Wait, did the effing drow b%!**es maybe took blood samples and use these to scry on us? While thats what Yzalina would absolutely do to her captives, the drow seemed a bit too arrogant for that.
Alex swears whisperingly a bit as she ponders this
She would also treat captives completely different. Like, unless you are an absolute hardass, you wouldnt want to escape her. There is a cultist of this *Malcantit* or something, who is regarded as the chief Demonlord Succubus on this plane, who tried to assassinate Yza in order to reduce competition but failed, and Yza like, keeps her around and slowly converts her to her point of view. She thinks in reminiscense
Or maybe something in our blood could be toxic to them? That does mean they are unlikely to eat us too, which is a plus.
She continues half whispering
In a louder voice
You can sense those who pursue us? Interesting, at what distance are they?
We likely outnumber you, as such you seek security in stealth, which is reasonable, and what empathy would have me do were our roles reversed. How can we show to you that our souls, our thoughts guide us, and guide us towards friendship, and that we are guided not our blood or our innate nature towards emnity?
While I cannot truely be disarmed She continues
Please consider this a token of non aggression
With a flourish, she disappears her pact weapon, which sprinkles into purplish motes of light.
In a louder voiceYou can sense those who pursue us? Interesting, at what distance are they?
We likely outnumber you, as such you seek security in stealth, which is reasonable, and what empathy would have me do were our roles reversed. How can we show to you that our souls, our thoughts guide us, and guide us towards friendship, and that we are guided not our blood or our innate nature towards emnity?[dice=persuasion]d20+7
While I cannot truely be disarmed She continues
Please consider this a token of non aggression
With a flourish, she disappears her pact weapon, which sprinkles into purplish motes of light.
Kalanzar sighs. He stands and listens in silence, waiting for a reaction to Alexandra's words. Hmmm... I wonder, really, how do those drow find us every time? I took it for granted, but... Druid frowns thoughtfully.
::’bout that... why are the drow comin’ fer you... fer us?:: Precious asked, correcting himself as he doubted any drow determined enough to hunt for a group of escaped slaves would decline snapping up a couple new faces along with the old. :: I don’t think ye ever elaborated on the matter. Be they this... spirited huntin’ fer every stray, or did ye do somethin’ special when ye left? ::
:: Precious, that's a good question. Perhaps it will be useful for Huet to learn more about this too... I think the reason is the status. Our prison was run by Ilvara Mizzrym, one of the daughters in line to the matron's throne, judging by her last name... And she may very much regret her mistake... Ritual sacrifice, transformation into a drider, and so on... But even if it's not so harsh, this oversight will throw her down the social ladder... The matron mother of the house Mizzrym will punish her, and the eldest daughters will try to add fuel to the fire to get rid of the knife in the back... And the younger daughters will not leave behind too, this is also a minus one higher competitor for them... So now she has only one way, to rush her warriors and desperately look for us. I see it like this. ::
Every time Kalanzar has to talk about the habits of those drow who have not abandoned evil, he clearly feels discomfort and this can be seen even by clenched hands and tense neck.
:: Oh, I'm sorry, my friends. Maybe I didn't say the main thing. We were all held captive in a kind of prison, a sort of transshipment point where slaves are brought from different places before they are sent in the right numbers to the slave markets of Menzoberranzan. And we were able to escape, making Ilvara Mizzrym look like an idiot who couldn't even handle it. ::
Here he smiles a little. The smile turns out to be sad because less than half of those who started the escape then have lived to this day... But still, it was a feat, the victory of good over evil in incredible and unbearable conditions, and even those who died made the right choice fighting for their freedom.
The high-pitched voice counters, "A nothing-gesture, a nothing-promise. Your soul is not your own, you cannot speak for it anymore. Would you forswear your patron's power for a promise? What a party! One with the poison blood of deep elves. One with a poison soul. Delicious! What of the others! Come, speak with us!"
The high-pitched voice counters, "A nothing-gesture, a nothing-promise. Your soul is not your own, you cannot speak for it anymore. Would you forswear your patron's power for a promise? What a party! One with the poison blood of deep elves. One with a poison soul. Delicious! What of the others! Come, speak with us!"
Precious frowned. The dialogue was rubbing him the wrong way, but he had to admit talking did beat fighting – if nothing else, it had novelty value. ”Well, it sure be nice to meet someone willin’ to flap their lips rather than take up arms,” the dwarf spoke up on cue. ”We be sorry if we be intruidin’ in your domain. We ain’t here to trespass, but do need to pass – we be takin’ our li’le friend here home, an’ this seems the only way we know of to git there. An’, down here darkness under, one can’t really go ‘round somethin’ if there ain’t other tunnels goin’ your way, aye?”
Hue stepped forward and reached to take of his hat out of simple courtesy but it wasn't there when he reached for it. At a loss and out of momentum from the gesture, he sort of mimed it. What Hue said aloud he also thought to Stool, but he spoke in common.
"sure do miss tha' ha'. Excusing me, Mister or Miss (or both or neither) Forest, but we don' wan' any enmity either, to back up wha' my friend here is saying. 'One with the poison blood of deep elves'? Do you only mean Kal here? Tha' doesn' seem very kind of you to say. He's been so good with us, for as long as I traveled with them.
"Anyway. Passing really is our goal here. You'd see the back of us as well as we could manage."
He rang his invisible hat in front of his heart as he awaited ... judgement?
A similar voice comes from behind you. "We've been here a long time, and were other places even longer. And never have we seen one such as you! A trade was made, antlers for a name, the fey in your brain. And others say we look odd! If you care for the fungus baby, you'll keep it away from home, so you will!"
A third voice chimes in from the right of the first one. This one is a nasally whistle, quite painful on the ears. "Oh, what does the little one say? We don't understand its words."
Yeah, now he knew why he didn’t like these voices. The first two ones might have been decent guesses and deductions, but the fae in your head part? Preternatural knowledge. Reminded Precious all too well about the knife-eared vixen who had his ear. ”Aye, one o’ a kind, that’s me all right,” he grumbled.
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Hue looked around wildly. "How many of them are there???" When Stool translated he started to panick, "I jus' go' my hearing back. Have I lost my voice now?"
He looked to his friends, scared.
If you care for the fungus baby, you'll keep it away from home, so you will!"
Maddy's hand grips Dawn's hilt when they suddenly seem surrounded by creepy voices. They seem content enough to just talk for now but the fact that they are casually flanking them suggests otherwise.
When she hears them warn against Stool's home, she can't stay silent any longer. She blurts in Common, "What's wrong with Neverlight Grove? Why shouldn't we take him home?"
Can anybody hear me???
Maddy could see the genuine panic on Hue's face and immediately responded, "I can hear you, Hue. I just think they speak a different language and don't understand your words."
"I can hear you, Hue. I just think they speak a different language and don't understand your words."
"Oh", a little embarrassed, Hue went quiet.
Precious translates first for Hue, and then for Maddy. The first voice, still high pitched and with weirdly no echo, says, "Yes, drow poison, spider poison, deep within. Corrupts them, body and soul and blood and flesh. Can anybody built with spiders be truly good? Does it even matter?"
To Maddy's words, the third voice says, [b]"Corruption, desecration. It fills this place. The fish folk felt it, fed it. The dark dwarves know it in their city of forge and fire. The drow on their thrones of web are not immune. The deep gnomes and their pudding people dissolve in the chaos. And the mushroom men are deep in the throws of madness. For do they not dance now? Better to leave the child here, in the fungus forest, with us as friends, than bring it there."
Hue thought hard about the stonespeaker's warning and tried to remember. He looked at Precious but spoke to them, "Do you know anything about a cave with two faces?"
He turned to the others, "Didn' the warning say something abou' ... a madness creeps from the blackes' depths ... A cave with two faces ... the land overgrown. Sounds like these voices are confirming the stonespeaker's words."
There's a bit of a pause, then one of the voice says, "There are many faces in this cave."
Corruption, desecration. It fills this place. The fish folk felt it, fed it. The dark dwarves know it in their city of forge and fire. The drow on their thrones of web are not immune. The deep gnomes and their pudding people dissolve in the chaos. And the mushroom men are deep in the throws of madness. For do they not dance now? Better to leave the child here, in the fungus forest, with us as friends, than bring it there."
Maddy looked at Stool, very concerned. ::Madness and dancing? Maybe those we met before were affected. Do you still want to go home Stool?::
To the voices Maddy asked, trusting in Precious to translate, "Is there a way to heal the corruption and desecration?"
"Heal it? Why would you heal it? Corruption is evolution! Desecration is excitement! We have been corrupted, we are desecrated. Would we be healed? Would we? No! Before, it was rules and lies and order and more rules. But we broke the rules, looked into the dark mirror, answered the silent whispers, and now the truths spill open before us like blood from a vein."
The other voices added to the eerie chorus, echoing "blood from a vein". "You can't put the cat in the bag, or the worms in the jar, or the secrets in the abyss. It's out now, and spreading, and it's beautiful! Well, it's beautiful if you don't mind your brain breaking. Hee hee!"
The softest of the voices murmurs, "But talk is boring. You're boring. You were more fun on the surface, when your kin was taken by the chaos, when blood spilled in the meadow. Oh! She's still with you! Your mind is already fractured. Stay and see the beauty. She will love it."
Maddy was less and less sure that this conversation wasn't going to end in violence. The voices seemed to like everything that she viewed as bad.
But talk is boring. You're boring. You were more fun on the surface, when your kin was taken by the chaos, when blood spilled in the meadow. Oh! She's still with you! Your mind is already fractured. Stay and see the beauty. She will love it.
Maddy's stomach clenched and her hand readjusted on Dawn's hilt. "What do you know of my kin?", she demanded.
"Oh, not enough, not enough. I know little Maggie's bones are probably being chewed on by wolves. I know Matty is probably crazy with worry for his sisters. Probably doing something really stupid, probably going to get himself killed. Three dead siblings, so sad, so sad! Well, four if you count the other one inside you. Hee hee!"
Hue began walking backwards slowly as he thought out through Stool.
::Everyone. Let's get out of here. These voices aren't right, aren't well. Thank them and keep going. If there is something wrong with Stool's home we should go there ... I'm going to go there. If I can't help then I might be able to learn something. As my friend Rory used to say, 'Specticles ain't no good to find lost socks in a dark room.'::
Kalanzar nods. Thank you for your wisdom. We're leaving. He says this with a slight bow and the nonchalance of a drow "lord of the Underdark", but in his heart he is anxious, tense, compressed like a spring and ready to fight at the first sign of danger.
"Oh, not enough, not enough. I know little Maggie's bones are probably being chewed on by wolves. I know Matty is probably crazy with worry for his sisters. Probably doing something really stupid, probably going to get himself killed. Three dead siblings, so sad, so sad! Well, four if you count the other one inside you. Hee hee!"
Maddy's heart began to race, "You lie! Maggie is not dead and Matty would never do anything stupid!" She was seconds away from wielding Dawn with intent. She didn't like that these voices knew about her family and felt like she needed to protect them by shutting the voices up.
Hue's voice sounded in her head courtesy of Stool and it took all her will to not become more hostile. She took many deep breaths to calm her emotions as Kalanzar did as suggested and thanked them.
You pick up your things and make your way cautiously out of the fungi grove. You catch a glimpse of one of the speakers - a gangly, two-legged creature with brown-black skin, and its head seems to be entirely made of one enormous eye. It shrinks back out of sight, and you all hear a mad giggle in your mind. But the creatures let you leave without trouble.
The next day passes slowly. Stool is increasingly excited and anxious about arriving home. Several times he changes his mind and backtracks, second guessing himself as he leads you towards his home. FInally, he says you're very close. Precious catches a movement out of the corner of his eyes, and looks up to see a vrock demon, which you haven't seen since escaping Valkynvelve.
Catching a glimpse of the obviously demonic creature out of the corner of his eye, Precious felt his expression freeze. He did his level best to let his gaze slide past the horrible visage of the creature and forced his gaze straight ahead.
::Don’t wanna ‘larm ye all… but we seem tae have company, o’ the “unholy matrimony ‘tween a carrion bird an’ ogre, an’ ugly as sin to boot” variety.::
Hue's eyes went wide as he did his level best to stare at the ground five feet in front of him. He grabbed the spear of ... He remembered the spear was broken and touched the point he recovered.
"Ahhhhh, spear's broken. I sure do miss that spear. Not much else I miss. Except of course my hat."
He slipped a sling stone from his pouch.
A vrock is...
Wait, I think it was Yzas favorite dish?
Alexandras eyes turn very blue for a bit as she rattles of a receipe!
Spicy Vrock Wings: A Fiery Feast for the Bold!
Ingredients:
2 lbs Vrock wings (or chicken wings if Vrock is too hard to catch)
1 cup infernal hot sauce (the spicier, the better!)
1 tbsp crushed fire beetle legs (for that extra kick)
2 cloves garlic, minced (to ward off any unwanted demons)
1 tsp paprika (for color—don’t want them looking too evil)
1 tsp ground black pepper (because what’s a dish without a little bite?)
1 tbsp honey (to balance the heat, or lure a wayward adventurer)
1 tbsp olive oil (or demon’s blood if you’re feeling adventurous)
Salt to taste (use a pinch from a freshly stolen salt shaker)
Preheat the Fiery Pit: Preheat your oven to 425°F (or the nearest portal to the Nine Hells).
Prepare the Wings: If using Vrock wings, ensure they’re thoroughly cleaned and defeathered. Pat dry, and remember: the more chaotic the preparation, the better! If using chicken, just rinse and dry.
Mix the Spicy Elixir: In a large bowl, combine infernal hot sauce, crushed fire beetle legs, minced garlic, paprika, black pepper, honey, olive oil, and salt. Stir until it resembles a bubbling cauldron of doom.
Coat the Wings: Toss the wings in the spicy mixture until they’re fully coated. Let them marinate for at least 30 minutes—longer if you want to summon a fiery spirit of flavor!
Bake to Perfection: Spread the wings on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 25-30 minutes, turning halfway through, until they’re crispy and charred like a well-cooked soul.
Garnish with Evil: Once out of the oven, sprinkle with a pinch of crushed fire beetle legs for presentation and a touch of extra heat. Serve with a side of cooling yogurt dip (to save your party from certain doom).
Enjoy with Caution: Serve these wings to your bravest friends, preferably while sharing tales of your latest adventures—or misadventures! Just be prepared for spontaneous fire breathing.
Note: Side effects may include spontaneous combustion, fiery breath, and an uncontrollable urge to dance like a Vrock. Enjoy at your own risk!
She pauses as her eyes return to normal
Its really tasty!
... Its really tasty!
Even though it has been a few days since encountering the weird cyclops thing, Maddy is stil;l on edge from what it said. So when the group comes upon a vrock demon, she reacts by immediately drawing her sword.
Last time she had encountered such a thing she had been improperly equipped. Today it was quite a different story. However, it did bring back memories of the drow who had held them. Did the presence of this thing mean that they also may be close?
She listened to Alexandra give her recipe and waited to see if it had any effect in intimidating the vrock.
Hue chanced a look around to see if the creature was alone.
It's on the ceiling 60ish feet up. Doesn't seem to have noticed you. It seems to be alone.
May the Dark Ladies bless us..., Kalanzar says in a whisper. In the next moment, it seems that the sounds around all the members of the squad become muffled, as well as the brightness of any colors...
:: You can now move almost silently. Let's get out of here before he sees us. ::, the druid transmits telepathically.
Setting an example, Kalanzar begins to quietly sneak past...
Walking very silently, pretty sure roks dont drop loots and the prepreation is pretty difficult
Maddy immediately asked Dawn to quench her light as the group telepathically decided to try to sneak past the vrock. She had her doubts but she wasn't about to instigate anything.
She made a concerted effort to place her feet to make the least amount of noise.
Agreeing very much that he wanted nothing to do with a beast like that if a confrontation could be avoided, Precious followed along, hoping they might yet escape notice.
Hue balanced the bullet in his sling and slunk down to creep forward. At first he stumbled a bit but, almost soundlessly, corrected himself. hm, that stumble ought to have made more sound. Kal’s work?
Despite Alex trying to bait the demon with the recipe, you are able to sneak past it, apparently undetected. Either it doesn't see you, or it doesn't care.
A few more hours brings you to another large forest of fungi. Stool is alternately anxious and joyful. It tells you that these are the fungal wilds, a stretch of wilderness on the edge of Neverlight Grove that acts as a first line of defense against intruders.
Pale cream and beige stalks grow thick and tall, resembling a surface world forest. Fungi growing profusion everywhere, and it's hard to find anything resembling a path between them. The giant caps of zurkhwood mushrooms obscure your view of the cavern's ceiling, but the luminescent fungi there give off a shimmering aura. With each step taken on the soggy ground, a rank scent of decay rises around you.
::We must be careful. The Circle of Hunters keeps many dangerous things here, and when they are killed, the sovereign reanimates them so they can continue to protect.::
Hue moved forward.
His nostrils flared.
Fungi everywhere and suddenly he took on the aspect of a sheepherding dog.
He squinted.
He took a step away from the others but forward towards danger.
His hackles goose-bumped.
::Oh, wonderous. I haven't been here before:: He grabbed for his book and cus'ed silently at its' absence.
He looked for sporing fungi. He looked for movement. He "hsssssss"'ed to see if anything reacted to sound. But, mostly, he followed his nose.
::Danger you say? I eat danger for breakfast:: He clearly didn't. He fell into danger. He accidentally annoyed, even harried, danger. But he looked, to all, timmid ... and probably like an oatmeal man.
:: Then we will repeat our trick and get past this dangerous place. ::
Kalanzar offers prayers to the dark starry sky, the moon and the celestial beings living in silver light, blesses Maddy by giving her darkvision and makes the movements of his comrades silent again.
:: Follow me, Hue. ::
Kalanzar puts his hand on his friend's shoulder and in total darkness the squad moves trying not to attract any attention
Maddy was relieved and more than a bit concerned that they had made it past the vrock without incident. She kept looking behind them to see if it was tracking them, waiting to catch them unaware.
When they arrived at the mushroom barrier, she looked at Stool as he sent info into their minds. ::What kind of dangerous things? And who is the Circle of Hunters and is this sovereign your leader?::
Maddy's vision got clearer in the dark and she could see further. She smiled appreciatively at Kalanzar, being familiar by now with his magic. ::Thanks, Kalanzar. This will make traveling stealthy easier::
Then she reluctantly asked Dawn to extinguish her light, or at least go down to the lowest possible brightness. As usual, Dawn grumbled in Maddy's mind but did as requested.
::We must be careful. The Circle of Hunters keeps many dangerous things here, and when they are killed, the sovereign reanimates them so they can continue to protect.::
::They protect yer home, do they? Ye know a way past 'em, or a way tae call yer kin, to let 'em let us through? Or do ye folks not engage in trade with yer neighbours at all an' ward 'way everythin' that doesn't belong?::
Stool stood still and closed his small eyes, seeming to concentrate. He suddenly puffed out, and a cloud of spores exploded from him. ::If these find any of the Circle of Hunters, they'll be able to talk to me. The hunters are they myconids that work together to keep us safe. There's also the Circle of Builders, and the Circle of Growers, and the Circle of Explorers, and the Circle of Sowers. Our Sovereign is always the largest of us, and they stand alone, outside the circles. Phylo was sovereign when I got taken. There's also Sovereign Basidia. They came a few years ago with their circles. I think they rule together with Sovereign Phylo? I don't really remember the rules.::
To Precious, Stool answered, ::I don't know how to get through, I was only here once before, and that was a long time ago. I was with one of the Explorers."
Interesting, the sovereign stands alone? Distanced from others, to perhaps better bear the burden of leadership? And your community is a Union of 2 tribes with different sovereigns?
A circle of explorers sounds very interesting, and given how far you traveled, perhaps you should be treated as one? You have perceived many things, and likely tread on places rarely visited by your kind, your people can likely benefit from your experience Stool.
:: I still suggest not to meet these dangerous Hunters who serve even after death. Let's go as quietly as possible... ::
Thanks to Kalanzar's magic, you're able to move through the fungal thicket almost like spirits, leaving barely a footprint in the marshy ground. You move past a large, still lake, with nary a ripple on its black water. It perfectly reflects the luminescent fungus around you, creating a beautiful, if eerie, tableau.
As you make your way to the edge of the thicket, you see terraces high on the walls to both north and south. Stool lets you know that the terraces are used to cultivate certain types of fungus. The Circle of Builders has their mound in the middle, northern terrace, and the Circle of Growers's mound is on the highest northern terrace. The Circle of Explorers are on the southern terrace.
As Stool is about to explain more, he suddenly stops. ::We found them!:: You can see a rounded mound ahead through the thicket, and a tall, blue myconid with enormous hands turns to face you. You see a puff of spores come from him, and moments later, as you breathe them in, you can hear his deep voice in your minds. ::You are the sprout called Stool. I am Loobamub. Why have you brought these creatures to Neverlight Grove?::
Stool blinks up at him, clearly overwhelmed and unable to make an answer.
Maddy's heart went out to Stool as he is rendered speechless at finally reaching home. She felt like an answer was required so she answered for the small myconid.
::My apologies if we are intruding. My name is Maddy and I'm a friend of Stool. I am pleased to meet you, Loobamub. Stool brought us here because we are making sure that he gets safely home. It has been a harrowing journey as we escaped those who would enslave us. Stool just wanted to get home and we needed to make sure he was safe. That is why we're here::
Greetings warden Loobamub Alexandra replies mentally
We and the sprout Stool have escaped captivity together, in return for the help he has given to us, we seek to return him to his people. We mean no intrusion upon your place and your people, but would of course accept your hospitality if offered. We are from the surface, but perhaps this meeting can sprout beneficial relations between our races in the future.
Hue was happy to be led by Kalanzar. The lightless foliage forest was awash with smells and bits of sensory information. It calmed him. It calmed him a bit. A little bit.
"Umm, Kal? Do you smell tha' smell? Tha' sligh' cinnamon and toasted grain smell? Do you see any papery balls grey and brown abou' the size of a dwarf's head? They'll have shadowy spots on one side looking like two eyes and a mouth ... devil's mushroom. Don' go near them. Poisonous spores. You migh' call them 'Timmask Plan'. Turn a person's head all wonky."
A few minutes later.
"Umm, Kal? I had a cousin who was a 'shroomer. He used to talk abou' a grove like this and how 'complex' i' was. Boy did he like the word 'complex'. USed i' all the time for all sor' of things. Anyway, one of his 'shrooming friends saw him ge' nabbed by something in tha' grove like this. A kind of mound, they said ... a mound tha' kind of shambled." He went quiet.
Some more minutes ...
"Umm, Kal? Wha's tha' ro', tha' deadness smell? No' like loam. If tha's a big dead fungus i' could have insec' holes. We should steer clear ... oh, feel tha' groove in the ground, and another one there ... and there. I think those are gian' millipede trails ... or something 'like' a gian' millipede. Keep an eye open ... OH, we're a' the lake already! I knew we'd be fine."
While Maddy and Alex treated on behalf of the group Hue looked around at the grove. He let out an involuntary aaAAhhhaa
He looked up at Loomamub and his mouth, open like a fish, gahed. He couldn't control his arm as it raised and pointed at the high northern terrace, eyes locked on the warden.
In a trance Hue's mind was an explosion.
::How do you get the lamb's ears to grown next to the Trillimac? You're growing the barrelstalk upside down!!? For easy drainage! Is it for easy drainage of the water-bourne sachets? How many growers do you have? They must do shifts there are so many timely needs to such a variety of fungi. What feeds the ripplebark and the storkleg stalks? Is it all just natural humidity? Pleeeeeeeaaaaaaaase tell me you have books! I need a book I can use and something to mark with. What's that!?! It looks like gnome's cap but it has fronds like a Famillious? ::
He was vibrating and tried to run past the statuesque Loomamub.