Sovereign Basidia informs Rasharoo, "You may speak freely among these softers."
Rasharoo immediately tells the members of the party, "In that case, I recommend you leave the Grove. The Underdark has gone mad and the Grove seems to be following suit." Turning to Basidia, "Again, I urge you to gather those loyal to you and return to the nomadic ways. The nutrient stores I keep hidden for our explorers are fully stocked. We can leave now."
Basidia, "To leave the madness of the Grove and into the madness of the Underdark? I must know more before making a decision of such import. We will discuss again soon, after I bring these softers to the Circle of Hunters."
"Since Yar-bear-poop ( Yrberop ) isn't around, and we can talk freely, did the 'madness' start around the time the Great Seeder was mentioned? 'She' is referred to as 'her', instead of 'it', so sounds like an outsider has invaded your Grove.
"Have either of you mush-conyds heard more about this Seeder? Is it a softer like us? Drow leaders are usually female, like that Eye-larva witch back at the prison. Is the Seeder a demon? The drow also worship Lolth, a demon goddess. Is the Seeder a slime? Lolth has demon slimes as handmaidens. Or is the Seeder like you? "
Beegred Thornpost - Lvl 8 Halfling Ranger - Out of the Abyss by Kerrec Drusk - Lvl 8 Half-Orc Life Cleric - The Long Road: Dragon Heist by Mingofaust (player & current DM) Hunferho Aelorothi - Lvl 5 Half-Elf Bard/Rogue - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy) DM - Frontier City of Nunkreet (ended)
You all almost hear a 'sigh' over the telepathic link, "Those that know what the Great Seeder is, never answer our questions. The answers we get are always along the same lines... 'She is prescient and knows all', 'Her knowledge knows no bounds', 'She is part of the celebration to come', 'She will bring great happiness to the Underdark and beyond'."
Again you are lead away, this time north and west, back towards the lowest tip of the pond where you encountered the first small mound of piled stone. When Basidia climbs the mound, another Myconid appears from the thick fauna and approaches. Basidia signals and it joins the telepathic link, "This is Leader Loobamub, of the Circle of Hunters. These are softers from the surface, lost in the underdark and seeking refuge. Speak freely. Report on your recent hunts."
Leader Loobamub acknowledges the party and then immediately launches into an efficient report, "Sovereign Basidia, the hunters must range further than ever to find corpses to return to the Grove. We are also noticing there are fewer and fewer living creatures nearby. We are certain that myconids not from the circle of hunters or the circle of explorers are frequently leaving the Grove and they take no care in their travels. We know they have lured or allowed a Grick Alpha and a Shambling Mound into the Grove. They also return with corpses, infringing on the role of the Circle of Hunters."
Sovereign Basidia thanks Leader Loobamub and walks you back down off the mound and away. She stops, not leading the party anywhere further. "Those are all of the traditional circles. Two more have been formed recently, the Inner Circle which you met when you were introduced to Sovereign Phylo and myself. The leaders of the Circles also frequently meld with the Inner Circle. There is another circle, the Circle of Masters of which even I am not part of. These are for myconids that are preparing the 'celebration to come'. I have made no progress in discovering what this celebration is. Melding with any myconid that speak of it produces rote proclamations that 'the Great Seeder', 'Her' and 'She' - whatever those are - will bring joy to the underdark. It is as if they are repeating nonsense they don't understand. The leader of the Circle of Masters is Leader Yestabrod. He has gone missing, and a 'representative' is sent in his place to the Inner Circle melds. This is the strangest mystery yet, as Yestabrod seems to disobey both Sovereign Phylo and myself with its absenteeism.
I blame all this strangeness on this 'diseased spore'. I believe it originates from the Garden of Welcome, but I do not wish to travel there myself lest I become infected. On the morrow, when you are brought to the Garden of Welcome, please observe, investigate even. Then return and meld with me, so you can describe what you see. I hope my tour has demonstrated the importance I hold for the knowledge of this Garden of Welcome. You spoke of wanting this 'mistletoe'. I delved into the memories of the grove and a century or so ago, a surfacer spent its last years in the grove. This surfacer regularly grew surface plants and often changed into beast forms. He has passed long ago, yet some of his belongings remain pristine. One is a pouch he always drew casting reagents from. I can reward your service by obtaining this pouch for you. I can also make various potions that softers seem to find valuable. And I have some other oddities accumulated over my travels that I can let you pick from. I hope you now understand my great concern and wish to help.
In the meantime, the only circle leaders I trust are Loobamub and Rasharoo. They spend the least time in the Grove, are the least prone to infection and are evidently as wary as I.
Loobamub is going to be engrossed by this Grick Alpha and Shambling Mound and will not hunt outside of the grove until they are chased away or defeated. If you need to keep yourselves occupied, I can reward you for taking care of these threats.
If you have any questions about the Garden of Welcome, I suspect Rosharoo greatly desires to sneak in and explore. I forbid him, lest he become infected. You may help him as well, and again I will reward you. In the meantime, this is a Softer scroll the hunters discovered some time ago. It is a scroll of protection against fiends. I give it to you, as a sign of goodwill.
One last thing: leaving may be a prudent course of action, and none will stop you or hold ill will. I fear the Neverlight Grove is not a safe refuge. Again, Rosharoo can assist you if you choose this course of action.
Now, I must take your leave. Soon the circles will gather, meld and rest for some time."
Narstin takes a few moments digesting all the information, then looks around to the others. "I would like to help," he says. "It might not be a bad idea to see if someone can sneak into the Garden of Welcome before the ceremony tomorrow. Probably only one or two of us for that though, those best at moving quietly and keeping hidden. Maybe the rest of us could go help with the Grick Alpha and Shambling Mound? Or perhaps we all go take care of those two, then a couple people could sneak into the garden afterwards?
Having decided to begin by tackling the Shambling Mound, the party pools their knowledge with the Circle of Hunters about the creature. Having determined that it is a voracious consumer of organic materials, Eldeth stands on the very top of the melding mound and scans the horizon looking for a gap in the canopy of the mushroom forest. Rodolfo confers with the myconids to try to anticipate where the Mound would likely choose to reside. Skameros flat out orders the Cirlce of Hunters to provide a guide to navigate the forest. Once the party begins to move, Beegred keeps an eye out for signs of the passing of a Shambling Mound.
With the combined efforts of the party as well as a guide, they manage to avoid the other defenses of the grove until they come across a scar in the forest devoid of organic material. Choosing a direction to follow, movement is much simpler where the Shambling Mound consumed everything, leaving rich black muddy earth. The party approaches where the scar ends, and in the middle is a pile of refuse, still and unmoving. The sucking squelching sounds of Narstin's boots as he plods through the muck and Beegred's cursing at the noise leave little chance of not being noticed.
Once the mound is struck by the ray of frost, it shifts and swirls into a large humanoid shape and lumbers slowly towards the origin of the blue ray. (Top right corner moved from M12 to O14)
@ Rodolfo: You can tell through your magic that the cold didn't have the effect you anticipated against the Shambling Mound, although the slow effect does appear to have taken hold.
(Everyone else can act without following the initiative order.)
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
(Post 1695: Beegred hears a tiny bit of squishing under Narstin's boots, and blurts out, "THE MOUND WILL HEAR US COMING IF YOU DON"T QUIET YOUR BOOTS!")
Beegred is too far away to charge into melee range, so he will move slightly closer (X21 to W20), cast Hunter's Mark, then shoot an arrow.
He will also suggest out loud to Derendil and Skameros to wait for it to come to us, instead of charging at it.
Shortbow Attack: 21 Damage: 12
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Beegred Thornpost - Lvl 8 Halfling Ranger - Out of the Abyss by Kerrec Drusk - Lvl 8 Half-Orc Life Cleric - The Long Road: Dragon Heist by Mingofaust (player & current DM) Hunferho Aelorothi - Lvl 5 Half-Elf Bard/Rogue - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy) DM - Frontier City of Nunkreet (ended)
Derendil takes Beegred's advice (for now) and moves a bit closer, but hangs back, hopefully beyond where the mound can reach (lets say T18).
meanwhile, Narstin casts Bless on Skameros, Beegred, Derendil, and Jimjar (who obviously needs it after a roll liket hat! :P. Second level spell slot for 4 targets)
Eldeth draws her shortsword and will wait to see what the mound does.
Skameros looks at Beegred and says "Skameros like Big Red but Skameros hate Salad..." He will pull Pork-Chopper off his back and move closer to the Shambling Mound (lets say like T15 - I assume those squares are 5 feet?)
Sovereign Basidia informs Rasharoo, "You may speak freely among these softers."
Rasharoo immediately tells the members of the party, "In that case, I recommend you leave the Grove. The Underdark has gone mad and the Grove seems to be following suit." Turning to Basidia, "Again, I urge you to gather those loyal to you and return to the nomadic ways. The nutrient stores I keep hidden for our explorers are fully stocked. We can leave now."
Basidia, "To leave the madness of the Grove and into the madness of the Underdark? I must know more before making a decision of such import. We will discuss again soon, after I bring these softers to the Circle of Hunters."
[Insight: 6]
"Grove starting to not sound as safe as it was."
Skameros - Bugbear Barbarian - Out of the Abyss - By Kerrec
Follow your Arrow where it Points - Tabaxi Monk - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy)
Citron Pumpkinfoam - Fairy Monk - Project Point: Team Longsword
"Since Yar-bear-poop ( Yrberop ) isn't around, and we can talk freely, did the 'madness' start around the time the Great Seeder was mentioned? 'She' is referred to as 'her', instead of 'it', so sounds like an outsider has invaded your Grove.
"Have either of you mush-conyds heard more about this Seeder? Is it a softer like us? Drow leaders are usually female, like that Eye-larva witch back at the prison. Is the Seeder a demon? The drow also worship Lolth, a demon goddess. Is the Seeder a slime? Lolth has demon slimes as handmaidens. Or is the Seeder like you? "
Beegred Thornpost - Lvl 8 Halfling Ranger - Out of the Abyss by Kerrec
Drusk - Lvl 8 Half-Orc Life Cleric - The Long Road: Dragon Heist by Mingofaust (player & current DM)
Hunferho Aelorothi - Lvl 5 Half-Elf Bard/Rogue - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy)
DM - Frontier City of Nunkreet (ended)
Skameros chuckles at the Yar-bear-poop comment.
Skameros - Bugbear Barbarian - Out of the Abyss - By Kerrec
Follow your Arrow where it Points - Tabaxi Monk - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy)
Citron Pumpkinfoam - Fairy Monk - Project Point: Team Longsword
You all almost hear a 'sigh' over the telepathic link, "Those that know what the Great Seeder is, never answer our questions. The answers we get are always along the same lines... 'She is prescient and knows all', 'Her knowledge knows no bounds', 'She is part of the celebration to come', 'She will bring great happiness to the Underdark and beyond'."
Again you are lead away, this time north and west, back towards the lowest tip of the pond where you encountered the first small mound of piled stone. When Basidia climbs the mound, another Myconid appears from the thick fauna and approaches. Basidia signals and it joins the telepathic link, "This is Leader Loobamub, of the Circle of Hunters. These are softers from the surface, lost in the underdark and seeking refuge. Speak freely. Report on your recent hunts."
Leader Loobamub acknowledges the party and then immediately launches into an efficient report, "Sovereign Basidia, the hunters must range further than ever to find corpses to return to the Grove. We are also noticing there are fewer and fewer living creatures nearby. We are certain that myconids not from the circle of hunters or the circle of explorers are frequently leaving the Grove and they take no care in their travels. We know they have lured or allowed a Grick Alpha and a Shambling Mound into the Grove. They also return with corpses, infringing on the role of the Circle of Hunters."
Sovereign Basidia thanks Leader Loobamub and walks you back down off the mound and away. She stops, not leading the party anywhere further. "Those are all of the traditional circles. Two more have been formed recently, the Inner Circle which you met when you were introduced to Sovereign Phylo and myself. The leaders of the Circles also frequently meld with the Inner Circle. There is another circle, the Circle of Masters of which even I am not part of. These are for myconids that are preparing the 'celebration to come'. I have made no progress in discovering what this celebration is. Melding with any myconid that speak of it produces rote proclamations that 'the Great Seeder', 'Her' and 'She' - whatever those are - will bring joy to the underdark. It is as if they are repeating nonsense they don't understand. The leader of the Circle of Masters is Leader Yestabrod. He has gone missing, and a 'representative' is sent in his place to the Inner Circle melds. This is the strangest mystery yet, as Yestabrod seems to disobey both Sovereign Phylo and myself with its absenteeism.
I blame all this strangeness on this 'diseased spore'. I believe it originates from the Garden of Welcome, but I do not wish to travel there myself lest I become infected. On the morrow, when you are brought to the Garden of Welcome, please observe, investigate even. Then return and meld with me, so you can describe what you see. I hope my tour has demonstrated the importance I hold for the knowledge of this Garden of Welcome. You spoke of wanting this 'mistletoe'. I delved into the memories of the grove and a century or so ago, a surfacer spent its last years in the grove. This surfacer regularly grew surface plants and often changed into beast forms. He has passed long ago, yet some of his belongings remain pristine. One is a pouch he always drew casting reagents from. I can reward your service by obtaining this pouch for you. I can also make various potions that softers seem to find valuable. And I have some other oddities accumulated over my travels that I can let you pick from. I hope you now understand my great concern and wish to help.
In the meantime, the only circle leaders I trust are Loobamub and Rasharoo. They spend the least time in the Grove, are the least prone to infection and are evidently as wary as I.
Loobamub is going to be engrossed by this Grick Alpha and Shambling Mound and will not hunt outside of the grove until they are chased away or defeated. If you need to keep yourselves occupied, I can reward you for taking care of these threats.
If you have any questions about the Garden of Welcome, I suspect Rosharoo greatly desires to sneak in and explore. I forbid him, lest he become infected. You may help him as well, and again I will reward you. In the meantime, this is a Softer scroll the hunters discovered some time ago. It is a scroll of protection against fiends. I give it to you, as a sign of goodwill.
One last thing: leaving may be a prudent course of action, and none will stop you or hold ill will. I fear the Neverlight Grove is not a safe refuge. Again, Rosharoo can assist you if you choose this course of action.
Now, I must take your leave. Soon the circles will gather, meld and rest for some time."
Narstin takes a few moments digesting all the information, then looks around to the others. "I would like to help," he says. "It might not be a bad idea to see if someone can sneak into the Garden of Welcome before the ceremony tomorrow. Probably only one or two of us for that though, those best at moving quietly and keeping hidden. Maybe the rest of us could go help with the Grick Alpha and Shambling Mound? Or perhaps we all go take care of those two, then a couple people could sneak into the garden afterwards?
Having decided to begin by tackling the Shambling Mound, the party pools their knowledge with the Circle of Hunters about the creature. Having determined that it is a voracious consumer of organic materials, Eldeth stands on the very top of the melding mound and scans the horizon looking for a gap in the canopy of the mushroom forest. Rodolfo confers with the myconids to try to anticipate where the Mound would likely choose to reside. Skameros flat out orders the Cirlce of Hunters to provide a guide to navigate the forest. Once the party begins to move, Beegred keeps an eye out for signs of the passing of a Shambling Mound.
With the combined efforts of the party as well as a guide, they manage to avoid the other defenses of the grove until they come across a scar in the forest devoid of organic material. Choosing a direction to follow, movement is much simpler where the Shambling Mound consumed everything, leaving rich black muddy earth. The party approaches where the scar ends, and in the middle is a pile of refuse, still and unmoving. The sucking squelching sounds of Narstin's boots as he plods through the muck and Beegred's cursing at the noise leave little chance of not being noticed.
Initiative order:
(Working on a map!)
The mound is not moving. Rodolfo goes first.
Rodolfo is aiming to keep it not moving or at least moving less than it would, shooting a Ray of Frost at it:
Attack: 25 Damage: 8 (reducing the movement speed by 10ft if it hits)
Rodolfo fires a streak of light blue light, hitting the mound which causes frost to form over the surface.
Rodolfo arcana check: 8
Once the mound is struck by the ray of frost, it shifts and swirls into a large humanoid shape and lumbers slowly towards the origin of the blue ray. (Top right corner moved from M12 to O14)
@ Rodolfo: You can tell through your magic that the cold didn't have the effect you anticipated against the Shambling Mound, although the slow effect does appear to have taken hold.
(Everyone else can act without following the initiative order.)
(Post 1695: Beegred hears a tiny bit of squishing under Narstin's boots, and blurts out, "THE MOUND WILL HEAR US COMING IF YOU DON"T QUIET YOUR BOOTS!")
Beegred is too far away to charge into melee range, so he will move slightly closer (X21 to W20), cast Hunter's Mark, then shoot an arrow.
He will also suggest out loud to Derendil and Skameros to wait for it to come to us, instead of charging at it.
Shortbow Attack: 21 Damage: 12
Beegred Thornpost - Lvl 8 Halfling Ranger - Out of the Abyss by Kerrec
Drusk - Lvl 8 Half-Orc Life Cleric - The Long Road: Dragon Heist by Mingofaust (player & current DM)
Hunferho Aelorothi - Lvl 5 Half-Elf Bard/Rogue - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy)
DM - Frontier City of Nunkreet (ended)
Jimjar will shoot a poisoned dart at it:
Attack: 15 Damage: 4
Derendil takes Beegred's advice (for now) and moves a bit closer, but hangs back, hopefully beyond where the mound can reach (lets say T18).
meanwhile, Narstin casts Bless on Skameros, Beegred, Derendil, and Jimjar (who obviously needs it after a roll liket hat! :P. Second level spell slot for 4 targets)
Beegred's arrow hits. Jimjar flat out misses with his dart. Derendil moves up.
(Skameros and Eldeth left for round 1).
Eldeth draws her shortsword and will wait to see what the mound does.
Skameros looks at Beegred and says "Skameros like Big Red but Skameros hate Salad..." He will pull Pork-Chopper off his back and move closer to the Shambling Mound (lets say like T15 - I assume those squares are 5 feet?)
Skameros - Bugbear Barbarian - Out of the Abyss - By Kerrec
Follow your Arrow where it Points - Tabaxi Monk - Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus (by Pokepaladdy)
Citron Pumpkinfoam - Fairy Monk - Project Point: Team Longsword
Rodolfo's turn in Round 2.