Fungal Pods

The cavern Nora found herself in was large and oblong, carved out from thousands of years of flowing water; a small stream flowed from one end of the cavern to the other, barely a meter wide. The water entered from a hole high up on the cavern wall, and exited through a delta veining through a field of stalagmites down into a bottomless chasm. It wasn't actually botomless, or at least Nora thought it wasn't bottomless, but it sure seemed like it.

The water was transparent, though slightly yellow tinged. When Nora brought a handful up to her nose it smelled of something foul, and the cause was soon apparent with further investigation of the chamber; a half dozen neon green pods stood against one of the chamber walls. Green runoff oozed towards the water. The pods were around as tall as she was, with a shiny surface that was almost entirely opaque; she could see a vague humanlike shadow inside, though she wasn't quite sure. They pulsed gently, like a weak heartbeat, and the vinelike veins that covered the lower half and spilled onto the floor twitched as if sensing her presence but unable to do anything about it. The pod pushed in to her touch, as if it were made of hard lime jell-o. If she tried to it would be easy to pierce, even with just her hands or a rock.

Other than the way she came in, a tunnel to the East, there was no other entrance or exit in the cavern.