Turvy takes her hands away from her face. You can see her pure rage in her expression, but no signs of blood or injury after taking a stone face first. She lets out a horrifying scream, hair starts to grow all over her face, her mouth and nose elongate into a snout, her fingernails grow into sharp claws and she jumps at Buppido slashing away (to hit: 6, 7) but blinded by hate only manages to scratch the derro's dirty shirt.
You can hear Derendil coming back from the side cave after the scream.
Buppido quickly takes a dagger from behind his back (undercommon) "I will not let you foil my plans!" and swings it at Turvy (to hit: 12, damage: 3) drawing blood from her arm.
We may never know if he killed Topsy, though I think that he did. But it no longer matters now.
He only has a moment to be stunned at Turvy's transformation. Is she a druid? Or a... a...Tanis shakes his head, at a loss, then attacks Buppido twice with his hand crossbow, using his Crossbow Expert feat to avoid disadvantage on both attacks despite being within 5' of his target.
Action: Tanis makes a hand crossbow attack at advantage from being invisible to Buppido. To Hit: 24 Damage: 9 piercing
Bonus Action: (Crossbow Expert) Tanis makes a hand crossbow attack at advantage from being invisible to Buppido. To Hit: 25 Damage: 7 piercing
Buppido takes both bolts point blank. He looks down at his blood dripping from the wounds, but doesn't utter a single sound of pain. A look of incredulity begins to form in his face, but before more people have a chance to react a lightning bolt from Arokas hits the derro. He barely is able to utter (undercommon) "impossible" before his body hits the ground.
Turvy jumps over the dead body and slashes at it with her newly grown claws. If no one stops her she will keep going until there is nothing more than an amorphous mass under her.
Arokas states in shock at the spell he just cast. He looks at his fingers with an expression of fear on his face. “Let’s get moving, we don’t want the drow to catch up to us,” he says as he starts walking down the tunnel.
Tanis recovers his bolts and stares numbly as Turvy disembowels Buppido's corpse, but does not try to stop her.
Unseen, his voice comes from the darkness, sad and resigned. "I... I am sorry it came to that. I think it likely that the derro was Topsy's killer, though I have no proof. He seemed to relish bloodshed, even back in the cell when he was licking his lips and looking sly at the thought of a fight between Ront and Thunk. All I asked from him was a clear denial and he would not give me that. And then he threw the stone at Turvy."
He sighs. "You are right, we should keep moving. The drow tracking us will already know we were here from the monstrosities in the cavern, so we may as well leave the corpse here too. Just to be safe, when we do make camp next, we should still keep watch at least two at a time as discussed."
(He speaks in Undercommon, but repeats it in Dwarvish and Elvish).
Finally, in Undercommon to Turvy as the party is leaving. "We must go. Nothing you do to the derro's corpse will bring your brother back, more's the pity."
Grimly, Tanis takes the lead in the marching order once more, scouting into the darkness alongside Sarith who is leading the way.
Drawn by the screams, the other escaped prisoners come out of the side cave and are able to witness Turvy's mauling of Buppido. Given the fury emanating from her, no one dares come closer. Eventually she tires out and steps away from the bloody mess. Her face and hands slowly return to normal and bends to pick the dagger that Buppido used to hurt her. As soon as her hand reaches the hilt she jerks it back letting out a small yelp of pain. She stands back again and turns to where Tanis' voice came from (undercommon) "I consider my brother avenged. Let us go before the smell of blood lures some beast this way."
Derendil, still battered from the fight, goes to retrieve the fallen dagger (elvish) "this belonged to a drow priest, the spider handle makes it impossible to mistake for anything else. I wonder how come Buppido was able to get his hands on it."
Noticing that no one seems to be fighting rirght now, Stool slowly moves towards the group. Scared to go closer, but more scared to go alone.
Sarith, a vacant gaze still in his face, retakes his position leading the group on the march west towards the Darklake. Eldeth follows him, remarking sadly (dwarvish) "if someone is tracking us we certainly are making our trail easy to find."
Sarith keeps pointing out salient features in your path that reassure you that the drow knows the path pretty well, even if he is oblivious to the tension within the group after Topsy and Buppido's deaths.
The rest of the waking cycle goes by without interruptions other than crossing a small stream that gives you the opportunity to quench your thirst. When tiredness starts to take over the group you set out to sleep. Having taken the precaution of setting up guard turns, no one is murdered in their sleep. You wake up rested and hungry, ready to keep marching.
A couple hours after waking up you get to a widening in the passage you are following. This large cavern is illuminated by a dim light with no apparent source. As soon as Tanis is visible, Stool quickly wobbles up to him.
Eldeth looks suspiciously at the open space (common) "I don't trust this light, caverns should be dark." Jimjar turns to her and replies (common) "I've heard about this, a cousin told me about caverns where you can see without torches, he was sure magic was involved in them."
He turns to the other Underdark dwellers besides Jimjar, speaking in Undercommon (translating to Elvish and Dwarvish as necessary). "The others among you who dwell below ground. Have you heard of this strange light as Jimjar has? Turvy orStool orSarith? Is it dangerous? And since I am sure all of you are felling as hungry as I am, can we use the light to forage for food?"
(Tanis suspects Derendil also is an Underdark denizen, but the quaggoth seems convinced that he is an elven prince from the surface).
Thunk doesn’t know what to think. Thunk is happy enough to stay in front but he stays close as he is confused by… everything. Thunk doesn’t question the light. Thunk just happy to have some again.
Upon waking the dwarf spends some time in prayer to Moradin in order to prepare his spells before continuing to journey on with the others. The loud grumbling from his belly agrees with the rangers comment about finding food. (Common) “I can determine if there be magic afoot,” Drogen remarks before he ritually casts detect magic.
While walking, Arokas mostly keeps to himself, save for one conversation he has with Derendil. “Derendil,” he softly says in Elvish, “I don’t understand the language many of the group are speaking, which I think is called Undercommon. Could you teach me to speak it? I can help you speak the Common language in return.”
While walking, Arokas mostly keeps to himself, save for one conversation he has with Derendil. “Derendil,” he softly says in Elvish, “I don’t understand the language many of the group are speaking, which I think is called Undercommon. Could you teach me to speak it? I can help you speak the Common language in return.”
Derendil smiles at Arokas and replies (elvish) "it took me a long time in that cursed prison to learn my captors tongue. I would gladly trade words with you as we continue our journey." The cursed prince starts with some basic phrases and numbers (elvish) "but I'm afraid that the nuances of the language are lost on me, I only learned what I needed to survive and to communicate with other prisoners."
He turns to the other Underdark dwellers besides Jimjar, speaking in Undercommon (translating to Elvish and Dwarvish as necessary). "The others among you who dwell below ground. Have you heard of this strange light as Jimjar has? Turvy orStool orSarith? Is it dangerous? And since I am sure all of you are felling as hungry as I am, can we use the light to forage for food?"
(Tanis suspects Derendil also is an Underdark denizen, but the quaggoth seems convinced that he is an elven prince from the surface).
Stool releases a cloud of rapport spores to communicate back to Tanis "Stool has not seen this before." Sarith scratches behind his ears and thinks for some time (undercommon) "not personally, but I remember one of my sergeants cautioned the wizards in our squad not to do magic in weirdly illuminated areas." Turvy keeps away from others while still being part of the group, but keeps her thoughts to herself.
Upon waking the dwarf spends some time in prayer to Moradin in order to prepare his spells before continuing to journey on with the others. The loud grumbling from his belly agrees with the rangers comment about finding food. (Common) “I can determine if there be magic afoot,” Drogen remarks before he ritually casts detect magic.
Drogen's ritual seems particularly difficult in this area, but he manages to successfully cast detect magic. To the dwarve's eyes, the whole illuminated area is emanating a strong aura of abjuration, a small aura of evocation and small traces of every other school of magic in complete disarray.
Eldeth perks up at the mention of food (dwarvish) "aye, I'll start looking for something edible along the northern side of the cavern. Join me if you want, food may want to fight back around these parts." She grips her shortsword and starts walking almost noiselessly towards the unexplored region.
OOC: whoever wants to forage for food please make a survival check, with advantage if you are going with Eldeth.
(common) "This place does radiate magic, though I am unable to determine it's source." Drogen remarks after completing his spell. He then turns to Eldeth (dwarven) "I'll come with you, I'm no hunter, but it'd be safer not to wander off alone."
Tanis realizes with a start and then some uneasiness that he preferred it when it was dark like it had been and he could fade into the gloom...
He too speaks in dwarvish to Eldeth: "I'll join you and Drogen to forage. We have a large group to feed. Also, it sounds as if spell-casters should be careful with their magic while we are surrounded by this illumination." (He then translates to Undercommon and Elvish).
“Thank you,” Arokas responds to Derendil in elvish. “I’ll probably only need enough to get by and understand most of what people are saying.” Arokas also starts with basic numbers and phrases in Common, choosing to be with Derendil instead of foraging with the others.
Stool happily follows Tanis in the illuminated cavern. Jimjar also follows the group (common) "who knows, maybe we'll find treasure in this magic cave." The cavern extends northward as far as you can see. Multiple stalactites and stalagmites are scattered around the area, providing easy cover and hiding spots. Soon you hear water dripping and following the sound are able to find a small pool where multiple fungi grow.
Stool waddles into the water and stands over a mass of ripplebark. How the little myconid gathers sustenance from it is a mystery, but Stool seems happy to just stand there for a while. Along the water edge grow a copse of massive mushrooms reaching up to forty feet in height. They are zurkhwood, one of the few sources of timber in the Underdark. Their hard and woody stalks are used to make furniture, bridges, and rafts. They also grow edible spores and with the number you found growing here you could easily harvest a few dozen pounds of food.
Meanwhile, back at the cavern entrance. Derendil and Arokas keep sharing phrases. Turvy keeps a distance away from everyone else, glancing nervously at the way you came. Sarith maintains a vacant gaze, he suddenly grabs his white hair and starts to speak (undercommon) "we must keep moving, this area is not safe."
Tanis shows the others where to harvest food from the spores of the zurkhwood. Perhaps not all of it in the interests of continuing to move.
"We need at least a few pounds of food. No good starving down here. I will keep watch back the way we came. I know they must be after us, and we keep leaving signs of our passage. Buppido's mangled corpse and the Gricks, now the harvested zurkhwood fungi..."
He trails off as Sarith speaks up. What is wrong with this dark elf? He keeps acting vacant, like he is somewhere else and then suddenly speaks up... and he said that he wants to make for Neverlight Grove. I can understand that from Stool, but it still makes no sense for a drow.
"We will move soon, Sarith. What makes this place unsafe? Other than being in the Underdark to start with, where it seems as if everything kills you?"
Tanis keeps watch (90' darkvision) back the way the party has come for any signs of pursuit until it is time to continue on, at which point he becomes lead scout once more. As he watches, he realizes with embarrassment that he has a spell he can cast (Goodberry) to help with the food situation...
Pull your head out of the clouds, scout, he can imagine the old man shouting at him. Sheriff Markham Southwell, back in Bryn Shander...
“Must move…not safe…” Arokas mutters to himself, starting to pick up bits of Undercommon from his conversation with Derendil. In Elvish, he tells Derendil, “I don’t trust him. He’s been acting strange ever since we got out.”
Tanis shows the others where to harvest food from the spores of the zurkhwood. Perhaps not all of it in the interests of continuing to move.
"We need at least a few pounds of food. No good starving down here. I will keep watch back the way we came. I know they must be after us, and we keep leaving signs of our passage. Buppido's mangled corpse and the Gricks, now the harvested zurkhwood fungi..."
The group follows Tanis back to the place where the large fungi grow. Jimjar replies at Tanis' words (undercommon) "I wouldn't worry about this harvesting pointing to us, even kobolds know that you can eat zurkhwood spores." Turvy curtly nods in agreement while picking up as much as she can carry.
He trails off as Sarith speaks up. What is wrong with this dark elf? He keeps acting vacant, like he is somewhere else and then suddenly speaks up... and he said that he wants to make for Neverlight Grove. I can understand that from Stool, but it still makes no sense for a drow.
"We will move soon, Sarith. What makes this place unsafe? Other than being in the Underdark to start with, where it seems as if everything kills you?"
The dark elf keeps a vacant gaze pointed to the west (undercommon) "the light here makes it too easy to find us. This area was dark last time I used this path." He scratches behind his ears and continues "the Darklake is still days away."
“Must move…not safe…” Arokas mutters to himself, starting to pick up bits of Undercommon from his conversation with Derendil. In Elvish, he tells Derendil, “I don’t trust him. He’s been acting strange ever since we got out.”
Derendil nods at Arokas (elvish) "I must concur, the other drow were very direct when giving orders. This one seems to be out of touch with the real world."
Food gathering does not take long with everyone taking their own portion to carry and soon you are back on your way to the Darklake. The illuminated cavern extends for a couple hours march, you don't see any sign of living creatures in it. They are either too good at hiding or scared of a group so large. Eventually the cavern's roof starts to descend and you face a wall with multiple openings. Sarith points to one that does not look any different from the others (undercommon) "at least the exit is still in the same place."
The new tunnel is narrower than the previous ones, forcing the group to march in a single line for a while. Several cracks and openings deviate from the main path, but Sarith keeps going with confidence until you reach a larger area with multiple entrances. Before the drow is able to point which way to go next, Eldeth kneels next to a side tunnel (common) "this one opened not long ago, but I don't see signs of mining equipment anywhere. Are cave-ins common around here?"
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Turvy takes her hands away from her face. You can see her pure rage in her expression, but no signs of blood or injury after taking a stone face first. She lets out a horrifying scream, hair starts to grow all over her face, her mouth and nose elongate into a snout, her fingernails grow into sharp claws and she jumps at Buppido slashing away (to hit: 6, 7) but blinded by hate only manages to scratch the derro's dirty shirt.
You can hear Derendil coming back from the side cave after the scream.
Buppido quickly takes a dagger from behind his back (undercommon) "I will not let you foil my plans!" and swings it at Turvy (to hit: 12, damage: 3) drawing blood from her arm.
Initiative order:
20 Turvy (3)
18 Derendil (14)
14 Buppido
10 Tanis
11 Stool
8 Drogen
7 Jimjar
6 Eldeth
5 Thunk (13)
5 Sarith
3 Arokas
Tanis goes next.
Tanis stands, invisible to Buppido's darkvision, staring at the derro.
We may never know if he killed Topsy, though I think that he did. But it no longer matters now.
He only has a moment to be stunned at Turvy's transformation. Is she a druid? Or a... a... Tanis shakes his head, at a loss, then attacks Buppido twice with his hand crossbow, using his Crossbow Expert feat to avoid disadvantage on both attacks despite being within 5' of his target.
Action: Tanis makes a hand crossbow attack at advantage from being invisible to Buppido.
To Hit: 24
Damage: 9 piercing
Bonus Action: (Crossbow Expert) Tanis makes a hand crossbow attack at advantage from being invisible to Buppido.
To Hit: 25
Damage: 7 piercing
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Buppido takes both bolts point blank. He looks down at his blood dripping from the wounds, but doesn't utter a single sound of pain. A look of incredulity begins to form in his face, but before more people have a chance to react a lightning bolt from Arokas hits the derro. He barely is able to utter (undercommon) "impossible" before his body hits the ground.
Turvy jumps over the dead body and slashes at it with her newly grown claws. If no one stops her she will keep going until there is nothing more than an amorphous mass under her.
The dwarf's eyes go wide at the scene before him. "This is madness. We won't survive long in this place if we are fighting each other."
Arokas states in shock at the spell he just cast. He looks at his fingers with an expression of fear on his face. “Let’s get moving, we don’t want the drow to catch up to us,” he says as he starts walking down the tunnel.
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[A]
Tanis recovers his bolts and stares numbly as Turvy disembowels Buppido's corpse, but does not try to stop her.
Unseen, his voice comes from the darkness, sad and resigned. "I... I am sorry it came to that. I think it likely that the derro was Topsy's killer, though I have no proof. He seemed to relish bloodshed, even back in the cell when he was licking his lips and looking sly at the thought of a fight between Ront and Thunk. All I asked from him was a clear denial and he would not give me that. And then he threw the stone at Turvy."
He sighs. "You are right, we should keep moving. The drow tracking us will already know we were here from the monstrosities in the cavern, so we may as well leave the corpse here too. Just to be safe, when we do make camp next, we should still keep watch at least two at a time as discussed."
(He speaks in Undercommon, but repeats it in Dwarvish and Elvish).
Finally, in Undercommon to Turvy as the party is leaving. "We must go. Nothing you do to the derro's corpse will bring your brother back, more's the pity."
Grimly, Tanis takes the lead in the marching order once more, scouting into the darkness alongside Sarith who is leading the way.
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Drawn by the screams, the other escaped prisoners come out of the side cave and are able to witness Turvy's mauling of Buppido. Given the fury emanating from her, no one dares come closer. Eventually she tires out and steps away from the bloody mess. Her face and hands slowly return to normal and bends to pick the dagger that Buppido used to hurt her. As soon as her hand reaches the hilt she jerks it back letting out a small yelp of pain. She stands back again and turns to where Tanis' voice came from (undercommon) "I consider my brother avenged. Let us go before the smell of blood lures some beast this way."
Derendil, still battered from the fight, goes to retrieve the fallen dagger (elvish) "this belonged to a drow priest, the spider handle makes it impossible to mistake for anything else. I wonder how come Buppido was able to get his hands on it."
Noticing that no one seems to be fighting rirght now, Stool slowly moves towards the group. Scared to go closer, but more scared to go alone.
Sarith, a vacant gaze still in his face, retakes his position leading the group on the march west towards the Darklake. Eldeth follows him, remarking sadly (dwarvish) "if someone is tracking us we certainly are making our trail easy to find."
Sarith keeps pointing out salient features in your path that reassure you that the drow knows the path pretty well, even if he is oblivious to the tension within the group after Topsy and Buppido's deaths.
The rest of the waking cycle goes by without interruptions other than crossing a small stream that gives you the opportunity to quench your thirst. When tiredness starts to take over the group you set out to sleep. Having taken the precaution of setting up guard turns, no one is murdered in their sleep. You wake up rested and hungry, ready to keep marching.
A couple hours after waking up you get to a widening in the passage you are following. This large cavern is illuminated by a dim light with no apparent source. As soon as Tanis is visible, Stool quickly wobbles up to him.
Eldeth looks suspiciously at the open space (common) "I don't trust this light, caverns should be dark." Jimjar turns to her and replies (common) "I've heard about this, a cousin told me about caverns where you can see without torches, he was sure magic was involved in them."
Tanis looks around for the source of the ambient dim light, but the sheer unfamiliarity of his surroundings leave him uncertain.
Perception: 11
He turns to the other Underdark dwellers besides Jimjar, speaking in Undercommon (translating to Elvish and Dwarvish as necessary). "The others among you who dwell below ground. Have you heard of this strange light as Jimjar has? Turvy or Stool or Sarith? Is it dangerous? And since I am sure all of you are felling as hungry as I am, can we use the light to forage for food?"
(Tanis suspects Derendil also is an Underdark denizen, but the quaggoth seems convinced that he is an elven prince from the surface).
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Thunk doesn’t know what to think. Thunk is happy enough to stay in front but he stays close as he is confused by… everything. Thunk doesn’t question the light. Thunk just happy to have some again.
Upon waking the dwarf spends some time in prayer to Moradin in order to prepare his spells before continuing to journey on with the others. The loud grumbling from his belly agrees with the rangers comment about finding food.
(Common) “I can determine if there be magic afoot,” Drogen remarks before he ritually casts detect magic.
While walking, Arokas mostly keeps to himself, save for one conversation he has with Derendil. “Derendil,” he softly says in Elvish, “I don’t understand the language many of the group are speaking, which I think is called Undercommon. Could you teach me to speak it? I can help you speak the Common language in return.”
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[A]
Derendil smiles at Arokas and replies (elvish) "it took me a long time in that cursed prison to learn my captors tongue. I would gladly trade words with you as we continue our journey." The cursed prince starts with some basic phrases and numbers (elvish) "but I'm afraid that the nuances of the language are lost on me, I only learned what I needed to survive and to communicate with other prisoners."
Stool releases a cloud of rapport spores to communicate back to Tanis "Stool has not seen this before." Sarith scratches behind his ears and thinks for some time (undercommon) "not personally, but I remember one of my sergeants cautioned the wizards in our squad not to do magic in weirdly illuminated areas." Turvy keeps away from others while still being part of the group, but keeps her thoughts to herself.
Drogen's ritual seems particularly difficult in this area, but he manages to successfully cast detect magic. To the dwarve's eyes, the whole illuminated area is emanating a strong aura of abjuration, a small aura of evocation and small traces of every other school of magic in complete disarray.
Eldeth perks up at the mention of food (dwarvish) "aye, I'll start looking for something edible along the northern side of the cavern. Join me if you want, food may want to fight back around these parts." She grips her shortsword and starts walking almost noiselessly towards the unexplored region.
OOC: whoever wants to forage for food please make a survival check, with advantage if you are going with Eldeth.
(common) "This place does radiate magic, though I am unable to determine it's source." Drogen remarks after completing his spell. He then turns to Eldeth (dwarven) "I'll come with you, I'm no hunter, but it'd be safer not to wander off alone."
Survival: 21
Tanis realizes with a start and then some uneasiness that he preferred it when it was dark like it had been and he could fade into the gloom...
He too speaks in dwarvish to Eldeth: "I'll join you and Drogen to forage. We have a large group to feed. Also, it sounds as if spell-casters should be careful with their magic while we are surrounded by this illumination." (He then translates to Undercommon and Elvish).
Survival at advantage: 23
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
“Thank you,” Arokas responds to Derendil in elvish. “I’ll probably only need enough to get by and understand most of what people are saying.” Arokas also starts with basic numbers and phrases in Common, choosing to be with Derendil instead of foraging with the others.
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[A]
Stool happily follows Tanis in the illuminated cavern. Jimjar also follows the group (common) "who knows, maybe we'll find treasure in this magic cave." The cavern extends northward as far as you can see. Multiple stalactites and stalagmites are scattered around the area, providing easy cover and hiding spots. Soon you hear water dripping and following the sound are able to find a small pool where multiple fungi grow.
Stool waddles into the water and stands over a mass of ripplebark. How the little myconid gathers sustenance from it is a mystery, but Stool seems happy to just stand there for a while. Along the water edge grow a copse of massive mushrooms reaching up to forty feet in height. They are zurkhwood, one of the few sources of timber in the Underdark. Their hard and woody stalks are used to make furniture, bridges, and rafts. They also grow edible spores and with the number you found growing here you could easily harvest a few dozen pounds of food.
Meanwhile, back at the cavern entrance. Derendil and Arokas keep sharing phrases. Turvy keeps a distance away from everyone else, glancing nervously at the way you came. Sarith maintains a vacant gaze, he suddenly grabs his white hair and starts to speak (undercommon) "we must keep moving, this area is not safe."
Tanis shows the others where to harvest food from the spores of the zurkhwood. Perhaps not all of it in the interests of continuing to move.
"We need at least a few pounds of food. No good starving down here. I will keep watch back the way we came. I know they must be after us, and we keep leaving signs of our passage. Buppido's mangled corpse and the Gricks, now the harvested zurkhwood fungi..."
He trails off as Sarith speaks up. What is wrong with this dark elf? He keeps acting vacant, like he is somewhere else and then suddenly speaks up... and he said that he wants to make for Neverlight Grove. I can understand that from Stool, but it still makes no sense for a drow.
"We will move soon, Sarith. What makes this place unsafe? Other than being in the Underdark to start with, where it seems as if everything kills you?"
Tanis keeps watch (90' darkvision) back the way the party has come for any signs of pursuit until it is time to continue on, at which point he becomes lead scout once more. As he watches, he realizes with embarrassment that he has a spell he can cast (Goodberry) to help with the food situation...
Pull your head out of the clouds, scout, he can imagine the old man shouting at him. Sheriff Markham Southwell, back in Bryn Shander...
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
“Must move…not safe…” Arokas mutters to himself, starting to pick up bits of Undercommon from his conversation with Derendil. In Elvish, he tells Derendil, “I don’t trust him. He’s been acting strange ever since we got out.”
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[A]
The group follows Tanis back to the place where the large fungi grow. Jimjar replies at Tanis' words (undercommon) "I wouldn't worry about this harvesting pointing to us, even kobolds know that you can eat zurkhwood spores." Turvy curtly nods in agreement while picking up as much as she can carry.
The dark elf keeps a vacant gaze pointed to the west (undercommon) "the light here makes it too easy to find us. This area was dark last time I used this path." He scratches behind his ears and continues "the Darklake is still days away."
Derendil nods at Arokas (elvish) "I must concur, the other drow were very direct when giving orders. This one seems to be out of touch with the real world."
Food gathering does not take long with everyone taking their own portion to carry and soon you are back on your way to the Darklake. The illuminated cavern extends for a couple hours march, you don't see any sign of living creatures in it. They are either too good at hiding or scared of a group so large. Eventually the cavern's roof starts to descend and you face a wall with multiple openings. Sarith points to one that does not look any different from the others (undercommon) "at least the exit is still in the same place."
The new tunnel is narrower than the previous ones, forcing the group to march in a single line for a while. Several cracks and openings deviate from the main path, but Sarith keeps going with confidence until you reach a larger area with multiple entrances. Before the drow is able to point which way to go next, Eldeth kneels next to a side tunnel (common) "this one opened not long ago, but I don't see signs of mining equipment anywhere. Are cave-ins common around here?"