capsule type growth, also called a "burr". The burrs are often paired or clustered on the branch and contain two to six nuts according to the different varieties. Around the time the fruits reach maturity, the burrs turn yellow-brown and split open in two or four sections. They can remain on the tree longer than they hold the fruit, but more often achieve complete opening and release the fruits only after having fallen on the ground; opening is partly due to soil humidity.
The chestnut fruit has a pointed end with a small tuft at its tip – referred to as the "flame". At the other end, is a pale brown attachment scar. In many varieties, the fruit is flattened on one or two sides. It has two skins. The first one is a hard, shiny, brown outer husk. While the other skin is thinner and closely adheres to the seed, following the grooves usually present at the surface of the fruit. These grooves are of variable sizes and depths according to the species and variety.
The fruit inside these shows two ‘seeds’ with a creamy-white flesh throughout.
Chestnut fruit germinate immediately upon falling to the ground in the autumn, with the roots emerging from the seed right away. The leaves and stem are produced the following spring. Because the seeds lack a coating or internal food supply, they lose viability soon after ripening, therefore must be planted immediately. The superior fruiting varieties have good size, sweet taste, and easy-to-remove inner skins.
THE ROCKY SHAPE
The shape in the clearing is rocky with natural looking ridges and peculiar features to the mound. Ivy and moss grow over the lower pieces and the wider rounded East facing side. The parts showing were oddly ‘folded’. It is hard with the long, tick grass to see where the rocky mound starts forming.Is it a Dragon, a Roc or a Pegasus?
The birds sit high in the trees’ branches – watchful and weary of strangers. A Feathered Rabbit family appear from their shelter under a curved piece of the rock. They hop off into a nearby bush.
A row of marching 5cm long silvery grey ants twist up the bark of one of the tall trees, into a hollow.
Moving forward your feet land of something oval and hard, that crunches loudly to cause a chorus of warnings to rise up from the birds above. A deer doe darts out from trees about 60 feet away, where a nearby thin stream runs over a muddy bed.
There is no shimmer of Material Plane/Feywild Expanse border (above the stream the sunlight dances along a thin border).
A Giant Goat Snail moves steadily without a sound. It is not so slow, just no hurry in it’s movements.
A Wood Genasi druid named Lumber.
They guard this Chestnut Grove.
The Giant Goat Snail sees you, and with an unexpected swiftness is in front of you, antenna raised. It has four antenna – two of which sit like curved goat horns.
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