The bikini does stop the poison, and Marie finds her target.

Marie thought she could handle walking around so exposed, but now, out here in a forest, it feels wrong. The cold air bites at her skin, and she feels sticks and grass poking and brushing up against her in uncomfortable ways. There’s even a few times she catches her bikini getting caught on a branch, but she manages to keep it intact. She’s not about to be one of those stupid girls who loses her clothes to freak accidents…

It’s slow progress, because despite her keeping her boots, it’s difficult terrain and hard to keep going. Before long, she’s covered in mud and sticky tree sap. How low is she going to stoop to finish this damn quest? She’s supposed to be a genius! A powerful mage who holds sway over people and cities! Not some dirty whore trudging through a blasted jungle.

Nevertheless, she pushes forward, thankful that the bikini was not a scam. It does what it was advertised to do, and keeps out the poison. She isn’t sure how it works, being two pieces. Is it 50/50? The top and bottoms both with a 50% resist enchantment? Who knows, but Marie is not about to take off her top to find out. Hopefully she never has to…

She pushes forward, towards a clearing, where the poison fog looks thickest. This must be where the Mandragora is… The bikini-clad mage pushes through a thicket, pulling her top from yet another snag (curse this forest) and looks into the clearing. At the center, lies a gigantic plant, with tentacle like vines sprouting from it in every direction.

Marie has read about the Mandragora, so she assumes she is well equipped for this. They are huge plants that have gained sentience through dark magic, either through proximity to a dark magic source like a witch’s coven, or someone casting a large scale dark magic spell. Whatever caused this precise one must’ve been truly strong. It’s larger than most she’s heard of.

Truly some horrific act of evil magic must’ve happened here, because this mandragora stands at nearly 20 feet tall. A massive, red flower constantly spewing poisonous gas blossoms at the center, as its hundreds of vines spread across the landscape. Marie is a bit nervous. She’s a talented mage, but this? She’s not sure all the fireballs in the world can take this thing down.

She shakes her head. Nonsense! Marie is more than a mere talented mage. She’s a prodigy, a higher being than the common peasant who throws around little cantrips and calls himself a wizard. Nothing can stand in her way.

Suddenly, Marie’s mind buzzes, as the mandragora reaches out to her mind. These plants are sentient, and their magical affinity gives them a psychic link with all living things within their domain. Truly a horrible creature, because they prefer to threaten and torment their prey before and during their capture.

The mage feels the words spoken into her mind. “You look like a tasty morsel. My roots crave fresh blood to sate them…”

Marie readies her staff, preparing a fireball spell. This is going to be a challenge…