#rumpadump

[lumendelmari]

Chapter Thirty-Nine

The Dreamwalker

1485 DR / Day 41

Laduguer’s Furrow, Gracklstugh 

The sad pattern continued as Zelyra, Kazimir, and Prince Derendil made their way westward to Cairngorm Caverns. Destruction, death, silence, fear… The once bustling city of Gracklstugh was rank with it. What should have been a ten-minute walk quickly tripled due to the damage the red dragon, Themberchaud, had wrought.

And yet, there was one bright spot amidst the fallout—

Gracklstugh was already starting to rebuild.

The petty war that had broken out between clans was forgotten. Duergar, who had been at each other’s throats, needlessly spilling blood mere hours before, now rallied together and stoically worked side by side to put out fires, clear the streets, and search for trapped victims. The trio did what they could to help along the way, which slowed them even further.

As they navigated the wreckage of the southern housing district, Zelyra’s sharp eyes fell upon a figure lying near a collapsed building. The druid gasped and rushed forward. Derendil and Kazimir hurried after her. The body that Zelyra had found was none other than Grinta Ironhead.

Not only had Grinta been one of the co-conspirators of Blackskull’s coup—she was Laird Thangus Ironhead’s only daughter. [1] The once proud and fierce weaponsmith now looked so small and fragile, her armor cracked and scorched. Further search revealed Grinta’s honor guard trapped among debris. The elderly priest who presided over their Heroes’ Feast was also there. He lay flat on his back, his dark eyes trained upwards, lifeless and unseeing.

They had never asked the priest’s name, let alone thanked him for the powerful adjuration magic that had undoubtedly saved their lives in the throne room…

And now they never could.

“How did it come to this?” Kazimir muttered.

“Pride was allowed to override reason,” Prince Derendil replied, his head downturned. “No side would have come out of the coup without substantial loss. But they knew that, I think. Blackskull, Amber, Grinta, and the other lairds who sided with them… Themberchaud knew it, too. That’s why he chose to attack when he did. It was his best and only chance. This was a battle that neither side could have won.”

“They didn’t deserve this,” Zelyra said as she dropped to her knees beside the priest and reached out with trembling fingers to close his unseeing eyes in respect. “None of them did,” the druid muttered. She then brought her hands to her mouth in a gasp. “Poor Blackskull! She must—”

Zelyra left the conclusion of ‘guilt’ unsaid.

But both of her companions knew what she meant.

“Yeah,” Kazimir breathed.

The wizard reached into the pocket of his robes for the small, polished stone that connected him to Captain Errde Blackskull. He hesitated, his thumb rubbing its smooth surface before relaying the news and location of the bodies. Blackskull’s response was swift and clipped, but the tiefling could tell it significantly weighed on her.

“I will send a recovery team immediately.”

There was a slight pause, and then—

“Thank you for letting me know, Kazimir,” the duergar said softly. “Stay safe. We’ve lost too many already.”

Not for the first time, the tiefling wizard warred with himself internally. Surely, they could have done something more. Or perhaps they should have done the opposite and turned their backs on Blackskull, washing their hands of the duergar city altogether when they had the chance. But a nagging voice in Kazimir’s subconscious that sounded suspiciously like Fraeya argued that Gracklstugh would have been worse off had they done that. If they had not exposed Shal, if they had not broken the succubus’s hold and returned Deepking Horgar to his right mind—

Themberchaud’s attack would have devastated the City of Blades.

And that effect would not have been limited to Gracklstugh. Had the duergar city fallen to the dragon, it would have had untold consequences on the entire trade infrastructure of the Underdark.

“Any news of Amber Thrazgad’s whereabouts?” the wizard finally asked.

“None,” the captain replied curtly.

The link between the sending stones fell silent.

Kazimir sighed. It was strange, given that their interaction with the head of Clan Thrazgad had been limited to just a few short meetings, but the tiefling felt as though a rock had settled in the pit of his stomach. Had the fiery armorsmith met the same fate as Grinta Ironhead?

The wizard took another deep breath and then released it. Around them, the duergar continued their grim work, cleaning the streets and tending to the wounded. There was resilience to them, some stubborn determination to keep going despite all odds. Kazimir had come to respect it during their time in the city. They might not see eye to eye on specific policies—the slave trade, for one—but these were a people who had built their lives in the harshest of environments, who had carved out a place for themselves in the unforgiving Underdark. They would survive this, somehow.

. . . Read more: https://archiveofourown.org/works/35100307/chapters/152830810

[vulpineghost]

Up next are the redesigns of Sarith's unintentionally adopted children, Inkydinks (Stool) and Rumpadump. These myconids are inspired by inky cap and green earth tongue mushrooms.

Aside from being loosely based on NPCs with little canon material from a D&D campaign, they have become entirely original characters.

As such, they have also been uploaded to my Art Fight this year!

[theterry]

A little reference sheet for my little fungi.

It's my 2nd run of the DnD 5e Out of the Abyss campaign, so instead of creating a normal character I "replaced" the npc Stool with my own take on a naïve, people-loving Myconid... Loaf (He/They). 💜

Loaf never quite fit in with their circle, often daydreaming they could be somewhere else, maybe even someone else.

They had a small secret burrow at Neverlight Grove where they kept trinkets from the surface (think Ariel's throve in The Little Mermaid). Rumpadump, another Myconid Loaf thought was his friend, found out about it and ran to tattle to their Sovereign who in turn collapsed it shut. Feeling isolated and upset, Loaf packed their things and left to find a way to the surface.

...From there he was captured by the Drow, which lead to meeting a queer bunch of imprisoned surface dwellers. Through bonding over fights, perils and heroics they became Loaf's new "circle".

[cloaksandcapes]

Idk who Stool and Rumpadump are, but if they get one of these lil' fellas please let us know how it goes! :)

Look at this precious little fella! They're just a lil' guy who wants to love you and protect you. So, whenever someone offers you a goodberry, make sure you check 'em before you eat 'em. And whatever you do, do NOT plant one of these. Just give 'em a good home on your shoulder.

Goodberry Borne

Wondrous Item, uncommon

“At first glance, this magical item looks like an acorn, but is actually a tiny magical creature. It’s a tiny fey that looks like a goodberry, but wears an acorn shell as a cap in hopes no one will want to eat it.”

As a bonus action, you can command this tiny magical creature to give you a hug restoring 1 hit point. A target must be conscious to benefit from this effect.

This magical creature is so small that it’s nearly impossible to hit. Any attacks against it are done at disadvantage, and you can use a reaction to take the damage yourself. It uses your AC, doesn’t suffer damage from area of effect attacks, but otherwise has 1 hit point.

Join us on Twitch every Mon\Wed\Fri to create new Homebrews and check out our Patreon for 527+ magic items, tokens, maps, and more.

[thenighteternal]

Rumpelstiltskin (1995)

[poop4u]

Dog shares tasty snack with guinea pigs

#poop4u #dogs

Wilbur Allen the Shar Pei/Basset shares some veggies with his friends, Market Price and Rumpadump. Cuteness overload!brbr@wilbur_allen_bashar Source & embed code: https://rumble.com/v7pk9f-dog-shares-tasty-snack-with-guinea-pigs.html. For licensing, please email licensing@rumble.com.

From: Rumble Viral

Poop4U via www.Poop4U.com Trippy.Tube, Poop4U

[talesfromtheabyss]

Neverlight Grove Found and Lost

The last session left our party excited to laeve Gracklstugh and the happy discoverers of the Tomb of Khaem which netted Kelkoa one epicly awesome sword called Dawnbringer.

Upon resuming their efforts to head towards Neverlight Grove (with the hopes of returning Stool and Rumpadump home), they continued on through the Underdark with some vague directions.

Their first encounter was in a larger cavern where they were set up on by two flying vrock demons. The fight dragged on as they proved to be resistant to many kinds of damage, but Xen and Kelkoa were having good luck dealing radiant damage. Eventually the party defeated both of the demons, but it was clear that even the random danger in the Underdark was getting more serious.

Soon thereafter, Rumpadump and Stool were excited to start recognizing the surrounding area and quickly led the party to the entrance of Neverlight Grove. As the party explored the grove they found a peaceful, pleasant hidden area where a colony of myconids were living. They soon met the two sovereigns of Neverlight Grove (this was odd itself as colonies usually only had one). Sovereign Basidia seemed quiet and calm while Sovereign Phylo was unusally gregarious and kept telling the adventurers about the exciting opportunity to be part of the great wedding that would bring about a better life for all in the Underdark.

Basidia offered to take the party on a tour of the colony where the party met leaders of the various colony circles. Some seemed just as concerned as Basidia about how oddly some of the other myconids were acting. Others seemed to have the same creepy excitement about some upcoming event that they were happy to evangelize, but somewhat vague about what exactly was going to happen. During the tour, he explained how Phylo had upset the balance of the colony somewhat by creating a separate group that only the true believers would attend and one of the circle leaders hadn't been seen in a bit.

Furthermore, a Drow party had come to the colony several days before where they accepted a tour of the Garden of Welcome and never emerged. Phylo insisted they left, but Basidia doesn't know what happened. The leader of the circle of explorers was loyal to Basidia and a little paranoid about the whole situation. He had already made exit plans for those who had no interest in this great wedding, but Basidia wouldn't leave until he had more proof. However, he was unwilling to visit the Garden of Welcome himself as he was worried he might be infected with whatever had happened to his friend Phylo. He offered the party some magic items to go check for him and report back.

This led to a long debate about whether the party should leave or assist Basidia in his attempt to uncover the truth. Xen explained how he was done with this demonic Underdark stuff. He wanted nothing more to do with this and simply wanted to leave. He was happy to help other myconids leave now, but wanted no part of sneaking back to the Garden of Welcome. The rest of the party wanted to help and didn't feel like they could leave Stool and Rumpadump in the Grove with a clear conscience. They needed to know a little more about what was going on.

Finally, they party convinced Xen to simply help the other myconids prepare and escape route along with Philis while the rest of the party went snooping in the Garden of Welcome.

What they found was a complete horror show. The Drow party and many other beings from the Underdark were buried neck deep in what appeared to be a large composte area. They were covered in fungus and rot and moaning from their miserable near death existence. The Drow warned them to run and warned them about Zuggtmoy, The Lady of Decay. She begged them to kill her, but the party knew it was time to leave. They returned to Basidia and explained what was happening and he agreed to evacuate all myconids that weren't already under the thrall of Phylo and his followers.

While evacuating the myconids, a party of myconids and spore servant drow began approaching the party from the Garden and would not stop. Behind them was a hideous, mutant myconid that had somehow grown a mouth and was telling the party how they would be guests at the great wedding and would be among the first to receive the gift! The party was able to kill these creatures and finish the evacuation. While parting with Stool and Rumpadump was sad, it was good to know that they would be in safe hands with Basidia and his loyal followers. They would begin seeking a new area to treat as their own colony.

While they escaped without much difficulty, the party did now carry the knowledge that the Demogorgon was not the only demon lord to encroach upon the Underdark. There is more going on and it was getting worse. The party's best hope for escape to the surface now comes from finding Blingdenstone, the city of the deep gnomes, and asking for their help.

Will they get to the surface in time to warn their own people of the encroaching darkness? Will anyone believe them? Will Xen continue to terrorize his friends with a rotting hand?

[theunderdark]

Chapter 6: The Whorlstone Tunnels

In earnest search of a dragon’s egg and a magical obelisk, our heroes venture into a forbidding labyrinth of interconnected tunnels and caves, known locally as The Whorlstone Tunnels.

Yet deeper underground than even the trench of Laduguer’s Furrow, their path takes them yet further from the surface. Home feels a long way from here. What curious and unfamiliar sights await them...?

The mute air

The clanging sounds of Gracklstugh’s forges, of metal on metal, and of the bustling markets faded away. Glowing mushrooms and plants lined the damp walls, casting spiral patterns on the dripping ceilings.

A choice of three paths lay ahead.

Torinn bravely stepped forward to explore the left-hand path, which led to a small empty cavern. A dead-end, but for a narrow crack in the wall, through which Torinn briefly glimpsed a small creature scrambling through. The team spotted two unusual mushrooms, which were later worked out to be Bigwig, a purple cup, granting some kind of increase in size, and a small stubby blue mushroom with white dots called Pygmywort, which does the opposite. They kept some for later, but dared not try it yet.

Akta convinced a hesitant Stool to explore the small crack in the wall, reporting back that there is an underground stream. A pool of this dark water blocked the middle of the second path.

Magical, luminescent fungus covered the cavern walls

A Derro’s Lair

So Jimjar led the team down the right-hand path. Boldly stepping into a large cavern, JimJar was met by the horrible stench of rotting meat. The floor was carpeted with humanoid remains - including fellow deep gnomes - arranged in a spiral pattern around the cave’s centre. A hunched figure turned to greet the team, wiping his hands on his vest and smiling viciously. “Oh, I didn’t expect you so soon!  But yes.. yes.. I sense that you are ready to receive the truth into your hearts!”

Unimpressed with the derro’s religious fervour, JimJar’s unflinching glare bought the team time to hold him down, but not before he was able to raise six undead skeletons to his aid from a nearby shrine. But the team dispatched them swiftly: Sariel unleashing a cloud of magical daggers, and Bree whipping them down like some skeleton bowling strike.

Meanwhile, Miri spoke to one of the dead gnomes, learning a little about The Gray Ghosts, a derro cult holed up in the North-East of the tunnels, who might have stolen the dragon egg. And of a large shrine in the East, where an obelisk might lie.

While they decided what to do, the ghost of a deep gnome popped out of the ground, affably introduced himself as Pelek, and asked the group to find his animated severed hand, lost in the tunnels. The group agreed to lay it to rest in Blingdenstone if they could.

By vote, the group decided to burn the skeletons, the unconscious derro cultist, and everything else in the room. While undead flames licked the walls, the adventurers took a short rest and told tales of their schooling and past.

Parade of Fools

The tunnel opened up into a natural cave, and Bree discovered several fungal creatures dancing to some silent tune. Stool excitedly alerted them that they were fellow myconids - five sprouts like him, plus three adults. Two larger ape-like plants were hunched nearby, covered in mushroom growths and yellow mold.

One of the sprouts was quivering in a corner. It was Sprout’s friend, Rumpadump! Worried that some “strange spores” had perhaps affected the rest of the myconids back home in Neverlight Grove, Rumpadump’s distress was felt telepathically by the whole team. And Stool communicated to Akta that Rumpadump knows the way home.

When Bree asked the myconids what was going on, their leader Voosbur explained that they were brought here by “the Lady”, a powerful being that loves and guides all myconids. When Bree graciously declined his offer to share “the Lady’s gift”, Voosbur took no offence and resumed his twirling dance.

Sariel and Adrik identified a growth on Voosbur’s shoulder, releasing a cloud of demon-tainted spores that should be avoided. Worryingly, the whole thing pointed to the influence of Zuggtmoy, the demon queen of plants and fungus, and, like Demogorgon, another monster who has somehow found her way to the material plane.

Stool’s introverted myconid friend, Rumpadump

A swarm of centipedes

The team bade a melancholy farewell to the lost myconids, as they slowly became invisible. They followed the tunnel on north east until they reached a T junction. A dense thicket of fungi blocked the juncture, although the forest was only 4 or 5 feet high - short enough to see over.

Adrik and Miri stepped forward, but as they assessed a way forward, a hissing sound started to rise, like a hundred tiny voices whispering in unknown tongues. They foraged some food and water from barrelstalks and ripplebark, large mushrooms that they were familiar with from their escape from Velkynvelve.

Everyone crunched their way forward, each using their own skills to forge a path ahead. Miri used her scythe to cut out a path, revealing a nest of centipedes that poured onto the ground. Bree took a moment to go into an abyssal trance, learning that more and more centipedes would come, and Adrik heard them chanting for the Bigwig mushroom, which Sariel held. Taking no chances, she teleported out of the thicket instantly.

Akta could stand it no longer, acrobatically leapfrogging over Miri to safety. Eventually the rest of the crew were able to make their way out, though Miri took several uncomfortably poisonous nips on the way out.

The Raucous Mesa

A long tunnel curved around on itself in a spiral. Eldeth, faithfully fulfilling herrole as the group’s trusty red-headed dwarven scout, explored a tunnel running further north-east, reporting on a network of smaller tunnels. 

Entering a wide chamber, the largest so far encountered, the group spotted glowing mushrooms and slimes around the floors and walls. A huge mesa - a flat-topped rock with steep cliffs on all sides - stands in the middle of the cavern. The ceiling is too dark and high to see. 

Hearing murmurs and whispers from the top of the mesa, the team clambered up a ramshackle staircase carved out of the rock in a spiral. From the top, the rhythmic clanking and loud conversations of Gracklstugh can be heard. Pausing to concentrate, almost to a trance, is when secrets are revealed...

[lumendelmari]

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Speakers of Stone

1485 DR / Day 35

An unknown location outside of Gracklstugh

The companions slowly sat up, recovered from the nauseating feeling of teleportation, and took in their surroundings with bleary eyes. For a moment, no one spoke; such was their shock. It was not until the wizard among them began shaking with silent laughter that the group returned to their senses. Immediately, Kazimir was fixed with five disapproving glares.

“What in the Nine Hells were you thinking?!” Fraeya exploded as she stormed up to the smirking tiefling and jabbed him roughly in the chest with her index finger. “You think this is funny, huh? We just lost the damn egg!”

“I don’t think it’s funny!” Kazimir responded, though his lips were still twisted in a partial smirk.

“Somehow…I don’t think I believe you,” Nine drawled bitterly.

“Did you know the obelisk would react that way when a spell is cast into it?” Zelyra asked the wizard as she favored the right side of her head. Derendil had accidentally elbowed her as they landed. Not that she was complaining! Secretly, the druid was glad that was the extent of her injuries. The quaggoth could have landed on her. That would have been a whole different ordeal.

“How did you know that’s what I did?” Kazimir asked cheekily.

Zelyra tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. “So, that flaming sphere just appeared out of nowhere? I may not understand the arcane like you, but I know enough.”

“It was a joke, Z. Sheesh,” the tiefling muttered. He sobered and said, “I didn’t know what it would do. All I could surmise was that there was some sort of dormant energy within the obelisk that could be activated with magic—any magic. You could have done the same thing to a similar result.”

“And so, in all your wisdom and brilliance, you decided to throw fire at it to test your theory?” Fraeya concluded testily.

Kazimir shrugged nonchalantly.

...

You can continue reading on Ao3 or FF.net...

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13962836/29/The-Grey-Warriors

[lumendelmari]

Chapter Twenty-Six

The Gift

1485 DR / Day 34

The Whorlstone Tunnels, Gracklstugh

The adventurers were all too glad to leave Buppido's gruesome lair behind and continue their exploration of the Whorlstone Tunnels. Fraeya and Fargas resumed their positions as scouts in the front of the group, while Zelyra elected to join Sarith as a rearguard. Normally she would have walked in the middle of the group with Kazimir and Derendil, but she wanted to give the prince his space.

Almost immediately after Derendil had walked away, Zelyra realized her mistake. Her words had come out too soon and at the worst time. The prince was still recovering from the shock of attacking her. Her thoughtlessly bringing up his curse and comparing him to a primal animal had been incredibly insensitive. She reasoned that she would apologize to him later, perhaps when they stopped to rest. But when that might be was anyone's guess. The druid could only suppose that they were not returning to Ghohlbrorn's Lair until they had enough proof to bring back to Blackskull or found the missing dragon egg. Until then, they would likely be sleeping in the tunnels.

As Fargas and Fraeya led the party to the mouth of a third open chamber, the faerzress changed again. This time, the magical energy was neither pale silver nor sickly green. Instead, it was bright gold and spun in hypnotizing patterns, as if in time to some sort of dance or song. The rogues watched the faerzress for a moment before peering around the corner. To their disappointment, the chamber beyond was not empty, and its inhabitants were all acting rather odd.

. . .

Read the rest on Ao3 or FF.net: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13962836/26/The-Grey-Warriors

[lumendelmari]

Chapter Thirty-Six

The Hold of the Deepking  

1485 DR / Day 41 

The Blade Bazaar, Gracklstugh

A cloud of unease and doubt hung over the companions’ heads as they slipped through the streets of Gracklstugh in the late afternoon. After their separate shopping excursions that morning, they spent the rest of their time gathered in Fraeya and Sarith’s chambers, essentially twiddling their thumbs while awaiting a call to arms—but no longer. The time had come. Captain Blackskull’s summons came via sending stone not ten minutes prior. The party was to immediately make their way to Clan Ironhead’s stronghold on the far western side of the Darklake District, due south of The Shattered Spire. And so, the companions had donned their gear, double-checked their supplies, and spent a few final moments with their myconid companions. Rumpadump and Stool would remain behind in their lodgings at Ghohlbrorn’s Lair. As the establishment was tucked away in caverns beneath the surface level of the city, it was the safest place for them. Because no matter how fiercely Stool argued for it, war was no place for a sprout.

“Do not leave this room unless one of us, Vanum or Lizva, calls for you. Do you understand?” Kazimir had told the sprouts.

Rumpadump nodded in agreement, but Stool had turned away like a stubborn child. That action still bothered Kazimir, though he knew Rumpadump and Stool were far safer being left behind. The party had no idea what they would be walking into…

. . .

Read more: https://archiveofourown.org/works/35100307/chapters/120975274

or

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13962836/36/The-Grey-Warriors

[talesfromtheabyss]

Eggs, Obelisks, Crazy Derro, and a Shocking Death

When the party last met, they had just survived a fight amongst a fungus forest. The speedy derro they were chasing had escaped and they needed to decide how to investigate the tunnels they were in and how to pick up his trail again.

The party simply picked one of the possible exits and started exploring. The long tunnels eventually open into a large cavern containing a terraced mesa with two peaks. One held a large red egg and the other a shiny black obelisk being tended by a female derro. When the party entered, though, they were surprised by a screaming spectator that immediately attacked with its array of eye rays. This led the derro to begin attacking with some powerful magic of her own. Kelkoa performed an epic leaping attack off of the ledge to the floating spectator and did serious damage. Lonehunter made the same move with less success. The rest of the party was seriously hurt by lightning from the derro that dropped Xen and Philis. After a couple of failed attempts, the party was able to revive their unconscious friends. Despite the derro moving invisibly to attack again, the party did prevail and killed both the wizard and the spectator. Unfortunately, Eldeth was killed and not revivable. The brave dwarf just wanted to get home, but gave her life in service to friends only recently made.

This fight reinforced the idea that these tunnels were far more dangerous than the travel between Underdark cities above. A single attack might decimate the team. They will need to plan accordingly.

The party was happy to find the egg and Kelkoa volunteered to carry the enormous thing back to Themberchaud. Anar and Philis are fascinated by the apparent magical properties of the obelisk and start experimenting. Finally, Philis discovers that expending magical energy while touching the obelisk causes her to be teleported outside of Gracklstugh. While the rest of the party has no idea where she's gone, she eventually makes her way back through town and waits for them to come back through the West Cleft entry.

Frustrated and worried that Philis may be gone forever, the party does make it’s way back the way they came hoping to make a quick exit without attracting too much attention. Unfortunately, they do run into a carrion crawler scouring the tunnels for food.

Later, they stumble upon a group of myconids… dancing. This group is also accompanied by two quaggoths that have strange yellow mold covering them. The joy of meeting more myconids is tempered by their obviously strange behavior (that Stool immediately points out). But, Stool also sees his friend Rumpadump. He’s not excited about this group led by Voosbur and the “strange spores” he’s carrying with him. The party experiences the oddness by communicating with him, but they reject his offer of “the Lady’s gift”. They also agree to let Rumpadump join the party as he seems much more willing to travel with Stool and his friends than this strange group of myconids. They leave by walking into a patch of fungus and simply disappearing.

In the very next cave, the party is confronted by the horrifying sight of a room full of body parts arranged in a giant swirl pattern. At the center is an even more crazed Buppido! He starts ranting about how happy he is to see them all joining his cause and that it surely means his time has come. As he approaches the party with his trusty daggers, he also raises some skeletons from the body parts (each with two heads!) and attacks the party so they can join the cause!

The party defeats him and makes for the exit. When leaving the tunnels and eventually the Derro part of town, they re-encounter Philis waiting for them outside the gate! At this point the party heads back to Themberchaud’s chamber and deftly brings the egg before him without the notice of the Keepers of the Flame. Themberchaud is clearly surprised and annoyed and asks the party to stand back, after which he promptly cooks the egg and destroys it. He is pleased with the party’s help, though, and bestows a potion of flying on them for future use. He also asks the team to report back to the Keepers, but not to tell them about the egg.

The party does check-in with the Keepers and tells them all about the room with the obelisk, the derro wizard, and the spectator. Gartokkar, the point of contact with the Keepers, is very happy to hear about what the party found, but disappointed that no egg was found. He is immediately convinced that the Gray Ghosts are causing all of the strange events in Gracklstugh by using this obelisk. He arranges for some other Keepers to form a party to seek out the obelisk and see about stopping the Ghosts from doing any more damage. He then asks the party to keep an eye out for Droki and to let him know if they discover any other information about the Gray Ghosts.

The party then has a difficult decision: Do they leave Gracklstugh or do they feel obligated to help the Keepers further and learn more about what’s going on? They decide to press on and re-enter the tunnels under the city to see what else they can learn.

Upon passing through the chamber where Buppido was chopping bodies, they encounter the ghost of a deep gnome named Pelek that was killed by Buppido. He asks the party to take his body back to Blingdenstone and bury it. Not being able to tell any of the body parts apart, he does say that he observed the strange magic in the tunnels animating one of his hands and it scuttled off through one of the narrow tunnels. The party will recognize it because it has an obsidian ring on it. The party agrees to keep an eye out for it and moves on.

Exploring some other tunnels they skipped in their earlier trip, they find a strange room where the party can apparently hear sounds from all over Gracklstugh. Only Xenophrane is able to focus long enough that he gains some insight about what’s causing all the strange events and behavior in the Underdark. The Stone Giants were closest to the mark, but many people have simply become entrenched in the idea that their personal adversaries must be responsible and there’s no convincing them otherwise. This partially explains why Gartokkar is so convinced that everything is the fault of the Gray Ghosts. While the information is interesting, the sounds is causing physical damage to some of the party, so they move on.

The next area they notice sticky, white strands. The party can hear scuttling around the corners, but they move away from where the strands are most dense before encountering any creatures. They can only guess what horrors were hiding in those claustrophobic tunnels.

Finally, they poke their heads out into a larger cavern that turns out to be a fungus farm that’s being actively tended by duergar. While the party uses distraction to get the jump on some of them, it’s not enough to take them all out quickly. The ensuing fight has the duergar hosing the party down with foul fertilizer and growing to a larger size to attack. Another fled to notify “The Alchemist”. The party is able to kill the gardeners eventually including a clever use of Guiding Bolt that made the alchemist duergar somewhat easier to target even after he turned invisible. The party collected some interesting vials from the dead alchemist (vial of acid and vials of alchemist’s fire) before pausing the adventure.

After fighting their way through some strange and dangerous areas and leaving some unknown creatures behind them, where will the party rest? Who and what else will they meet? Will they ever catch Droki? Will they learn more about the Gray Ghosts? Can they escape Gracklstugh before becoming overcome by the madness that is slowly creeping in like the everpresent faerzress fog?

[thenighteternal]

ℜ𝔲𝔪𝔭𝔢𝔩𝔰𝔱𝔦𝔩𝔱𝔰𝔨𝔦𝔫 (1995)