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It's not that Kalanzar is so physically strong, but he's not weak either, just a normal elf who has lived his life in a wild forest. But still, he is much taller than Hue and this gives him a great advantage. So the drow pushes the halfling away from him and shouts to his comrades, he's under the control of some kind of magic! Charmed! Hold him down before he harms himself or any of us.
Kalanzar coldly looks at what is happening. I don't think these creatures are friendly. We shouldn't give them the opportunity to attack our friend first. Silvery moonlight runs through the constellations on his body as he gathers this energy and brings it down on one of the spiders .
The drow looks at the dwarf with an attentive and heavy gaze. Yes, this is a deep thought. I hadn't considered it before, but it's true that these horrors fill the entire Underdark space, a vast and endless expanse. This realization makes me uneasy because it means that this dark tide could rise higher and higher, eventually reaching the surface.Kalanzar listens silently to Alexandra's stories about demonic patrons and shakes his head. Nocticula has left the Abyss, and Alexnadra is being pulled back into the Abyss. This girl is going the wrong way, but he just doesn't have the energy to explain something to her right now. Then the druid's gaze switches to Hue and his strange dance. An unpleasant thought occurs to him...
> Well, water or not, we do have Goodberries for all our dietary needs… Same spell, plus I have create water. I think we can decide that Precious and I spend one first-level spell slot every day and we have no problems with food and water.
Got it!
Kalanzar, busy putting all his belongings neatly in a magic bag that holds much more than would be possible, looks up at Precious. If I had known, my dear friend. My mother, in fact, comes from the Underdark. Technically, I was also born here, but I was too young to fully understand the world around me at the time. I mostly remember my childhood in the forests of the beautiful surface world... However, this doesn't feel normal to me. The appearance of two such powerful demonic beings in such a short period of time seems unusual, even by the local standards. Drow's voice sounds sad and slightly ironic.
However, despite the fact that Kalanzar positions himself as a non-local, it is still quite natural for him to survive in such conditions. Maybe it's the genes. Or maybe it's because the experienced trackers Huet and Precious give him hints, and Maddy keeps up with them.
Equipment:
Most of it, except for weapons, armor, and probably a couple of healing potions, is now in the bag of holding. By the way, I keep all the relevant equipment information in this ally's profile.
Studded Leather Armor [AC12]
Bag of Holding: Traveler's clothes (2) + Dungeoneer's pack
Extra Rations (8 days) 5 foot strand of silk rope
Herbalism Kit
Bag of caltrops (20) Another Studded Leather Armor (from dead drow)
A small box of fine wood, inlaid with silver. Inside that, there are a handful of gems - three amethysts, fours small diamonds, and one large, well-cut diamond. + Scroll case
"A badly-damaged journal" ? Antitoxin
2 GM:
About Hold Monster spore-spell... How can I cast it? One time per day without wasting a spell slot? Or...? I'm confused.
I'm beg pardon, it's been a very busy few days. +6 hp
That's all )
Kalanzar just nods. The place is really good, but he no longer has the strength to speak...
Wow! Cool!
Kalanzar carefully puts all these extremely valuable items in a bag, planning in advance to spend several hours at the next stop to study the diary, and now he switches to another extremely important goal - his knowledge of nature and survival.
Kalanzar closely examines the contents of the two bags, and then carefully puts everything into the magic bag, except for the sword, armor, two potions bottles, scroll case and book. We'll have something to pay for a caravan to the surface or the supplies we need, apparently... Does anyone want to take a sword?... If not, then with this armor and sword, I'll look like a real underground drow. It can play into our hands. But in other circumstances, it can kill us. Then he shakes the bottles slightly and carefully examines the composition and color of the liquid. Well, well...
After finishing studying the potions, the druid switches to the rest of his belongings. Kalanzar looks at the armor appraisingly (as if hesitating to try it on yet for some internal reasons), and then sequentially turns his attention to the scroll case (checks if there is anything inside) and the book.
Can druids wear studded leather armour? Is the presence of rivets considered that it is "made of metal"? UPD. On Reddit, people mostly agree that a druid can wear such armor. But everything is up to GM.
Kalanzar kneels down and hugs Stool tightly. :: See you later, my young friend. I am happy that you have found your relatives. :: The drow doesn't seem to be in the worst of moods. After the horrors they had seen earlier, this... Almost a good ending to this part of the story, right? After the goodbyes are over, he will look into the bag.
:: Thank you! We'll go with you... Basidia... you were talking about a reward. I'm sorry to remind you of this at this sad hour, but I have a duty to take care of my companions as you take care of your people. ::
: Saving at least part of the herd is already a lot. You will have a new home, but if all the myconids had died, then there would be no hope of rebirth. You're doing everything right, Basidia. Get your people out of here and let the Dark Goddesses guide you through the darkness of these tunnels. : Kalanzar's eyes are full of sadness and fatigue. But there you can still see the smoldering fire of determination to get out of this underground hell... To can get out on his own and lead his herd out.
Alexandra seems pretty busy right now. The game where they are the GM has not been updated for weeks. I suggest to bot Alexandra in this scene.
You will all die there! And death will be the least of the horrors that you will experience there, becoming fertilizer for a demonic ritual! Finally stop!!! On the last words, the drow's telepathic voice breaks into a mental scream.
Zuggtmoy is a Demon Queen. Nothing good can happen to you from a connection with demons! Decomposition and death in the name of some abyssal power are waiting for you ... you will become just terrible mutants and then just disgusting compost ... and that's it! THAT'S IT!
The first option. But if this turns out to be impossible, then the second option, since Kalanzar is internally ready to go for an open confrontation.
All the way back, Kalanzar stares intently in front of him, trying his best to avoid Alex's company. If she tries to talk to him, he'll just ignore her. Back to the central basin, Kalanzar approaches Sovereign Basida and makes a deep bow. He waits patiently for a mental connection to be established with him, and when that happens, he will tell EVERYTHING. The terrible garden with humanoids buried there, the nightmarish song, the Demon Queen Zuggtmoy and "her" horrible wedding, the mutant myconides, and everything else...
I'm afraid to imagine what exactly we're going to find there now... Kalanzar says this very quietly, lying with his eyes open and just looking into the darkness of the cave above his head. He doesn't seem to care at all that he's covered in mud and some remnants of vegetation, and he's not even trying to get up.
Maddy... Lidelse, PLEASE, let's go!!! After uttering these words and casting a look full of anguish, Kalanzar transforms into a lizard and climbs up the hedge.
Straining all his muscles and sinews, Kalanzar breaks free from the captivity of the plants that have entangled him. But what's next? He's locked up, surrounded by monsters. Drow looks around, also realizing that he can't leave Maddy. And yet, if he didn't survive now, there was definitely nothing he could do to help her. Kalanzar concentrates and prepares to transform into a suitable animal, lizard or spider, which could easily climb over this wall.
Kalanzar shakes his head and resets sleep magic, but a moment of concentration of will on this struggle is enough for him to be entangled. In desperation, he raises his arms and creates a second stream of water, washing away the creatures approaching him.
Well, that was predictable... Thanks, Hue. Kalanzar goes forward and spreads his arms to cast a spell. A wave of water should wash away the strange mutants that attacked them. Alex, get down!
Kalanzar sighs. I can turn into some kind of beast and try to get to Basidia faster so that Sovereign can start gathering reinforcements.
That's a good point. But meeting Demogorgon showed us that we can't fight the Demon Lord. As much as possible, we can find and warn those who can. Who, for example, understands... Kalanzar's face becomes very thoughtful, as if he had a fresh thought. ...why there is such extraplanar activity here at all? And how to stop it... There must be something like a gap between our world and the Abyss. And it needs to be closed... He nods at Maddy. Then we're heading for Basidia now, right? What do you guys think?
Kalanzar puts his hand on Alexandra's shoulder at the moment when she is about to cast a spell and speaks either to her, or to the entity that is guiding her now, Не надо. Может быть сейчас вообще не время и место для боя.
---- Kalanzar spots a pile of gear a little bit away, looking to be drow-made items, probably taken from the buried drow. A moment! Kalanzar throws his backpack off his shoulder, gathers the equipment of the deceased drow and rushes after his friends. ---- Kalanzar freezes, seeing a nightmarish scene. We could use a wizard with fireballs right now, huh? Behind the light irony, the drow hides horror and impotence, however, not too successfully, as the young druid's throat fails and his voice sounds shaky.
The drow clenches his fists, inhales and exhales, and speaks more confidently. This place is doomed. We're looking for Stool, grab him, and run. And Basidia needs to be informed that he urgently needs to get all reasonable myconids as far away from here as possible. I don't believe in any other options.
By the way, do I understand correctly that it hasn't been 8 hours since we entered Neverlight Grove? If so, then Maddy still has darkvision. She doesn't need it right now - we're already glowing (I'm also emitting light for the next 10 minutes, by the way), but suddenly... I just decided to remind everyone, since it was casted long time ago. I wouldn't have remembered it myself if I hadn't decided to double-check the spells I spent.
Huet, wait. Half a minute! The drow grabs the halfling's arm and stops him. Then he closes his eyes for a second and that scars-stars that are visible on his dark skin despite the clothes begin to shine softly. The most observant of you may notice that other than usual constellations are shining now. "O Dark Ladies of the Night Sky, heal these wounds!" with these words, the druid touches each of you and you feel that the pain passes and inner purity and lightness come in their place. It even seems that for a second you fell the scent of a light summer night breeze wafts somewhere in a blooming meadow... The smell of freedom, security, home, and only the most joyful journeys... This feeling immediately becomes a thing of the past, but the wounds miraculously heal. And now, let's go. It seems like we need to hurry.
Kalanzar ALMOST dodged. But "almost" doesn't count when you're trying to dodge the acid spray and Kalanzar's arm seemed to explode in pain, or at least that's how it felt to him. Nevertheless, the drow continues to fight and casts an ice spell on one of those creatures that was once another drow.
Hello everyone again!
Guys, I left for a retreat today. I will do a lot of meditation and a little more yoga there. I'll be there with absolutely no connection (we're giving away phones for the duration of the event). I thought I would have time to do a game post before I left, but I underestimated the number of cases that needed to be closed before that. So I'm saying goodbye to you until January 13-14 (I'm returning to the world on the evening of January 12, but I'm not sure if I'll start playing games before checking my family and business status, hehe). Have a nice New Year, everyone! PS You can bot my character in any way you like .)
:: We will try our best. But usually such trips end in violence. :: Kalanzar thinks for a moment. :: Although we don't all have to go. I can transform into some kind of animal and conduct minimal exploration alone. ::
He should know, he already suspects that something bad is going on. Kalanzar sighs, and then tells everything he understood to Basidia as soon as Yrberop disappears from sight.
Kalanzar is lost in thought, and then suddenly the answer comes to his mind. This song refers us to Zuggtmoy, the Demon Queen of Fungi, Lady of Rot and Decay... Her goal is to infect the world with spores and eventually turn all life into decomposing hosts for her mushrooms, molds, and other fungi that she spawns... He looks around at his comrades in shock at the discovery. Then Hue's reaction becomes even more understandable. However, I expected something like this right after his "seizure".
Kalanzar clenches his fists. He really doesn't like Yrberop's answers, and even more so he doesn't like leaving Stool here. He tries to listen to the melody, but it doesn't work out no matter how hard he tries. Gracious Goddesses of the Night Sky, help me please in this darkness... The druid offers a prayer to his patronesses.
...For a second, an image of the night sky and silhouettes of beautiful women dancing against the background of this sky appears before his eyes. One of them has bat wings and three tails, the other looks like a dark elf with a sword, the third shines like silver and constantly changes shape, the fourth has butterfly wings... Suddenly Kalanzar begins to hear the words. He listens for a second, and then realizes that time is very short, he will soon begin to forget and get confused in poetry. The drow snatches out his cartographer's paraphernalia, unfolds the sheet, sits down right on the ground and begins to write verses of a strange song with convulsive rapid movements: Hush now, my darlings, the earth hums with grace,
Myconids rejoicing, the algae are bright,
Oh, the joy will rise, as the rivers flow,
The darklake will hum, the underdark will dance,
Sleep now, dear sproutling, in arms of the night,
It's not going to do any good, he says when he's finished writing. The druid says it out loud, with his mouth, and not through telepathic contact. I feel in my heart that some kind of nightmare is coming. Still sitting, Kalanzar looks up at you with anxious eyes.
For a moment, a fire of joy lit up in Kalanzar's heart looking at this reunion scene. Before that, they had only lost friends, buried them in the darkness of the Underdark. And finally, something good happened to one of their companions. But Yrberop's subsequent words filled the druid's heart with anxiety. Something is coming... Drow raises one eyebrow and waits for a reaction to the words of friends repeating mysterious words about the spread of the seed. :: There were usually fewer small myconids, right? ::
Exactly. This is the only word that Kalanzar throws in response to Precious's reasoning. Drow is already sitting with his eyes closed in a meditation position in the darkest corner. He took off his armor and shirt, leaving only his pants. The scars-stars on his black torso glow softly, changing brightness from almost imperceptible to such that in this light it would be possible to make out some letters. It's so similar to the starry sky on the surface that one could probably feel homesick...
Kalanzar gratefully takes the scroll. :: Thank you. It might come in handy. :: He looks at the gesture with which Basidia is stroking the hat of the myconid baby. :: Please keep an eye on the Stool's safety while we solve this problem. :: Drow meets the halfling's eyes and something happens in his heart at this moment. It seems that he changes the decision he has already made on the fly. :: Stool will stay away from the Circle of Masters. Hue, you're coming with us. I think your epiphany was right. A great evil awaits us, like a two-headed demon lord... :: Kalanzar's gaze involuntarily turns towards the Garden of Welcome.
Kalanzar looks around at his companions, meeting each gaze in turn. If he sees willingness to one degree or another, he nods his head and responds: :: We are ready and will try to help in any case, with or without a reward. But we also do not refuse the reward, it can be useful for the further survival of the squad in the future. Hmm.. Is it safe to take Stool with us? If this blight is contagious to myconides... :: Druid pauses significantly.
Kalanzar thinks a little more and decides to "take the bull by the horns". :: Sovereign Basidia. I'm sorry for my bluntness. Some time ago, we witnessed how the population of a certain city behaved strangely, atypically for them, and conducted a certain ritual. As a result, a monster from the Abyss came to this call and destroyed this city and most of the inhabitants. Now we see that a certain ritual is also being prepared here and part of the myconids is behaving atypically... We are worried, to be honest. Please talk to us about this. ::
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