"Yep yep. I'm okay!"
Besides more, less hostile, fungus there's little else of interest in this area.
Crossing the huge center chamber, the party once again arrives at the door to the room with the pool of dark water.
The party slowly moves into the chamber watching the pool for signs of movement. After getting a few feet in, the room's sole occupant makes itself known - a large yellow-orange amorphous slime. Like a slug, it pulls itself from the dark water and toward its next meal!
Enora will delay.
Enora's confident this is a scary slime monster.
"Oh noes, a scary slime monster!!!"
Mrachni believes this to be, more specially, an ochre jelly.
Despite it being a somewhat clumsy blow, Mrachni whacks the sluggish ooze with his mace. It quivers in what must be pain.
Leryn darts forward and menaces the ooze, biting at it fiercely while Adowyn fires two blunt-headed arrows at it.
Adowyn nails the yellow-orangish ooze with two arrows which slap wetly against its gummy flesh but when Leryn tears into the creature with his fangs, a huge tear rips up its side and it splits into two!
Apparently undisturbed by being split in half, the two halves sprout thick pseudopods and slam into Mrachni and the wolf.
Seeing what the wolf's bite has done, Adowyn calls out, "Leryn, down!" The wolf ceases attacking but maintains his position near the ooze, while Adowyn quickly fires two more blunt arrows at it.
This time when Adowyn's hit one of the halves it explodes splattering those nearby with mildly acidic globules of orange goop.
Enora will sit down, yawning as her new friends start to finish off the slime monster.
Mrachni whacks the other half of slime but fails to explode it. The tattered creature forms a pseudopod again and tries to return the favor.
Adowyn looses two more blunt arrows at the unwieldy ooze.
Adowyn's additional arrows and Mrachni's meaty whack are enough to pulverize the remaining ooze into an inert lifeless puddle.
The slime's chamber unfortunately hides nothing of value.
"Yay! You booped it!" Enora says standing up. "Where are we going now?"
Returning to the cathedral, the party advances up the stairs and through the norther door.
This strangely shaped room consists of two wings.To the east, a low workbench wraps around the walls. To the west, a larger wing opens into what appears to be a strange laboratory. A curving workbench covered with gory heaps of flesh and bone sits against the laboratory's wall. In alcoves to the north and south are strange contraptions resembling iron cages fitted with human-sized openings.
Standing over the bench is a horrific creature - something like a centuar but covered in mottled green rippling flesh and topped by a bulbous head that's featureless save a bundle of tiny tendrils where a mouth would be. It cocks its head and 'looks' at the party while clicking its serrated and gore-caked pincers.
More native species. Stand by. You will be studied and corrected in time for my people's arrival.
The creature's voice has a droning quality and seems to fill the party's minds rather than be spoken.
"Oh man, I would love some chocolate marshmallows right. Hey...why are you in here too? Shoo!"
Neither Enora nor Mrachni have any idea what this creature is.
My people serve the one your brightest minds know as the Black Goat. This tiny spot in time and space are his to devour as all are. We will perfect you in preparation for his inevitable coming. I believe I will begin by removing whatever bits of meat create your throat-noises. They are bothersome.
After careful study Adowyn believes this creature to be a migo a type of intelligent plant creature from a distant world. Migo are believed to be servitors to hostile and alien entities from beyond the stars.
"Yea, you tell him!"
The creature proves savvy enough to understand Mrachni's threats.
Very well. I will begin early, it 'says' while clicking a bloody pincer at the party.
It makes a few clicking noises and gestures. A moment later a clap of thunder explodes amidst the party.
"Be quiet meanie!"
Enora raises her staff and uses up what little energy it has left.
Mrachni lands a solid blow despite the creature's surprisingly sturdy and fibrous hide just before Enora's missiles buffet it.