Even so, there's no time to waste - you need to head directly for the fortress!

You walk up to the hedge and examine it closely. Nothing about the branches appears out of the ordinary, aside from how poorly maintained they are of course. You can see that the branches are somewhat sparse further in. Confident you can make your way through, you slowly part the branches and begin blazing a trail through the hedge.

It isn't too difficult to begin pushing through the plants - the branches are stiffer than you expected, but otherwise you are making good progress. The further in you get, the more varied the plants become - the plain tangled hedge is replaced by odd-colored vines and heavy blossoms, and the grass beneath your feet gets softer and fuzzier. So odd that these plants are buried so deep where no one could find them... but you aren't here for sight-seeing. You continue pressing onwards, barely managing to avoid getting your feet tangled in the roots at your feet.

You glance around briefly to see if you are still making progress... only to notice that the hedge behind you has completely closed off. The branches haven't just sprung back to their original places either - they are fully tangled together, like you never **** them apart. It's actually very difficult to tell which way was forward to begin with... as you try and wade through the underbrush, you accidentally jostle one of the blossoms hanging nearby.

The flower reacts violently - it contracts, spewing a cloud of pollen all over you! You get a deep breath of the stuff before you can stop yourself, and stagger back while coughing heavily. You can faintly hear the other blossoms around you pulsing, pumping even more pollen into the air.