Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
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Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer CreaturesFrozen SickD&D Beyond Basic RulesBasic Rules (2014)Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
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The noble drow follows their guide in silence, glancing over at Khessa at the mention of a route back to the surface. He readily accepts the scroll and places it within easy reach in his backpack, hoping he won't have use for it for a while yet. As the group finally reaches the garden and the corruption, the Lady of Fungi's hold of Neverlight Grove is on full display, even making the noble drow pause as he realizes the unspeakable chaos that has corrupted this gentle and serene place of peace. Quickly overcoming the sense of horror, Traydark swiftly uses his eldritch magic to end the suffering of the drow. He then kneels by her side and picks up the spider medallion. "This garden must be cleansed, cleansed of all corruption of the Lady of Fungi." He says grimly.
Traydark's action causes Katryl to pause a bit. "You kill the woman even as Khessa tries to enlist her aid? So what exactly do we do to fix this?" She seems a little bit annoyed, and the streaks in her hair have the faintest orange glow to them. "She said Zuggtmoy is here. Perhaps we'd best leave. At least we have a lead on a way to the surface."
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard || Iromae Quinaea, Cleric
Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
"Traydark!" exclaims Khessa, gasping, as the drow warlock quickly ends the suffering of the priestess of Lolth "But what's the matter with you? Maybe she could tell us something about the plans of Zuggtmoy! She seemed to know... If she knew the 'Great Seeder' was a trap, maybe she also knew how it works, right? And we could find out how to counter it..."
The blonde arcane warrior looks her blue eyes into his purple ones, uncertain whether to be more amazed, moved, or annoyed: "Did you do it because you had pity on her?"
"Anyway," the tall adventuress sighs "well, hoping that 'cleansing the garden' will be enough, how do you think we can do it? If these mushrooms burn well, I can easily start a fire, but if not... How do you think to do it? It would take solar radiation... that's pretty bad for the mushrooms... but down here in the Underdark you don't have that much... So? Maybe if you could flood the whole garden... A flood could clean it up and sweep it all away... Or Globbagool!" she looks at her gelatinous friend, still 20' from her on the Floating Disk "Our ooze hero! He can dissolve what he swallows... If we give him a few hours to work, maybe he could really clean it all up".
"Anyway, as much as it would please me to simply devastate this place," Khessa extracts the long shard of quartz created by the stone giant librarians of Gravenhollow "forgive me, but I want to quench my curiosity to find out what the priestess here knew about what is happening. Just to be more sure about what we should do".
And with that, the blonde arcane warrior focuses on the shard's magical powers and grants back the semblance of life and intelligence to the priestess' corpse, allowing it to answer the questions she poses!
(OOC: She uses 4 charges of the Crystal to cast Speak with Dead)
"You can leave if you want Katryl, but this corruption has to be stopped or it will pursue you across the realms until you have nowhere to hide." The noble drow states as-a-matter-of-factly. "If we indeed encounter the Lady of Fungi I agree we should fall back but I suggest we at least try to find the means to stop her corruption of Neverlight Grove."
The noble drow then turns to Khessa. "Go ahead and speak to her, I'm certain you will have more coherent answers from her now. And yes, I suppose I felt some pity for her, that fate I would not wish on anyone." He expalins calmly, the turning to watch the ooze floating around on the magical disc. "I suppose it would be fitting for a servant of Jubilex to cleanse the garden of Zuggtmoy." He adds with an evil smirk.
'Pity...' thinks Khessa, partly moved by Traydark's words 'Pity for a servant of Lolth... Probably a person who wouldn't hesitate to enslave him, subdue him, or do anything to him, considering him nothing more than a 'useless male ', a lesser creature to just use... if not abuse!'
"You... You were amazing Traydark" the blonde arcane warrior admits, hugging him for a moment - and a moment only because she knows that he, in public, doesn't like to show his sensitive side... However, with the priestess, he just did!
The tall adventuress then focuses on the questions:
As "Honor among thieves" made it universally known, Speak with Dead allows you to pose 5 questions.
Khessa poses question 1 to the priestess: "How does Zuggtmoy's trap work here?"
"I'm not leaving Traydark, just saying I don't think our little group is going to stand up to Zuggtmoy if it's already here," Katryl replies. "Let's just see if Khessa comes up with anything talking to this dead priestess."
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard || Iromae Quinaea, Cleric
Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
The ghastly corpse rasps: "She is waiting..."
The noble drow is clearly surprised to have this show of affection from the human once again, his purple eyes going briefly wide as she embraces him. He had come to admit she was a valuable ally and she didn't need to know that it was mostly pity on himself having to watch the disgusting end the drow priestess was about to meet that made him end the corrupted drow. "Thank you but the hugs and the praise are quite unnecessary and entirely unhelpful in our current situation." He says dryly as the arcane warrior releases him from her hold. "Now please foucus on your interrogation of the late priestess." He adds, then turning to the genasi again nodding in agreement with her suggestion. "Don't think I would suggest anything remotely brave Katryl, I'm simply trying to evade a fate such as that drow's by doing what I can to halt the demonic corruption of the Underdark, it wouldn't do with Menzoberranzan being overrun with fungoids and oozes if I'm going to rule it all one day." He adds with a smirk.
"Oh, 'unnecessary and entirely unhelpful' if you have no feelings, Traydark" Khessa smiles at the drow noble, looking at him softly. "But you've just shown that you have them… and you needn't be ashamed of them. They aren't nasty things like Zuggtmoy's mushrooms… and, unlike those, they don't infect you by themselves - feelings, if you will them, you must cultivate them yourself".
"However, it is not polite to keep a lady waiting;" the blonde arcane warrior turns back to the deceased priestess "let's move on to question number two".
The tall adventuress poses question 2 to the priestess: "How can Zuggtmoy's trap be neutralized?"
The corpse rasps again, "Don't know...too...many..."
'So...' Khessa makes up her mind 'The main threat is Zuggtmoy herself, it seems... And no way to neutralize the trap. So far, only option left seems for us and the myconids to flee...'
The tall adventuress poses question 3 to the priestess: "What's the purpose of the people here?"
Katryl mutters, "It seems the priestess is just a victim and really doesn't know much." As Khessa continues with her questions, she turns to the others in the group. "What about this thing Gasbide was talking about building? Perhaps we could somehow thwart or delay that project?"
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard || Iromae Quinaea, Cleric
Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
The corpse looks around, "Don't know..."
"Yes, the priestess seem to know 'only' that the whole 'Great Seeder' thing was a trap" Khessa, a little disappointed, reports. "But not a sophisticated one... If asked about the trap, she replies that the trap is Zuggtmoy herself - so probably she plans to simply appear, spread madness and submit the myconids. The priestess does not know how to counter it because... 'too many'... Maybe too many submitted myconids already. It's the next thing I'm going to ask, at this point. Anyway, it seems our only option is to delay her then flee (with Basidia and the myconids that accept to follow her, maybe)".
"Sabotaging before going away would be sweet!" the blue eyes of the blonde arcane warrior light up at the perspective "Yes, we can leave false instruction for Gasbide, such as wrong answers to his question, so that his constructions fail - maybe even fall! And we can have Globbagool eat the fungi here (and the victims). The priestess does not know what they are for, but if Zuggtmoy has taken them here, it must have an use for them. If we dissolve them, at least she will not be able to take advantage of them".
The tall adventuress poses question 4 to the priestess: "As I asked you how can Zuggtmoy's trap be neutralized, you replied that you didn't know because 'too many'. Well... 'too many' what?"
"Too many...voices..." the corpse responds.
'Voices...' Khessa thinks 'I do not hear voices, here and now... But from what this priestess says, that's better for me! They must be an important part of the trap, if the trap cannot be deactivated because these voices are too many...'
The tall adventuress poses question 5 (so last one) to the priestess: "And what role do these voices you spoke of play in Zuggtmoy's trap?"
"Maybe whatever is happening the spore... umm, telepathy thing is causing her to hear too many people?" Katryl suggests, not sounding very sure herself how that might work.
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard || Iromae Quinaea, Cleric
Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
"Servants..." the voice responds before the corpse crumbles back down into a moldy heap.
The moans of the garden’s victims suddenly take on a new tone of fear as something moves across the foul ground. A disgusting larval creature rises up before you, showing only vestigial fungal growths that hint that it might once have been a myconid.
“Welcome, travelers.” The aberrant myconid’s voice gurgles and spits as it speaks both aloud and in your minds at once. “Are you here for the wedding rehearsal? Friends of the bride or her intended? No matter! Let the love of the Great Seeder embrace you as you become one with her chosen, the Great Body!”
The disgusting abomination begins stalking toward you while 2 drow spore servants and 2 myconid adults are raised by their power and surround you!
-----------------------------------------
(Combat started)
Servants a/b
Khessa
Yestabrod
Katryl/eldeth
Traydark
adults a/b
Ebzer/silas
-------------------------------------
Spore servants miss with their attacks at Khessa
Khessa up
"Attacking doesn't seem to me the best demonstration of love..." comments Khessa "I think this 'Great Seeder' needs to learn some good manners!"
The blonde arcane warrior looks around, looking for a place where she can organize a defense (is there a bottleneck of some kind where to barricade herself? For example between two giant mushrooms... Or is it practically all open ground around?).
Meanwhile, the tall adventuress mentally asks her brother to distract one of her servants - as soon as Anator does so, she quickly unleashes a waist-height blow with her greatsword.