Zorg's Lost Souls III

     Mulligan hadn't paid much attention to the directions until Rowan started repeating them and guessing at their meanings.  

     Inside one's head, perhaps?  There are ways to get inside another's thoughts though...

     Visit the invisible could be something along the lines of using one's imagination?

     The living remains of the dead could simply mean the children of those who have passed on, though that seems less whimsical than the others. 

     Not sure I would want to prevent a happy ending.  But perhaps these directions are the type of clues that only make sense after you stumble upon the answers?

     Then again, Mulligan thought without sharing over Group Chat, it could be balderdash just as Barria suggests. 

"Thank you very much," Rowan says to Nibs as he takes the amulet, spinning it around a few times before slipping it around his neck and letting it nestle next to his whistle, confident that he'll figure out whether it's really magic or not later.

"Why don't we just go out for a bit of a walk about and see what we come across?" Rowan suggests. "I always found the most amazing things doing that at home. There were these rainbow coloured mushrooms I found once. I had the most unusual dreams after that for weeks. They did taste a little odd though."

He then bows his good bye before remembering Nib is blindfolded. "See you later."

Then Rowan steps out of the cave to see if he can see what made the noise.

Barria shakes her head at all the nonsense, but thanks the old man again for the golden wand.  She follows Rowan out of the cave and looks around as well.  "Which way did you want to head first?  And is finding Will our goal?  I'm not even sure what is anymore?"  She looks a little forlorn as her worry is voiced.

Greg gives nib an acknowledgement at his statement of the state of power in this land and heads out after Rowan, "I had not thought of children being the living remains of the dead..." He ponders aloud. "As far as our goal I would assume that if we find skabatha's enemies then we will have found ourselves some allies."

As the group step further out of earshot of the cave he divulges his now more solid remembering a of the hags and their connection to the witch Iggwilv.

"So, Iggwilv, also known in some circles as Tasha, is a legendary witch, she has made her own spells researching and manipulating aspects of the arcane weave that were not thought possible before. It is said that she is the adopted daughter of the Baba Yaga 'the mother of all witches' and so one could assume being under the direct tutelage if such a powerful being would make one powerful too, beyond the scope of what regular wizards like me could rightfully achieve. Her most prized magic item is a cauldron, the one you saw in skabatha's mind, Mulligan. Though why Tasha would be asking for help is beyond me. If she requires help then the task is beyond her means and so likely beyond ours too. Though to think of the reward one might attain as a boon from Tasha herself... The mind boggles" Greg grins, his mind obviously taken by some fanciful magical treasure.

Boggles... boggles... boggles... Greginald's final word seems to bounce from tree to tree. And indeed from one of the trees nearby comes a raspy voice:
Don't say that name, they'll hear you! Nasty creatures! Try as he might though, Greginald can't pick which tree spoke... if it even was a tree.

Rowan tries to peer through the canopy overhead, but the reddish dusk-light already makes seeing difficult, and there is no movement in the sky above that he can detect. Whatever passed earlier has passed, but by the sound of it, Rowan knows what it was.

With nothing else to clarify the so-called directions, all that remains is to go onwards, and not backwards. In the absence of a path made of canary-colored dried clay blocks, the group press through the woods as best they can. A little further on into the forest, they pass another wanted poster featuring Will of the Feywild, pinned to a tree. It is identical to the last, except that the caption reads: “This sorry wretch has stolen from me! Deliver him to me alive and unharmed, and I’ll give you back ten years of your youth.”

Further still, and another sound filters through the trees. Singing again! But it isn't the deep slow human voice of Nibs the Miser this time. Rather it's a cacophony of multiple high-pitched nasal voices, each singing a different song, none of which have any discernible key of their own. The sound draws the group to a gap in the trees where a grassy clearing is found. The center of the clearing is... clear, but lining the perimeter of the clearing are several dozen mushrooms... each of which is singing a song, and bobbing up and down or side to side in an odd dance. Snippets of the songs are vaguely familiar, like nursery rhymes or bar-room chants, which often sound much alike no matter where you go.

     Mulligan eases his strumming to a mellow conclusion before standing up and giving a kind of subtle bow of his head and a mental goodbye to Nibs.  He swings his banjo back onto his back and bends to pick up the boots the strange, cursed man had made for him.  He was... curious about them, and wary as well, but he tried not to let that show.  He mentally told the man he hoped he'd be able to play for him again some time and then departed with the others...

     You think this Ig... Iggy... Igweave... Iggwilv... Tasha person is the person who told me to wake up?  Who is asking me for help?  Why do you think it is her?

     Mulligan seems to have trouble pronouncing the one name, even in his head, so he settles on the use of Tasha instead. 

     Is this Tasha person mixed up with the carnival?  Do you think she is one of the hags?  Or fighting against them?

     Mulligan was confused enough with the different realms and the stealing of shadows and important hoes and such, bringing in the daughter of Baby Yoda was just breaking his mind entirely.

     Who is this Baby Yoda person anyway?

     Mulligan likes to think he knows a thing or two but mysticism and such were never his strong suits.

     At some point during their trek through the forest Mulligan starts mulling over whether or not he should use the banjo again, this time to talk to the plants.  He's hesitant as it didn't exactly work with the dead back at Nib's place but then again they weren't exactly the dead?  And maybe the trees could at least help with the directions, or perhaps know if Will had been around lately?  And he gets distracted also by wondering if he would truly want ten years of his youth back, not that turning Will into the had was the plan.  He, Mulligan, hadn't had the most joyous youth...  Having those years back?  It was a troubling proposition.  Specially since... what did getting them back mean?  Would he relive them all over again?  Would he suddenly be ten years younger?  This was hag magic, it seemed like there was always a catch.

     So when the plants indeed started talking, or at least singing, it wasn't a total shock to Mulligan.  At least not til he remembered he wasn't actually using his banjo and they were just doing this on their own.

     They're kind of...  cute?

     Mulligan shares over group chat.  It's his first reaction and he's not overly proud of it.

     But the sound.  It's like they're singing every song all at once, and totally off key to boot.  It's annoying.  Yet charming?  Maybe we should make it stop?

Rowan looks at the wanted poster and shakes his head.

"Is she threatening to punish someone for bringing Will in alive? Why would anyone want to extend their youth by another ten years?" Rowan muses, forgetting that his kind tend to live longer than the others. "It last so long already."

But when they get to the clearing with the singing mushrooms, he claps his hands together with joy.

He looks at the others and says "Do mushrooms grow in dead trees and leaves and things? Maybe they're who we're looking to talk to?"

Rowan walks over to the group of singing mushrooms, going down on one knee to get closer.

"Hi. Do you know Will? The Will from the wanted posters." Rowan asks.

"baby Yoda? No Baba Yaga, 'mother of all witches' a terrifying power that one, chicken legged house and stuff of nightmares... But a though does occur, if she's said to be mother of all witches, and she adopted Tasha... Well haha are a type of witch, right?" G'Reg muses and ponders over several possibilities and leaving Mulligan to his own thoughts on the subject. 

With the cacophony of the little mushroom folk, G'Reg Bob's up and down a little enjoying the beat, even if he has to strain to pick out just one, when the group finally spots the source of the noise G'Reg explodes "HA! BLOODY MUSHROOMS! WHADIDATELLYA!" He grins from ear to ear basking in the joy of being right, (which he feels is an all too common occurrence) and gives Rowan a nudge in the knee with his gnomish elbow.

The heaviness of rot and decay, the weight of ages past, the suffocating canopy that seems to stifle life and growth... all seem to melt away in the joyful vibe of the circle of singing mushrooms. As if somehow the powers of the hag haven't made it this far. Indeed the presence of the visitors seems to go completely unregistered, until Rowan kneels down and asks his question.

The mushrooms immediately stop singing. Every single one of them turn and look at Rowan, their tiny mouths wide open mid-verse. There is an awkward pause...

Then one of the mushrooms starts a new song in a chirpy upbeat voice.

"Do.... Do you know the WAY to San Jose..."

Another mushroom starts singing a different song in a slow nasal drawl:

"Do you know who I am... have you any idea... who I am..."

And yet another.

"Do you know... the muf-fin man..."

Until the circle of mushrooms are all once again singing a discordant collection of individual tunes and lyrics, but all happily singing and bobbing along to their own and each other's performances, and completely ignoring the group.

Barria half listens to G'Reg as he talks about Baba Yada or whatever, but tries to enjoy her walk through the forest.  She finds the next poster peculiar, and Rowan's thoughts towards it even more so.  

But the mushrooms... oh the mushrooms.  She holds her hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle as they all stop to stare at Rowan with their mouths half open.  And she finds herself wondering how they might taste.  She leans towards them and asks, "Do you know the way to find Will?"

     Perhaps if we got them all focused? Mulligan wonders to himself and readies his banjo once more.  He waits until he hears a song he knows amongst the cacophony and he then begins to stumble along with it.  He's hoping with the musical accompaniment that perhaps the other fungus heads will fall in line?

"Does anyone know what a sand hose is?" Rowan asks after listening to the mushrooms. "Is it something for the garden?"

Otherwise, he's stumped and delighted.

"They did pause to listen," Rowan says then looks at Mulligan. "Play anything. That might get their attention."

But Rowan has almost as much trouble as the mushrooms on staying focused and he finds himself hopping and skipping around the mushroom patch, careful not to step on anyone, in a hectic, helter-skelter, of movement. An interpretive dance of the cacophony of sounds the mushrooms are singing. 

Barria giggles at Rowan's attempt at dancing and decides no one should have to dance alone and does her best to join the elf.  Clapping along with Mulligan's music the best she can.

As soon as Mulligan begins playing, the fungus-folk again cease and stare, transfixed by the music in open-mouthed, wide-eyed fascination. It only takes a few bars before they get the melody, and then as one group the mushrooms start to sing along. Their pitch this time is perfect, and their harmony precise as they all mimic exactly what Mulligan is playing, albeit in an obnoxiously high and nasal falsetto.

Mulligan's efforts certainly appear to have united and focused them... perhaps too well! Slowly, very slowly, they begin to move scuttling along on tiny mycelial feet, and gathering close around the banjo player, merrily bobbing and swaying and singing along with the music.

Still there is no answer to the questions asked. Indeed there is no indication that the mushrooms can communicate, except for their ability to mimic songs and voices... loosely mimic anyway...

     Perhaps if one of you sang a question to them?

     Mulligan offers this idea of the Group Chat.  His telepathy can only go to one individual and doesn't have tone or inflection, and certainly not key or pitch.

Greg pushes Rowan forward at mulligans suggestion before clapping to the beat and assisting in the captivation of the mushroom kids

Rowan does his best to hum along to the tune Mulligan is playing. Once he's got the hang of the melody, he moves over to where all of the little mobile mushrooms are and gives singing the questions a try. "You find so many people are mild. But you, you are mostly wild. You find so many people. Maybe even a child.. Do you know Will of the Feywild? It would be such a thrill to find this Will."

Rowan runs out of rhymes, mostly because he knows nothing about the Will they're looking for. But he hums along again at the end.

The mushrooms repeat Rowan's lyrics back to him, in an uncanny "Alvin and the Chipmunks" version of Rowan's voice. This seems to confirm the observation that the mushrooms don't communicate, but only mimic songs and voices. There does appear to be some basic level of understanding though.

Greg laughs out loud and steps forward, 

"Wait I have an idea, if these guys can speak unlike regular mushrooms then maybe they hold a little magic in them" he starts ringling through his spell book and sets an orb into his hand, "I don't prepare this often because it's next to useless but let's see if they can repeat the enchantment." 

With a minute or two of preparation Greg begins reciting loudly the chant to the spell Dancing Lights, trying to keep the words of the arcane script to a beat, which is difficult as it does not rhyme at all. He repeats it several times making sure the mushrooms copy, a broad smile across his face the entire time, regardless of if it works or not.

     If not answer questions, perhaps they could lead us to this Will?  

     Mulligan offers this to Rowan and Barria as G'REg seems to be working something out in his head at the moment.  

     But we were told the directions weren't exactly straightforward.  Fey nonsense and all.  Perhaps we don't actually need anything from any of the direction points so much as just to complete them before we can be allowed to find him?