Randy realizes the tiny tracks were where Messy had been before, and they are pointing out 'prizes' that it didn't have room to carry back. A marble, another mushroom, a scrap of cloth.

Dornikal focuses more on the other detritus in the cave, and realizes there's a lot less than one might expect, small scraps here and there that might fall from many mouths fighting over food, but no larger remains. 

Both of them note some glowing blue residue, and note that there are soft drag marks heading in the direction of the hole.

"Well. Into a suspicious hole in a suspicious hole."

Dornikal takes the lead again.

((Dornikal climbing down then? Athletics check for him?))

((Yup.

Athletics: 19

"Be careful. I have a sense that something is down there. It feels...I don't know what. Intelligence may be the wrong word."

Dornikal swings down easily, the shaft of the hole is a good ten feet across, and while the rock is slick with the glowing residue, he has no trouble finding hand and foot holds.

It bottoms out after thirty feet, and continues onward, lit by the dim glow.

Randy would be able to see that the presence he senses is in the indicated direction, maybe another fifty to seventy five feet distant.

"Aye'd hope something was down here since we made the trip!"

Once down Dornikal'll look around again,

"It's an easy climb down here, though aye suppose it'd be a squeeze for a hydra."

He'll start walking slowly to see what there is to see.

"Can't have been a hydra in here, no... It's probably just one very big mushroom," Ulmwin says, holding up the rear, not too impressed with all this so far.

"Well let's hope it's a normal one and not a 'eat ye' mushroom."

"Let's hope."

"..."

"You think mushroom that tries to eat us would taste good?"

arcana:5

Randy shrugs. "I've know of rumors of giant mushroom men in the Underdark. Just vague mentions in the histories I've read. Don't know more than that.  "

Dornikal creeps closer, the glow getting brighter as he reaches the end of the tunnel, the surfaces of the cave are coated in glowing webs of fungal growth. It seems concentrated around mounds of materials on the floor, and he can make out bone and the glint of metal in places not covered by the blue fungus. Moving further into the cave would involve either stepping on glowing areas of fungus, or a bit of hopscotch to avoid the various sized fungal connections that range from wrist thick down to fine tendrils spread out over the debris.

((Like this, but blue, and covering the inside of a 20 ft diameter cavern.))

"Looks like moldy bread down here lads. Really moldy. Ye know like when it starts growing little mushroom trees on it."

He ponders his situation a moment and decides on the only logical course of action.

"Aye'm going to hit it with something."

Dornikal will toss a rock at one of the thicker tendrils, about 20ft off, to see what it does. If nothing, he will toss a heavier rock harder. Still nothing and he'll move up to a javelin.

The first rock lobbed against a tendril hits with a wet thump before clattering to the cavern floor, so Dornikal grabs a bigger one and puts a bit of barbarian might into it. Tendrils whip and writhe... not just where it was struck, but the whole chamber, the blue light growing in intensity as the network of tendrils spreads and coalesces.

((Fungus Initiative: 11))

Above, Randy is able to feel the fungal presence he has been detecting shift and roil.

(OK, retroactive healing....Who is hurt, how bad?  I'll do spells tomorrow once I know.)

((Dornikal is hurt pretty badly still, 29/78.))

Dornikal init: 23

((Darn.))

((Coljin would have been able to heal Dornikal and any others before he went down.))