A mysterious vine

Prince Adan pitches forward and falls hard to the ground as his legs run into a curious vine. Adan hits the soft floor of the small clearing and skids on his stomach. He pants with exhaustion, fearing his pursuers will catch him now. Adan wearily pushes himself to his knees and searches behind him, but there is no sign of his foes.

Adan relaxes slightly as he climbs to his feet. He surveys the small glen into which he has stumbled. There is an eerie silence, and the air is heady with a slightly rotten vegetal stench that Adan cannot place.

The Prince takes a few steps deeper into the glen. His breath suddenly catches as a weird stalk rises in front of him. Adan draws his knife as he finds an odd purple bulb facing him. He is about to slash the wobbling stalk when the bulb bursts, spraying a cloud of reeking yellow mist into his face.

Adan’s eyes roll and darkness takes him as he inhales the incapacitating spores.