C2 E73

After a bit of confusion over who our heroes are talking to and which village they are supposed to save they bravely head deeper towards mystery and danger! The Myconids need their aid so aid they shall receive.

## **Story**

### Long Story

Sporelin, who's now being called "Fungarum" for some reason, laments the dead Myconid. He knew them, but isn't really too torn up about all of this. He has a kind of whatever view on life, you know? He doesn't even care when R'Oarc asks to cut off one of the corpse's fingers, for studying. Gradually, they advance to cutting off hands, then arms and legs, and torsos, and eventually, just the head. But only on one. The rest of the Myconid bodies are burned by Selene von Esper.

With the remaining, unburnt head, T'Chuck decides to do some forensic investigation. His search turns up a strange wound on the head, which looks a little older than their recent fight which resulted in the Myconid's death. It's pretty sus, tbh, no cap. T'Chuck peels off the scan (gross), and finds a deep, recessed hole in the head. Looks like someone shoved something in there. The other two heads, now burnt and crispy, also have similar wounds. Sporelin/Fungarum does not have such a wound as this, interestingly enough. Something funky is going on around here, or should I say "fungy"...

The party questions Sporelin/Fungarum. Has anything else odd been going on around town recently? Besides the missing Myconids coming back as killer zombies, of course. He tells them that recently, a Myconid named "Mossbell" said he saw a ghost. That was odd. Also, Faelia Emberbrew, a druid, has been visiting the Myconid for years. After the recent disappearances, she grew concerned, and decided to move down here to watch over the Myconid, maybe see if she could stop whatever's going on. That seems like it should be their next move: go talk to Faelia Emberbrew.

Along the way back to town, Sporelin remembers that his name is, in fact, Sporelin. So, that clears that up. He then says that one of the recently deceased Myconid that was burnt up was Fungarum. Even though, last episode, he said that their names were "Veilstock", "Capwise", and "Lychenore". So, I guess that... Doesn't really clear too much up, now does it? To make matters worse, the group decides that the unnamed Myconid village should be named "Fungarum", as a way of honoring their fallen brother. Sporelin, who's apparently the king of the Myconid village, agrees to this. And so, the name Fungarum went from being one of the Myconid folk back in town, to being Sporelin's name, to being the name of one of the dead Myconid, to being the name of the Myconid town. Cool. My brain hurts. Did someone put something in my brain, too? Am *I* a Myconid?

The group heads toward the newly named village of Fungarum. Along the way, R'Oarc decides to see what things would look like while looking through the mushroom crystal that Ratma Ritmo had given them back in Episode 55. Back then, it was just a crystal they looked through. Now, it seems to have become glasses. I don't know, man. Anyway, looking through them is trippy. Some of the mushrooms are lit, but not in a way that indicates any kind of direction; it's all haphazard. There's also a switcheroo between the mushroom glasses, and Screech's Darkvision Goggles. When Screech wears both at the same time, it makes everything suuuuper bright and blown out, causing him to freak out. R'Oarc tries on the Darkvision Goggles, but she already has Darkvision. It just makes everything suuuuper weird to look at, like looking through your dad's glasses as a kid.

Aaaaanyway, they eventually get to Fungarum (the city, not the dead/undead/never dead person). Sporelin has no leads, other than where Emberbrew lives. She's on the outskirts of town, but a different outskirts than where they are now. They have to walk a ways. As they do, they see that the Myconid live in mushroom huts. Everything about them is mushroom based. They live in mushrooms, they eat mushrooms, they freakin' ARE mushrooms. But different mushrooms than what they eat. It's not weird.

Emberbrew doesn't live in a mushroom hut. She lives in what appears to be a tree stump. This kind of fauna shouldn't be able to grow down here, but then, Emberbrew is a Druid. Who knows what kind of fucked up magics she's capable of. She opens the door when they knock, and is surprised to see visitors. She doesn't invite them in, so they are forced to question the poor woman at the door.

First, they present her with the Myconid head, which she examines. She goes on and on about how Myconid heads contain several organs that control all sorts of things about them, such as their growth, speech patterns, and "other brain things". She herself is not susceptible to whatever the Myconid are falling victim to, due to her Druidic magic. She also, like Sporelin, doesn't know who could be causing this. The Myconid are natural prey to Hook Horrors, but H. H.s aren't really known to do stuff like this. It's a mystery.

As the conversation goes on, they start to sense that Emberbrew's not telling them the whole story. And, looking past her, they can see two place settings on the table, as if someone else is home. It's for her son, Thaldin, she says. He's sick, and resting, so he can't come to the door right now. This all seems too suspicious for our noble heroes, so they force their way inside to look around. Hearing a weak cough coming from a nearby bedroom, they burst in, neglecting to put on the face coverings that were suggested at the beginning of the episode (to combat the spores, you see). Laying in bed, right where Emberbrew said he was, is a sickly-looking 12 year old boy. His eyes are bloodshot, and he is, indeed, sick.

T'Chuck attempts to cast *Lesser Restoration* on poor Thaldin, but to no avail. I hate it when things aren't to any avail! R'Oarc does a sneaky peek at the boy's head, but finds no wound that would match the zombie Myconid. Apologizing for their rudeness, the party turns to leave (which Emberbrew is all too ready for them to do). But then they notice the stew she's preparing. They ask for some. She says no, understandably. Screech swipes some anyway. He eats it, despite believing it to be poisoned. I mean, hey. How else are you gonna know, right? It isn't poisoned, but doesn't that make things all the more suspicious?

Once outside, the party agrees that Emberbrew is clearly up to no good. They will have to follow her, see what kind of nefarious plot she's cooking up. Hopefully it's better than her stew. T'Chuck and Screech craft a disguised hidey-hole for the party nearby, and there, they wait for the equivelant of nightfall in an underground cave system.

After several hours, the lights in town, and in Emberbrew's hut, go out. Screech takes to the shadows, peering in silently through the window. There's movement inside. Emberbrew appears to be packing up her things. She's going out. He waits outside (above the door for some reason), and soon, Emberbrew exists. She begins making her way across town, with Screech (as Beholder-doodle), and an invisible T'Chuck and R'Oarc following close behind. Selene von Esper hangs back, ready to cast *Fire Ball* should things go south.

After a while (crocodile), Emberbrew makes it to one of the mushroom huts. She waves a hand, causing a bunch of vines and roots to move around. They form a door in the hut. Emberbrew steps inside, which closes behind her. R'Oarc peers in through the window, and sees a shocking sight. Emberbrew is standin over a sleeping Myconid, and is sticking something into its head!

### Short

Sporelin leads the party back to his village, which the party decides to name "Fungarum" (it's a long story). Their first stop is to visit the mysterious druid Fallia Emberbrew. She's been studying the Myconid for years, but after the recent troubles, has decided to move down here to investigate what's going on. The party finds her suspicious, however, so they stalk her during the night, following her as she sneaks about town. They watch as she enters the hut of one of the Myconid, and the shove something into its brain!

## **Trivia**

* The village of Fungarum has about 300 Myconid living here. It's unclear if this is before or after the recent disappearances.
* Thaldin Emberbrew doesn't have a middle name
* Nintendo DS's are canon to this world.

## **In This Episode...**

### **Cast and Player Characters**

* Michael DiMauro - *Dungeon Master* / Selene von Esper
* Tim Lanning - T'Chuck
* Nika Howard - R'Oarc
* Mike Bachmann - Beholder-doodle (Screech Echo)

### **Non-Player Characters**

* Sporelin / Fungarum?
* Faelia Emberbrew
* Thaldin Emberbrew

### **Locations**

* The Underground
	+ ~~Unnamed~~ Myconid village - Fungarum

### **Quest Board**

* [On-Hold] - Investigate the mysterious goings-on to the east
* [Active] - Save the Myconid people
	+ [Complete] - ~~Investigate the disappearances in the Unnamed Myconid Village~~
	+ [NEW][Active] - Stop Faelia Emberbrew's suspicious plot
* [Active] - Restore Mineford to it's true potential
	+ [Active?] - Mushroom Gathering
	+ [Optional] - Reforge the Path to Morendarith
	+ [Optional] - Bring a load of ale to the newly opened Goblin city of Thornhaven
* [On-hold] - Investigate "Bill, the Necromancer", in the far off city by the coast
* [On-hold] - Take the disembodied lips to the oceanfront, for a burial at sea

### **Quotes**

* **"Describe Nika's hole."** ~ *Tim Lanning*
**"This sounds like a cop-out, but it's a lot like Bachmann's hole."** ~ *Michael DiMauro*

* **"What's his last name?"** ~ *R'Oarc*
**"Emberbrew!"** ~ *Fallia Emberbrew*
**"*Damn,* she's good!"** ~ *T'Chuck*

* **"We're makin' an orphan tonight."** ~ *Mike Bachmann*

## **Rolls**

* **T'Chuck** rolls *Medicine* to inspect the Myconid head - 20
	+ There's a wound on the head, from before their recent fight

* **Screech** rolls to see if he catches the Darkvision glasses - 11
	+ It's fine, he doesn't even need to roll.

* T'Chuck and R'Oarc roll *Insight* to see if Emberbrew is on the up-and-up
	+ **T'Chuck** - 18
	+ **R'Oarc** - 19
		- They feel like she's not telling them everything

* They all roll *Perception* to see what Emberbrew is hiding
	+ **T'Chuck** - 17
	+ **R'Oarc** - 16
	+ **Screech** - 19
		- They notice that she's got two place settings out, like someone else might be staying here

* T'Chuck and R'Oarc roll *Medicine* to see what's wrong with Thaldin
	+ **R'Oarc** - 6
	+ **T'Chuck** - 16
		- His eyes are bloodshot

* **Screech** rolls *Perception* to see if he can tell if Thaldin is a were-mushroom - 16
	+ His hands look like they've never done anything but hold a Nintendo DS

* **R'Oarc** rolls *Sleight of Hand* to slyly check if Thaldin has a wound on his head - 23
	+ There's no wound

* **Screech** rolls *Stealth* to sneakily stick a finger in the stew on the way out - 20
	+ He does, and slurps it.

* Screech and T'Chuck roll Stealth and Survival, respectively, to craft a "group cave gilly suit"
	+ **Screech** - 20
	+ **T'Chuck** - 14
		- They do that, very well

* **Screech** rolls *Stealth* to approach Emberbrew's hut - 28
	+ He's so hidden

* **R'Oarc** rolls *Perception* to look through the window of the mushroom hut - 20
	+ She sees Faelia sticking something into the head of a Myconid