Sana's attempt to recall anything specific about the glowing fungi comes up short; her knowledge is limited to the adventurer's maxim that unknown fungi are best avoided. As Unafe suggests the rooftops, all four of them glance up. The buildings here are mostly two or three stories, their roofs a jagged landscape of broken slate and precarious ledges.
Alase shakes her head.
"The roofs are a death sentence. Too exposed, there's no consistent cover up there. We'd be silhouetted against that sky for anything to see. Down here in the shadows is where we need to stay," Rue relays telepathically.
Alase whispers, "The building it is. We stay in the dark. Quietly now."
Unless there are any objections, Alase takes point and begins to lead the way into the gaping darkness of the collapsed municipal building. The air is cool and still, thick with the cloying, sickly-sweet scent of blooming flowers and overripe fruit, a smell that feels out of place amidst the ruin and decay.
As they move deeper into the building's core, a massive, open chamber, thick, thorny vines cover every every surface, floor to ceiling. Each vine pulses irregularly with faint luminescence, which illuminates the chamber in dim light.
Then, ahead, they spot something moving.
Hanging from thicker vines coiling down from the ceiling are three corpses in rusted scraps of crusader armor. They are not walking, but instead are dragged through the chamber by the vines attached to their limbs and spines. They move in a slow, deliberate pattern, their faces sweeping across the room.
The network of vines coil upwards onto the chamber's dark, vaulted ceiling. There, nestled amongst the collapsed beams is a colossal, pulsating seedpod the size of a carriage. Every vine in the room originates from its fleshy surface. A low, rhythmic hum emanates from it, a vibration felt more in the bones than in the ears. The floor directly beneath it is a treacherous carpet of smaller, grasping rootlets, that becomes thinner further away. The far wall, where they can see the faint outline of the collapsed opening, is approximately 240 feet away. Sunlight streams through the opening from the outside.
Unafe shudders when she starts to take in the full extent of what they've just entered.
"What sort of senses does a thing like that have? Would sneaking through here even be possible? But if we can't go above the building and we can't go through it..."
Suddenly the memory of Sairazul's blessing returns to her, and she tentatively examines the ground. "...Wait! I have been granted the power to move underground for ten minutes, or perhaps a few more. Perhaps we can pass underneath this horror and come up on the other side? Alase, I'd likely need your help making sure we come up where we wish to, as digging out of the ground likely won't be as quiet as we'd like, but it might be far less quiet than trying our luck cleaving through this mockery of life."
Sana immediately shares what she knows on the plant telepathically with Rue, enabling the team to work off of that knowledge.
"Is Unafe able to dig a hole that can sustain itself? I know Ehren needed the hole to be actively braced with engineers when he dug up to the plateau years ago." she sends to Rue.
This is a Corpse Lotus, but one far larger than any described in any text you've read. They are known to grow in places of great slaughter, like battlefields or ruins. It is a plant and is therefore effectively blind. Its primary sense is a tremorsense that allows it to feel vibrations in the ground in a 30-foot radius around any part of its root or vine network. The corpses are not sensory; they are preserved corpses used as bait, distractions, and a source of healing. The sweet-smelling air is an aura that keeps corpses from decaying. If it can get one of its vines on a corpse, it can digest it slowly to gain incredible regenerative power. Its four main vines are incredibly strong and are used to ensnare prey and strangle them to death.
Meanwhile, you also pick up on new details in the chamber. You can clearly see the fine, ground-hugging mist swirling in a wide circle around the central flower and its puppet-corpses. More importantly, you can map the creature's root network. You see that the path along the far wall is almost entirely bare stone, a safe corridor where footsteps would cause minimal vibrations for the creature to detect.
"Anna's right. Unafe, unless your power creates a stable passage for all of us, that plan is too risky. Alase says the ground here is a bog; a solo burrower would make it, but digging a tunnel would be mud and rubble. We can't risk it," says Rue, telepathically.
Meanwhile, Yui, Ehren and Myrna remain back with Beatrix and Hinagiku, waiting for a sign from the forward scouts. Time passes in silence. Then, suddenly there are whispers seeming to emanate from the very stones around them. They are faint, indecipherable. At the edge of their vision, shadows seem to coalesce and then dissipate. The Pharasmin runes on the floor, where Yui performed the ritual earlier, begin to pulse with a soft, silver light, completely on their own. The golden light of Amber brightens and dims in a slow, steady rhythm, perfectly in sync with the pulsing of the runes on the floor.
Then, for a brief moment, the whispers coalesce into a single, clear thought that echoes in the minds of everyone present:
"The Lady watches the fallen... but the river remembers the unforgiven."
The thought fades, and the runes dim back to their dormant state.
Yui watches with curiosity as the ritual from the previous night repeats itself without her prompting. She brings Kurushimi up before her as she approaches the runes and watches until the message issues forth and their light fades once more.
She ponders the message, trying to remember if Pharasma's teachings included any mentions of the unforgiven. Perhaps those who had practiced necromancy or destroyed souls? she thinks, trying to assign meaning to the cryptic phrase.
"Ehren, Myrna, do either of you have any idea what that message might mean?" she whispers to her companions.
Sana inclines her head, "It's quite slow and can't see very far. But it's also incredibly dangerous in a fight, if we hadn't spotted that the guards were dead, we would likely have stumbled in here expecting safety... And enemies would have likely run in looking for a fight. A good adaptation to a war torn environment. As long as we can reach the far wall without touching the ground, we should be able to avoid it's senses entirely. They can sense movement about as far away as the mist reaches. See the ground over there? That's safe. Or at least safe from this creature... There is the risk of other things being over there to ambush. If we're willing to risk it, my magic might be able to get us there safely. If we get caught, use blades, fire or cold." Sana shares with Rue.
Unafe gives a slight smile after Rue passes on what Anna shares. "That's a relief. I'm glad you know of them. Shall we make our way through there then? It sounds as though–as long as we can continue as stealthily as we have been–we may well make it through here untouched."
In the Pharasmin faith, the "unforgiven" refers to a specific category of souls who have committed the ultimate crimes against the natural cycle of life and death, thus forfeiting the Lady of Graves' judgment and protection. The primary culprits are those who practice undeath, creators of mindless undead like zombies and skeletons, and most especially, intelligent, free-willed undead who actively prey on the living. Also included are those who consume or destroy souls, a crime so heinous that it risks eternal obliteration.
Alase listens to Sana's proposed plan through the telepathic link. She peers into the massive, dimly lit chamber, her eyes tracing the safe path of stone that Sana identified along the far wall. It's a long way to the sunlit exit, far more than a single jump.
"It's a good plan," Rue relays telepathically. "Faster than walking it, for sure. Ready when you are."
Unafe nods in agreement, and prepares to follow Sana's lead as quietly as she's able to.
Myrna sits with the Archdruid on the ground to wait for their companions to finish their scouting mission. She isn't as patient as her companion is, and fidgets somewhat unhappily while she sits.
Sana nods, carefully unhitching her parasol, placing a hand on Unafe and twirling it. Unafe swiftly transforms into a sketch, which folds in on itself in the blink of an eye. She feels as though she's being pressed sideways between a pair of large fluffy pillows... and then appears on the other side, unfolding back to normal on the distant stone. If nothing interrupts the process, one by one, Sana sends the others and then herself through the same process, skirting the edge of the creature's vision by moving to the distant stone path... enabling them to hopefully move safely the rest of the way through the building.
Unafe unfolds back into the three-dimensional world, landing on the cold, bare stone of the safe path, a full 50 feet from her starting point. From here, the Corpse Lotus looms larger, the low hum from its central pod growing louder. The skeletal puppets swing lazily on their vine tethers. But the creature remains completely oblivious. The magical transit was silent, creating no vibration on the root network for it to detect.
Sana repeats the process. One by one, Rue and then Alase flatten into sketches, whisked across the gap to reappear beside Unafe. Finally, the parasol twirls one last time, and Sana herself unfolds into reality.
With the first jump a success, the team eventually settles into a rhythm. On the third jump, they are as close to the pod as they will get, the low hum vibrating through the stone. They can see the thick, thorny texture of its hide and the slow, rhythmic pulsing of the veins that snake across its surface. One of the skeletal puppets swings past, its empty sockets seeming to stare right through them, yet the creature remains dormant, completely unaware of the ghosts flitting just outside of its senses.
Two more leaps, and the party unfolds from Sana's magic for the last time, stepping from the deep gloom of the chamber into the glorious, clean light of the sun pouring through the collapsed wall at the far side. They've made it.
They now stand in a wide breach in the building's outer wall. The air here is free of the cloying scent of the lotus. Before them is a muddy, waterlogged slope leading down from the building's rear, which leads to a wide, fog-shrouded bog dotted with ancient, moss-covered trees. Alase raises a hand. "Hold up for a second, now that we're past the How, I need a minute to call for Tonbarse.
"Look. Aemmer's Creek to the north. The ruined chapel Vang's set up in, will be somewhere out there, hidden in all that fog and mist. What's our strategy?" she whispers, pointing.
"I could definitely cover more ground alone when it comes to scouting... in an ideal situation. But my survival skills aren't really up-to-snuff. I don't really trust myself to not get hopelessly lost and not be able to find my way back to you guys... so I think we have to stick together." Sana responds, "That being said, Opal can cast Nature's Paths for us, which should make it a little bit easier to navigate the bogs... though not entirely safe, given that it's the 'Wound."
Unafe nods. "Why don't you bring our companions to us here then. A few of us can still scout ahead, but we'll all be closer at hand."
"Here's as good a place as any." Sana agrees, moving so that her companions would be within the building, but outside of the senses of the giant flower monster.
Back in the tower, Amber bobs to the side.
Yui quickly notices the shadows move as amber begins to slide back and forth. "It seems we will need to consider the message further later," she says, pointing her naginata towards the glowing mote.
"Let's depart quickly," she says, as she makes a quick gesture to enchant herself with magic granting her flight.
She then moves towards Amber and prepares to leave once the others teleport away.
The air next to Sana and the scouting party warps and shimmers. Hinagiku appears right after Yui, the magical transit instantaneous.
"Careful not to move too far back into the building. There's a big plant that will want to eat us if it gets the chance. It can't see this far, but up close it'll see you through its root structure, and can sense you more accurately if you're closer. The guys hanging around are dead, it's using them as bait, I think." Sana whispers quietly as soon as others appear, shifting to make sure any newcomers don't wind up further into the room.
Picking up on the sway in Amber's movement, Ehren stands and casts a rote mobility spell before stepping into the light after Hinagiku and vanishing.
Seeing her companions appear, Unafe again marvels at what Sana and Amber are capable of.
Then she takes a moment to catch them up. "Alase just let us know that Aemmer's Creek to the north. The ruined chapel Vang's set up in will be somewhere out there, hidden in all that fog and mist. Shall we continue to again have a few of us scout ahead?"
Alase, alongside Tonbarse, a silent, massive presence at her side, considers the question. "My counsel is to stick together," she says, her voice low. "A fight in this bog won't be straightforward. The bog will choke sound and sight. If a scout team is ambushed, they could be overwhelmed in the moments it takes for the rest of us to arrive. A larger group makes a harder target."
"Alase's point is valid," Rue says, "but a larger group also makes a louder one. We are approaching the lair of a powerful, paranoid wizard. A small, stealthy team...perhaps just myself, Anna, and one or two others....are far less likely to be detected. We could map a safe path, identify his wards, and pinpoint his exact location. The risk of ambush is high, but the risk of announcing our presence to Vang before we're ready is even higher. Stealth buys us the element of surprise."
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Sana listens for now, wiggling Amber back and forth in the tower, awaiting the remainder of the team to come join them.
"I'm on the fence. I can move a lot quicker alone, but that does come with increased danger on my part. Run into the wrong thing and you're a quivering mess on the floor about to get a big old hug from a water elemental, and all that." she looks between Unafe and Yui, "So I guess the question is, how good folks think they're going to be at hiding when we leave the cityscape?"
"Let me go first, I can scout ahead without risk of detection and find the best path there. This time I won't be restricted by Baphomet's warding on the sanctum. Between flight and the ability to avoid detection by the living and dead alike thanks to Pharasma's blessing, I should easily be able to get there and back quickly," Yui says, joining the discussion.
As she waits for any objections, she conjures her soulmask and dons it, preparing to call upon the ability of psychopomps to disappear at will.
"If you're going alone... you should take this with you, and I can give you a... let's call it a blessing, to help you spot important things." Sana says, pulling the luck arrow from the spot she'd tucked it into her shirt. "How do we know if you're in danger? How long do you want us to wait?"
Alase watches Yui don her soulmask, then gives a slow, single nod of approval. "She'll be faster and quieter than any of us. Let her go. The bog is dangerous, but her ability to fly will keep her out of the worst of it."
Rue adds, "Vang will have more than just living guards. Expect magical wards designed to paralyze or confuse. Your greatest danger is a single spell you cannot resist. Anna is right, if you're going to do something so risky, we should understand your contingencies."
"Thank you," she says to Sana, tucking away the arrow and accepting her enchantment.
"I would not worry about that, with Anna's aid, I should have no issues spotting wards long before they are relevant. I did get us into the Ivory Temple safely, after all... Well at least until the retrievers, anyway."
Despite her bravado, Yui clearly takes Rue's concern seriously, sitting to meditate so she can swap out one of her spells. A few moments later she gets up, prepared to depart. "I will keep arcane sight up to make sure I'm not caught off-guard by any magic."
She then enchants herself with heroism and see invisibility before rendering herself invisible. Once cloaked, she draws upon Kurushimi's power to grant her the power to become entirely undetectable to any one or thing that might seek to discover her location. She then takes off into the sky to get a better view of the misty bog they are overlooking, scanning for any signs of movement through the mist or of Vang's chapel poking up through the fog.
"You traveling alone here worries me, but I know you are peerless in going undiscovered, and I know the Lady of Graves is watching over you. May the Ancestors keep you safe as well." Unafe says as Yui departs.
Seeing the signal, Myrna casts a quick spell before she goes through the lantern after the Archdruid and Hinagiku, appearing beside the others soon enough to hear them discussing whether someone might scout.
"If we're hoping to gain information before we go on, I agree we should scout without the whole group," she offers, "But don't take too long about it. We have lots that we need to do while we're here, and our spells don't last forever."
Following her captain, Beatrix moves so as not to be the last one left behind. She appears beside Myrna in the bog that Sana traveled to. She listens silently to the discussion about whether or not to scout, not wishing to influence the decision one way or the other.
Ten minutes pass as Yui vanishes from the parties' senses as she soars through the misty air, leaving them far behind.
From the air the Aemmer's Creek bog unfolds below like a decaying tapestry. It's a vast, murky wetland, choked with stagnant water and ancient, moss-draped trees that jut from the mire like skeletal fingers. The fog is thick, but your flight and magically enhanced sight allow you to see through the worst of it. You make out sluggish, weed-choked channels of water that snake through the landscape, crisscrossing the area like sluggish serpents.
Your arcane sight reveals faint, lingering auras clinging to the water in several places. Following this faint trail, your eyes are drawn to a low hill rising from the center of the bog, about half a mile distant.
There, half-sunk in the muck and overgrown with dripping moss, is the ruined chapel the Adept described. It's a squat, stone building, its steeple long since collapsed, leaving a jagged hole in the roof. The walls are stained black with age and moisture, and a single, heavy wooden door, swollen and warped, serves as its entrance.
You easily spot the defenses Rue warned you about. The entire chapel is encased in a shimmering, barely-visible dome of magical energy - a powerful protective ward against intrusion. Perched unmoving on the remaining corners of the roof are two hulking, winged demons whose gray, stony hides make them appear as grotesque gargoyles. Most insidiously, a network of nearly invisible, silvery threads is woven between the trees on the approach to the chapel, humming with a faint magical aura that is undoubtedly Vang's alarm system.
Yui begins by studying the barrier first, trying to determine its nature and whether it would be possible for her to remove it. Once she finishes examining it, she turns her attention to the thin silvery strands, studying them with similar intent, hoping she'll be able to take away Vang's ability to be warned of their approach.
From a safe distance, hidden within the fog, you focus on the chapel's defenses. Your attention falls first on the shimmering dome encasing the entire structure. It is a powerful mage's private sanctum spell, but one that has been altered. Vang has woven an additional effect into the barrier, causing it to function as a one-way wall of force; projectiles and spells can be fired out from within the chapel, but nothing can get in. Disabling it from the outside would require a direct dispel magic or similar effect, but its power is significant, and you suspect it would be difficult to overcome.
Next, you turn your analysis to the silvery threads woven between the trees. They are a network of alarm spells, but they have been masterfully layered. Not only will they send a mental alert to Vang if disturbed, but they are also tied into a secondary contingency. Your analysis suggests that breaking any single thread will trigger a cloudkill spell centered on the point of the breach. It is a dual-purpose defense, designed to both alert the wizard and incapacitate any intruders who are clumsy enough to trigger it.
With the situation sorted out, Yui quickly heads back to the others to relay what she'd learned. "I think our best bet is to try to approach from either high above, or to somehow burrow below, though given the bog... Vang has a barrier that is both warding against scrying and even just seeing inside, combined with a wall of force. Additionally he has layered a web of strands that produce both an alarm and a cloudkill effect if they are severed. I think I might be able to bring down the ward, but we'd need to be ready to enter quickly once it was down." she explains to the group.
"Another possibility would be attempting to parlay with the black dragon that is nearby. They are dragons first and foremost, and treasure is their weakness. Promising a portion of Vang's treasure trove could easily provide us with an ally that could create a significant distraction while we begin our assault."
"Hm. I can't teleport to places I can't see right now, so that's a no-go on me just teleporting us in... I could try ghosting underground if we want, but we'd need to get closer, or I'd need to risk going through the fog on my own." Sana says, toying with her cufflinks.
"I... don't think dealing with evil dragons will ever result in a win. Someone's gonna betray someone and it's gonna get pretty nasty. Unless you have something they want stored somewhere they can't get to, that is. And I doubt we do."
Rue nods, her expression thoughtful as she processes the situation before responding. "Yui's idea is sound. A direct dispel is our most straightforward approach, but the moment that barrier falls, we should assume that Vang will know we are here. Our assault would need to be instantaneous and overwhelming. We would have one chance to succeed before he brings the full force of his magic against us."
She considers the alternative, her gaze distant. "As for the dragon... Anna is right to be cautious. Black dragons are treacherous and cruel. However, their arrogance is a weapon we could potentially use. But any bargain struck would be a pact with a creature of pure avarice. The cost could be far greater than just treasure."
Alase, who had been listening intently, spits onto the boggy ground. "A black dragon is a plague on the land," she says, her voice laced with contempt. "They're creatures of spite and decay. Asking one for help is like asking a wildfire to be careful where it burns. It might consume your enemy, but it will char your fields and poison your wells in the process. I've spent my life navigating the dangers of this land, and some things you just don't bargain with. That's one of them. If we cross paths with such a beast, we should just try to kill it.”
"I'm inclined to agree," Ehren says with a slow nod, frowning at the prospect of allying with such a wicked creature, even temporarily, "Given their proclivities, I would say Vang is in a much better position to bargain with such a creature. Involving them would only complicate matters further."
"Perhaps our best bet then is to approach from above, dispel, and then begin the assault. Perhaps some summons could be used to trigger the alarms in different areas outside as we begin our attack. That would at least lead to confusion as we began the assault."
Myrna gives a little shrug. She's down for anything, and she knows they have to move quickly against Vang. "Sure, that sounds fine. Who's going to carry us while we fly?"
Trying to contribute, Beatrix adds, "I can summon an azata, but it won't last very long, and honestly in this environment it won't be very strong. I can also attempt to dispel, but against Vang I'm not sure of my chances."
"Mmm... I guess using my ground-swimming powers along with Amber to bypass the bubble - if that were even possible - would create a really dangerous situation if something happened to me, even if it did work." Sana agrees after a moment of thought. "I don't really have any better ideas than air drop if we have a way to do that. But we don't need to have everyone fly in, we can just let those that can fly do that, then use Amber to bring the others in, once we've got a good spot to do so."
Rue listens to the discussion, her head tilted as the plan solidifies. She nods.
"Alright. The plan is set," she says. "We approach from the air to bypass the alarm threads. Who will dispel the barrier, then? Yui? Beatrix? Alase, are you capable of summoning, as well? That could provide a valuable distraction on the ground the moment the assault begins."
"Aye, I can do that," Alase says, affirmatively, albeit with a grim expression.
Rue then looks to the team members who can't fly. "Anna's proposal to use Amber for the second wave is sound. Those who can fly should form the spearhead. Once you're inside and have secured a position, you bring in the rest of us for support."
Alase adds, "A sound plan. Just be ready. The moment that barrier falls, all hell will break loose. Don't give him a second to breathe."
Unafe nods. "I also have the ability to call a great earth elemental to our aid, as I did when I called for Peace-Amidst-Pain...but as you know, this isn't summoning. Once they are with us they will fight willingly for our cause, but in return I would not abandon them here. If I do this, I'd want to know that we'll find a way to help them leave the Wound with us, if they–and we all–manage to survive our business here.
"If we choose to call one to life, they will be a powerful ally and could certainly attack from underneath. And possibly they could come in through Amber as well...unless Amber isn't able to teleport truly huge beings? Anna?"
Alase nods slowly, her gaze fixed on the misty bog. "The earth here is old, but it's sick. Tainted," she says. "Whatever you call forth will be fighting in poisoned ground. It would be strong, but vulnerable. We'd have to protect it as much as it protects us."
"I guess that leaves... Rue, myself and Yui? Unless Someone else wants to go all wingly?" Sana asks, eyes lingering on the arrow she'd passed off to Yui, before looking to Ehren.
"As long as there's enough space, yeah. They have to be able to step out of my shadow, and I can't cheat on how big it is... so it's gotta at least have a point adjacent to me to start with. But otherwise, I've never tried to transport an elephant? So theoretically, for sure, the concept is sound. But in practice, it'll be a first. And I wouldn't count on them being able to move freely inside of a sunken bog temple... especially one in a place with all this invasive foliage. We can hope, though!" Sana says with a small shrug.
"Either way, I'm ready when everyone else who is coming along is."
Unafe concentrates for a moment, calling inwardly on her ancestors' strength, and suddenly she is barely three feet tall and not more than thirty pounds. "If one of you can carry me, I can stay this size for as long as I concentrate. When I stop, I'll revert to my normal size, but I can do that once we're inside."
"I can attempt to unravel Vang's magics as well, if the need calls for it, though I suspect Yui is more than capable," Ehren volunteers, before looking down at the shrunken Unafe. The contrast to her usually colossal battle form is almost comical. "In which case, I had best follow along in the air."
"I'm ready, just give me one moment," Yui says as she stops to consider the magic again, trying to determine how likely it is she'll be able to dispel the sanctum.
"Sorry, Unafe, but I've got the carrying capacity of a pre-laden swallow. If someone's going to carry you, it'll probably have to be someone else." Sana responds to Unafe's request for being carried into the fray.
"Well," mutters Myrna, "I suppose I can wait here for now? I can't get through a wall of force, and I can't fly, so it seems I've got no choice."
She also kind of shrugs. "We also could just uh, summon him out, you know? We could come out and challenge him to a fight. We already know we can beat him, don't we? We're fully rested, and what allies could he have that he didn't have yesterday?"
"We don't necessarily have to get through all his defenses. Do we?"
She considers for a few moments. "Well, being really loud could attract some unwanted attention... but Beatrix could send him a sending."