The various released beings are nearly panicked in excitement. A few, the most strained, merely bolt for the tunnel crack without any words. A few others are too sick or malnourished to move. Ioldihie tends to them, ignoring the danger implicit in such an action. Bzzkp searches the room for anything of value, coming up empty.
The first mongrelman comes up the ranger and says, "Why are you here, to free us?"
Then the dwarf notice something hanging around the man's neck. It is a crude stone carving that looks something familiar.....it is a rough copy of that god Ioldihe worships. What is it doing here?
"Honestly, we're here mostly by virtue of accident. Ioldihe and I got lost and found Bzzkp's clan slaughtered. Nominally, we're here to get revenge for Bzzkp, but mostly we're just trying to get back to tunnels we know. That symbol you wear. What is it?"
'Bzzkp? Who is Bzzkp?" the mongrelman says, obviously confused.At Timur's question he proudly says, "This is the symbol of the Student. He was a great man, sent by the gods. From the Overburn itself!"
From a cell Ioldihe says, "Timur....can you come look at this?"
On the floor of the cell is a derro, shivering on the stone floor. Half of the blue furred body is covered in a black twisting rot, just like that vegepgymy head.
"It...it has been smeared on his body Timur." The elf is obviously shocked at the horror filled prospect awaiting the dying derro. The usually mad creature is too far gone to even speak, let alone attack.
Timur stoops down.
"Smeared? What the hells?"
Timur examines the derro as best he can.
Timur can see little but it appears some black fungus had been smeared on the derro, and it was now spreading throughout his body, through blood, creating agonizing pain and soon death.
The mongrelman hovers over and says, "They take us to the main chamber and do this to us, one by one. And one by one they go mad and die. I do not know why..."
Timur looks to the few remaining prisoners.
"Alright, someone is doing some pretty terrible things to just about every group in Nar-Voth. We're going in after them. Those of you who can fight, your help is appreciated. Those who can't, just try to stay safe."
He looks back at Ioldihe and Bzzkp, seeing how they feel about the situation.
The troglodyte hoists his mace, grinning evilly. Ioldihe looks hesitant but glances at the dying derro and nods firmly.
The mongrelman looks doubtful and says, 'They haven't fed us well enough to fight. Only old fungus, barely eatable. But I will stay and hold the retreat for you."
Timur claps the mongrelman on the shoulder.
"Thank you. Hopefully, we won't have need of it."
The way tot he next chamber lies open, a wide, well traveled chamber leading down. The heat and moisture of more hot springs is evident.
Timur nods at the others and moves in as quietly as possible.
Timur, leading the way, heads down the passage, sneaking. It soon opens into a massive chamber, the air hot and wet, like a sauna. It is filled from floor to ceiling with a crust of brown-ish fungus that crackles like dried leaves. Patches of rougher, sickly green fungus sprouts here and there, knee high and tough as old leather.
Pools of boiling water dot the chamber, sending up curtains of steam, that cling to the rock ceiling overhead, making it 'rain' inside the chamber.
Timur see vegepgymys moving around, at least half a dozen, as well as a massive, slightly mobile plant. Apart, farther away, is a black twisted like being. It looks like the rotting vegepymgys Timur has seen, but it is not the same shape. It moves with more purpose, and more cunning.
Ioldihe then speaks up saying, "That other one, that is no vegepgymy. I think....if I didn't know better, it was a pech. A underground dwelling fey!" he glances at Timur and says in explanation, "I studied fey quite intensely a few centuries ago."
For a second Timur wonders just how old this fresh-faced elf is then turns back tot he task at hand. He knows pech are usually harmless, industries fey who live in tunnels and caves. What happened to this one?
Timur whispers over to Ioldihe.
"Let's try to take it alive if we can. Let Bzzkp know. Stress the importance of getting information making getting revenge more likely."
Bzzkp seems to digest this with reluctance. Taking foes alive is not a alrge part of his culture but finally, he gets it.
Ioldihe mutters, 'I told him we plan on eating the pech later. Only way he understood."
After this they charge into the room, Timur roaring, urgosh held high.
Every eye turns toward them in shock and horror. The pech screams in high-pitched yet bubbly Undercommon, "Kill them!"
They break into the room, everyone running among the steamy, sweltering heat of the room. Timur rushes up to a vegepgymy , Zimlikup at his side.
Timur roars and charges, slashing at Vegepygmy 2 with the axe end of his urgrosh.
Zimlikup follows close behind, charging Vegepygmy 1 and biting at it.
Timur's swing slices the squealing beast in half,t he dwarf barely feeling it's small thin body. Zimlikup's savage bites also bring down his, the small spear flapping uselessly.
Bzzkp runs toward the other pair, stumbling a bit among the higher fungus, breaking his momentum. His swing misses the little beast in front of him.
Ioldihe runs up behind you, obviously nervous and wary. He shouts, pointing at the strange, slowly waving plant, 'A basidirond! Don't breath in the spores..."
Across the water the pech is screaming, 'More warriors!" Timur can feet hear small feet heading their way.
The massive plant doesn't move but instead streache wsupward, pushing out tiny buds. Suddenly they burst releasing a flood of tiny spores that fill the hot, steamy air.
Timur can't help but breath in some of the floating yellow specks. He feels dizzy...
Suddenly, in his thoughts Timur thinks- You’re melting! Grasp hold of yourself in an attempt to hold yourself together, and take no actions for 1 round.
Timur's eyes glaze over as his skin begins to melt. The pain is agonizing and it's all Timur can do to just hold himself together, screaming into the darkness of the cave.
Timur stands still, lost in the horrors of his own mind. Slowly it recedes as he realizes it was all a horrid vision...
Bzzkp raises his mace and smashes the helpless vegepgymy in front of him, crushing it like a fly.
Ioldihe merely looks confused, but he seems to be casting a spell on Timur. A warm glow suddenly appears in the dwarf's chest, and the ranger feels stronger, faster.
The yelling pech waves his small, fungus draped arms and mutters words of magic. Slowly a stone wall rises in front of him, removing him from view.
The shambling plant moves closer to Timur and Zimlikup, tendrils waving slowly. One of them, as thick as Timur's arm swings at the dwarf.
It feels like someone hit him with a small battering ram, and it knocks the wind of the ranger for a moment. However, he is fully in control of his sense again.
Timur stumbles under the blow from the plant, coughing up blood. He steps to the opposite side of Zimlikup and swings the axe end of his urgrosh diagonally down, following it with a backward thrust of the spear end.
Seeing the spear thrust go wide he spins in the opposite direction, thrusting again.
Timur slashes three times at the plant, two times scoring it with his urgosh. The slashes open huge wounds on the tottering plant, thick green sap oozing out of the newly made holes. It coats his weapon in sticky goo but it seems harmless.
Bzzkp runs, howling some old curse in his own tongue. The troglodyte jumps forward, mace held high. he bring sit down with a crash that makes the entire plant shake in fury and perhaps pain? More sap shoots out, speckling the troglodyte, Zim and Timur.
From behind him Timur can hear Iolidhe calling on his god. It sounds very odd to hear such words of the surface here, in the Darklands. The warm feeling in his chest grows and he can see some of his wounds healing, skin weaving together, pains easing. He has been healed, somewhat.
The plant silently turns toward Bzzkp and lashes out with great tendrils.
It grips the struggling warrior firmly, the plant far stronger then the thin troglodyte.
The incoming vegepgmy warriors run up, one getting close to the cleric. The twisted pech is silent behind his wall.
Zimlikup digs into the plant creature with all she's got.
She comes up with nothing. As the basidirond moves to grapple Bzzkp, Zim lashes out.
Timur swings his axe at the plant as it moves to attack Bzzkp.
He follows that up with two quick strikes, hoping to drop the damn thing, or at least make it drop Bzzkp.
Missing again with his spear thrust, Timur quickly stabs again.