From his high ground, Cyrus takes aim at the nearest wounded enemy.
Galinndan chops again at the massive deformed myconid but only lands one of his blows this time as the surprisingly tough skin of the abomination deflects the other. Irdril torches one myconid and a drow spore servant. the already-dead drow collapses to the ground burning while the myconid writhes in pain. A shaft from Cyrus pummels down into its stalk, nailing it to the ground. Kanzen unleashes two attacks but they are both parried by the awkwardly dextrous spore servant. Kanzen then spins rapidly, bringing his sword slashing across the spore servants mid-section and sending it to the ground, its rotting corpse bisected. Galenus and Zoltan deliver solid blows with their axes while Odak attempts a complicated and impressive attack routine but only succeeds in damaging the myconid with lightning as his attack misses. Thankfully, the myconid fails to make him pay for creating the opening.
The great slug then continues to feed off the corpses all under the ground, rejuvenating itself. It also slams its oozing body into Galinndan (10 bludgeoning and 10 acid). The myconids then eject spores at several of their combatants!
Galinndan grits his teeth against the brutal pain, but does not let it slow his flurry of blows!
Cyrus continues to take shots from his high ground.
Maybe it needs a bit of fire! Galenus calls out.
He fishes out a vial of alchemist's fire and tosses it over everyone's head onto the slug thing.
With no monsters in her face Idril turns her attention back on the big one. She also heal Gallindan as a bonus action.
"Focus the big one down!"
As the spores fill his lungs, Odak’s shoulders slump and his eyes seem to lose focus on his surroundings. His dark blade and armor dissipate into magical mist and fade away.
Galinndan strikes the hideous creature once while missing a second time. Cyrus misses while Irdril continues to cast twice the spells of a normal person, as usual. Also normal, Galenus supplies an atypical solution and lobs fire onto the great slug, which begins burning. Odak, however, is stunned by the spores!
The drow defeated, Kanzen wheels around to attack the creature engaged with Galenus.
Zoltan lands a solid blow while Kanzen misses once while bringing his other sword home. The large slug creature continues healing itself by feeding on rotting corpses while you attack it. It looks weakened but proclaims "The wedding draws near! You will all see the glory of the Lady of Decay!" It attempts to strike Galinndan with an amorphous appendage but the wood elf's armor protects him. The myconids strike out but only one manages to land a blow, on Zoltan (5 bludgeoning and 8 poison before your resistance). Perhaps the tide is turning in the humanoids' favor in this accursed garden of rot...
Once again Irdril heals Gallindan and turns her attacks to trying to kill off the little ones.. Attack the one on Gallindan..
Galinndan spits at the monstrosity, visibly outraged, then shouts at it in common.
"Wedding!? You are a rotting blasphemy against life! The only celebration you will get to attend will be that of your death!"
His blades continue speaking for him afterwards.
Zoltan and Galinndan strike two blows nearly in unison and the abominable slug falls limp. The crazed myconids, however, keep fighting!
The fire continues to burn the slug corpse.
Meanwhile, Galenus hefts his axe and slams it into the infected myconid next to him.
Kanzen continues to thrust his blades at the creature, trying to time his strikes with Galenus's.
Cyrus puts his bow to work trying to pick off the wounded among his enemies.
Odak's eyes clear and he comes back to his senses. Looking around for a weapon, his skin transforms once again to stone.
By the looks of it, weapon or no, he plans on standing his ground against the mushroom creature remaining.
With Yestabrod down, you have little difficulty making short work of the two remaining myconids. The battle over, the garden falls silent except for the occasional moaning of some poor, mostly dead creature.
Galinndan turns to Kanzath, and takes a silvered one that fell from his backpack. He bundles the three and presents them hilt first to Kanzath.
"Take your pick of the blades."
Whew. That was challenge. And freaky. We need to report this. Let's tell whatshiname and get Stool the hell out of here.
Kanzen, still breathing heavily from the battle, turns to Galinndan and the three swords he offers. His eye strays to the finely crafted drow-made blade, obviously the weapon of a noble, and his hand itches to wield it. But he shakes his head slightly "The silver blade you purchased. The drow blade calls to me, and yet the best sword should be wielded by the best swordsman. If I may, I'll take this one." he says, selecting the third sword.
Terrible? Galenus asks, looking at Zoltan.
"We should put the rest of these suffering creatures to rest and stop what is going on around here."
As you speed the half-dead to their eternal rest, the next life, or whatever may await them, you hear a something, maybe voices, and movement coming from a misty cavern nearby. It seems to be approaching closer.
Kanzen stiffens as he hears the noises. "Shall we hide?" he hisses, moving towards a shadow near the wall.
Just out of curiosity, after gathering his things, Odak slices off a chunk of the once sentient mushroom creature. (The myconid, not the slug boss) Walking up to Zoltan, he offers apiece to his dwarven companion and anyone else standing nearby before taking a bite of the thing. ”Womderin’ what kinda mushroom these things be tastin’ like. *chomp* Want some?” he asks, his mouth full of squishy myconid flesh.
Upon hearing the voices, he moves to a nearby stalagmite and crouches begins it. He then straps on his shield while he waits.
Galenus gives Zoltan a wary look and a defensive smile. Ok then. Thank you, he says, as he backs away.
As everyone else is aiming to hide, Galenus does as well.
Galinndan hands over the blade gladly.
"We should attempt to disrupt this 'wedding' . If not, we withdraw and warn the untainted myconids."
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Irdril slaps the mushroom out of Odak’s hand before he can consume it.
”Are you stupid or something? That thing was tainted by the demon lord of rot.. Are you trying to be tainted as well? Stop thinking with you stomach and hide!”
She heals Gallindan before hiding herself..
Stool cries out in the minds of the rest of those of you to whom he has bonded "No! Don't eat them!"
Echoes spill from the misty cavern beyond, a cacophony of wheezing voices that wrap together like some kind of discordant music. The remaining heads planted in the Garden of Welcome begin to croak and groan, joining the horrible song.
Through the mist that shrouds the smaller cavern, you see the parade of creatures responsible for the melody. Their bodies are only vaguely humanoid, with clusters of luminescent lichen and tumescent growths forming chaotic patterns on their decaying flesh, their voices stabbing into your minds, both insane and gleeful in equal parts:
"From rocky bed the toadstool rose,
From chaos dark, her love She shows.
Wish! Yearn! Laugh!
The Lady will be wed!
Crave! Hunger! Dance!
Her joyous spores will spread!
Youth is gone, beauty rots,
Araumycos and Zuggtmoy!
Joined together, heart to heart,
Becoming one ’til death do part!
Hail! Hail! Hail!"
Twelve medium-sized, roughly feminine creatures and six large, approximately masculine ones dance slowly into the Garden of Welcome, ignoring you and lost in their own reverie. They form up in rows with the "females" on one side and the "males" on the other with a male and female in the center standing together. They appear to be preparing to enact a mock wedding of some sort, singing and dancing slowly in place all the while. Three spore servants rise up out of the ground and, grasping the body of Yestabrod, carry him to the officiants place. They then puppet his corpse through the motions of conducting a wedding.
Suddenly, the tableau of the mock wedding is replaced by a vision of the inside of a great tower. Spiraling stairs and balconies are carved into its walls, with the interior lit by phosphorescent patches of mold growing in whorls. In the center of the open space floats a humanoid figure, womanlike in form, but made entirely of fungi and mold. She is easily three times the height of the fungal bridesmaids that move up and down the spiraling stairs, tending to their giant mistress. They croon a strange, soothing song as they weave the substance of the giant figure into delicate lichen veils and a long, mycelium train like a bridal gown.
The vision ends and you feel your minds reeling with unearthly power. You barely retrain your focus to the here and now. The wedding rehearsal retreats into its misty cavern, humming and spinning, leaving you alone in a now-silent Garden of Welcome.
Ildril’s insult goes unnoticed as Odak’s attention follows the chunk of Myconid. It must have been then when Stool cried out because Odak quickly looks around like a prairie dog trying to figure out the source of the voice.
Hearing the incoming voices, he the ducks behind the rock formation. While strapping on his shield, he is trying to figure out if he heard a voice in his head or if he was still suffering an after affect of being spored by the slug.
Kanzen emerges slowly from the shadows in which he hid, his face displaying bafflement and revulsion in equal measure. "What in the Nine Hells was that?"