Struggling to free himself, Odak is happy to see someone offering help. ”Blast talkin’ hiders be wantin’ dinnah’. Eatin’ outside in”
"Odak! Perhaps this is our way to salvation in this life?! ”
Odak doesn’t bother trying to look at his companion, knowing his head can’t possibly turn that far in the dirt. ”Worry bout gettin outa dis hole firs! Then we can go other places.” Zoltan has traveled with Odak long enough to know that he is not the sharpest knife in the block and probably wasn’t sure what “Salvation” was.
When freed, Odak holds out his hands which have been bound with vines to prevent him casting. ”Knew I be gettin way if’n they didn’t.” he says.
Kanzen moves forward with Galinndan and Galenus to assist with freeing the dwarves. A strangely dressed drow, shirtless but for an acid-pitted leather armour jerkin, he doesn't look at the dwarves, instead concentrating on getting them free.
As he helps dig the dwarves out, Galenus asks, What happened to you guys. Why are you here? Have you ever heard of this Zuggtmoy that the Drow is talking about?
Even though Galenus knows who Zuggtmoy is, he wants to see what these two know before he explains his own knowledge.
Galinndan and Kanzen soon free the trapped dwarves, who see their belongings piled carelessly to the side alongside a pile of what appears to be the drow's belongings. She appears to have had a fain shortsword and chainmail as well as a pack no doubt containing other supplies.
The drow pleads in Undercommon, tears streaming out of her eyes mixed with dirt. "Please... just kill me..." You see several mushrooms extending from her left ear.
Unlike the dwarves, the drow is too far gone to be saved.
The dwarves freed, Kanzen moves across to the drow. He crouches down beside her, his heart full of pity. He draws his dagger slowly. "Are you sure there's no other way?" he asks quietly.
The drow shakes her head breathing raggedly. "Over for me... bowels liquefying... deep rot..."
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Kanzen nods. "I will bring you the mercy you desire. But before I do, I must give you the chance to embrace the Dark Maiden. Even at the very end, she offers you redemption. Will you turn from her evil mother Lloth and give yourself up to Eilistraee? She will grant you peace in death, far from the horrors of the Abyss." He proffers his holy symbol before the dying drow, hoping she will renounce Lloth and turn herself over to the Lady of the Dance. "Either way, you may trust me to end it as quickly as possible." And he prepares himself to finish her agony, fingers tightening around the hilt of his dagger.
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Kanzen sees a glimmer of light in the drow's eyes as he speaks, and for a moment he believes that she is opening her heart to Eilistraee. But the light dies as soon as it appears, and she narrows her eyes cynically even as she exhales wheezily in pain. Kanzen bows his head a moment, tears forming in his eyes, as he mourns for her soul. He then takes his dagger and ends her pain as mercifully as the situation permits. He spends the moment with her as she passes, then stands, eyes downcast.
”Zigzug?” Odak looks puzzled at the question.
Climbing out of the whole and having his hands freed, Odak moves over the pile of his belongings and begins rifling through the gear. ”Quit yer hidin! Get out here and help.” He seems to be talking to the pile.
Though his face is shadowed after performing such a grisly deed, Kanzen's face cracks into a small smile at hearing Galenus called "the Bold". "We all wish we could be like Galenus," he agrees with just a hint of friendly mockery.
Galenus blushes behind his heard. Then he elbows Kanzen. Shut up, you, he says to the Drow.
Uhh.. yes. That's, um.. me, I guess. Not sure how much those stories are accurate, but I have been around some.
Come on, let's get you two out of here. Kanzen, how's the Drow?
Kanzen's smile drops from his face. "She... begged for mercy. I granted it. Whatever is going on here is wholly evil. I can only think that this myconid leader has been corrupted by demonic forces, as we've seen elsewhere." He sighs. "So. Do we hunt this evil? Or abandon these fungal folk to the demons?"
No, Galenus says to Kanzen, we do not hunt. Remember Demogorgon? That's what this Zuggtmoy is. Demon Lord of Fungus and Decay. Demogorgon destroyed an entire fishing village without breaking a sweat, and slaughtered hundreds. Zuggtmoy seems to already have most of this place under its sway, and is capturing people and infecting them with who knows what. Just look at that Drow.
Galenus takes a closer look at the Drow, with an eye for anything valuable he can take.
After he grabs anything valuable, he says, We need to get out of here, and we need to warn the Myconids. At least the ones that aren't already under the Demon Lord's sway. Which are probably the ones that aren't dancing.
To Zoltan, he says, You can repay us by surviving and helping us get all these fungal people to safety. Come on. Let's go.
Galinndan looks eager when the talk turns to hunting and purging evil - but he stops in his tracks when Galenus explains the situation.
The intense cast to the wood elf's face does not however stop, though frustration becomes visible.
"Damnation! Is this entire dark-cursed place on the verge of being overrun with demon lords!? If nothing else, we can warn the untainted myconids, give them a chance to take flight."
Well met Zoltan and Odak, im Irdril.. Best we get moving and see if anymore can be saved..
+2 studded leather armor, a +2 shortsword, and a bag of holding containing two spell scrolls (remove curse and spider climb), 40 days of rations, and 320 sp.
The moans of the garden’s victims suddenly take on a new tone of fear as something moves across the foul ground from behind some zurkhwood stalks. A disgusting larval creature rises up before you, showing only vestigial fungal growths that hint that it might once have been a myconid.
“Welcome, travelers.” The aberrant myconid’s voice gurgles and spits as it speaks both aloud and in your minds at once. “Are you here for the wedding rehearsal? Friends of the bride or her intended? No matter! Let the love of the Great Seeder embrace you as you become one with her chosen, the Great Body!” It points an antenna-like appendage toward you and two of the drow corpses behind you rise up out of the ground. Several myconid adults also step out from the stands of zurkhwood around you.
Galenus grabs the sword and tosses it to Gallindrin, It's got power, take it!
Then he casts Enlarge on Gallindrin.
In one flowing motion, Galinndan drops his dagger as he begins to sprint forward, freeing his right hand to snatch Galenus' short sword out of the air.
With paired short swords gripped, he charges at the corrupt, arrogant thing before him!
Galinndan lands two solid blows while Galenus enlarges him.
Irdril fires an eldritch blast at the big one, while granting bardic inspiration to Gallindan’s next attack..
Looking somewhat enviously at the giant Galinndran and his two likewise enlarged magical swords, Kanzen sets to work on the undead drow adjacent to him.
Cyrus scampers up the nearest stalk for a safe vantage point from which to attack from.
Looking around seeing the creatures that buried him and his companion, ”Talkin’ hiders won’t be gettin us again.” He drops his magic stone into a pocket and touches the stone floor. His skin begins to transform where he made contact with the rock. First his hand, then arm, and then quickly flowing over his whole body. Odak’s form takes on the appearance of some kind of dwarf-like rock golem. His clothes and belongings remain unchanged but even his beard seems to be made of flowing rock. ”It’s clobberin’ time!”
He then charges at the nearest enemy, a dim shadow of a blade springing forth from his open hand.
The enlarged (and enriched) Galinndan surges forward with speed and slashes into the great slug-like myconid with power while Irdril blasts him with force. Zoltan moves forward with surprising speed and lands a solid axe-blow while Kanzen slashes into one of the spore servants. Odak prepares to deal with another while Cyrus misses and climbs onto a nearby fungus.
The crawling, massive slug-like creature moves over toward Odak but carefully doesn't move too quickly. There, he releases a surprisingly quick burst of spores that Galinndan, Odak, and Zoltan all accidentally inhale. Galinndan and Odak seem to maanage to resist the infection but...
You feel your mind slipping into darkness... it is... odd...
At the same time, the abominable slug reaches tendrils into the ground, sapping vitality out of the rotting corpses of two dead drow entwined in tendrils in the mushy ground.
The myconid adults rush into action but Odak, Galenus, and Irdril all dodge their blows. Galinndan, however, is distracted by the slug in front of him and is struck hard from behind (5 bludg and 3 acid) while the dead drow shuffle toward Kanzen, the fungal tentacles that spread out of their necks jiggling as they move, and strike at him awkwardly with shortswords but the precision of whatever unnatural force that guides them helps them land blows (10 dam to Kanzen).
With the footsteps of a giant, Galinndan follows the abberant thing and maintains a wall of steel, though wincing at the pain when struck from behind.
He yells in Elvish as he leads with his surprisingly lethal new blade.
"DIE, ABOMINATION, DIE!"
Irdril unleashes a cone of fire on the shroom attacking her. It will hit the drow adjacent to it as well.
"Feel the flames of retribution!"
DC 13
She uses her bonus action to heal Kanzen.
“Gonna make me some Shroom Soup with yer left overs.” Odak steps back away from the fungal creature in front of him and reaches forward. Lighting pours fourth and wraps around the mykonid attempting to pull the creature closer to him.
Quickened Lightning Lure STR DC 12
also pulled adjacent to Odak and the slug monster.
Getting the two creatures lined up he slashes at the larger slug monster, his shadowy blade wreathing itself in green flames
and 2 Fire Damage to the smaller mykonid.
Kanzen throws Irdril a quick smile of thanks before renewing his attack on the undead drow.
Galenus pulls his axe out and strikes at the infected myconid next to him.