General Information/Misc/Tangler Tree
From Westaven
From Gereth's Journal
At first glance, the tree looks no different than a willow tree one might find along a brook, this is especially true at night as their shapes are seemingly identical. On closer inspection, however, the differences are obvious. The most obvious difference comes in the color of the leaves: The tangler's leaves are a pale green and are shiny due to the sticky sap which covers both leaves and vines. That is another distinction, where the willow has long pliable branches, the tangler has long ropy vines and these vines are thickly covered by the tree's small—about the size of a man's thumb—leaves. There is also a faint musk odor about the tree, although I am unsure whether this odor would be enough of a warning to an unwary traveler to avoid this nightmarish tree.
While the vines of the tree seem its main means of attack, which I'll explain below, the leaves of the tangler tree are another and seeminly first line of attack. Besides being innumerable and covered with the sticky sap, the leaves have a serrated edge similar to elm leaves that, however, is where the similarities end. Each serrated tip lifts slightly from the body of the leaf and ends in a sharp hooked barb. Unlike a common thorn which can only cause harm with a savage point, these hooks are edged like a fine blade and easily slice into the skin then the hooks, which arc back toward the stem of the leaf, dig further into the flesh as one tries to pull free.
The tree's vines are most peculiar. I have seen flowers whose petals open and close with the rising and setting of the sun each day; indeed, such flowers are common in Hadrian. Such flowers, however, open and close very slowly. The tangler tree's vines curl and twist, the same as any other vine does, but they do so with such strength and speed as to render strong men helpless before it. Also, unlike the flowers, the tangler tree acts as if some intellect is actually driving its actions at some level. True, the vines seemed to only react to being touched but after being touched, they seemd to act in concert to drag their vicitm to the tree's trunk. Indeed, when Nak'hat was grabbed by the thing's vines, they lifted him from the ground and pulled him to the tree's trunk where he was bound fast to the trunk four feet or more above the ground. It seems that the vines continue to constrict at least until their victim dies as evidenced by the myriad bones at the base of the tree. The flowers in Hadrian are delicate things and I must imagine that they close to protect themselves from cool nights, does this tree attack out of a similar need or does it actually feed upon its victims? What of the flies? Are they also somehow tied to this horrible tree or are they merely carrion feeders that have found an easy source of food? None of the stories told to small children of the horrors of the Daemonud ever had a terror such as this among its tales.
