Seagrow Caves
General Summary
17 Mirtul, The Year of the Duplicitous Courtier (1496 DR)
Stormwreck Isle, The Sea of Swords
After nearly four hours of rowing, the adventurers had reached the Seagrow Caves. The night before, the adventurers, now numbering five, had heard from Tarak how he frequently visited the sea caves on the island's south side to acquire heart cap mushrooms from the myconids that live there. He used the mushrooms to make potions of healing. But the myconids have installed a fearsome guardian at their caves—a fungus-covered octopus monster—that has turned him away on his latest visits, and he was worried. Elder Runara, the leader of Dragon’s Rest, asked the adventurers if they would go to the caves to find out why the myconids' behavior had changed. When the rowboat made its way into the caves through a tunnel, the group was greeted by a multicolored fungus covering the tunnel's walls, its bioluminescent glow filling the cavern with dim light. The water's surface swirled with colorful, faintly glowing spores—perhaps reacting to the movement of something under the surface. As soon as they rowed into the tunnel, the fungus-covered octopus Tarak spoke of attacked the boat. The adventurers fought back with weapons and spells. During the battle, Zantix was thrown from the boat by the octopus that had struck him with one of its fungus-covered tentacles. The druid had cracked a rib or two but survived the encounter. After defeating the octopus, the adventurers tied the rowboat and entered the caves. The group found themselves inside a huge cavern. Inside was a forest of multicolored fungi, ranging from tiny filaments to tree-sized mushrooms. A sickening smell, like sulfur, hung in the air. A natural staircase of stone columns along one side of the cavern led up ten feet to a higher cave area. Water burbled down from that upper cave and collected in a large pool. They also spotted two small mushroom-like people working amid the mushrooms near the pond. The adventurers assumed these were myconids. The small myconids immediately ran up the stair when the group entered the cavern. The small myconids joined two other myconids, who were much taller. Sein, who carried a foul-smelling sack of food scraps Tarak had provided the group to give as an offering to the myconid colony, carefully walked up to the taller myconids and laid the sack on the ground before them. One of the myconids seemed to recognize the gesture and walked up to the paladin, who found himself breathing in tiny spores from the myconid. After, the paladin felt a strange presence in his mind. Although he couldn't directly communicate with the presence, he could understand its emotions. He knew that the presence was also able to understand Sein's emotions. Sein related to the others that the myconids were afraid. Something in the air was poisoning them. Their leader had fallen gravely ill, and they feared she might not survive much longer. The paladin also felt the myconids' desperate plea for help. Sein and the others offered to help the myconids with their problem. After the adventurers had inhaled the myconids' spores and could 'communicate' through emotions with them, the myconids led the adventurers to their leader. Glowing fungus and colorful crystals grew from the walls and ceilings of the small cave where the myconid leader, a larger specimen of their kind, lay on a soft bed of seaweed. Two human-sized mushroom folk tended to their leader, who was shriveled and covered with unhealthy purple blotches and did not move. The two myconids were collecting spores from a barrel-sized, glowing red fungus that vaguely resembled a human brain and were puffing the spores around the leader’s head. The myconids were able to communicate to the adventurers that strange fumes were coming out of the rock walls in a nearby cave. Since then, the myconid colony began to suffer as purple blotches appeared on their bodies. The group asked the myconids to show them where the fumes came from. The air in the cave the adventurers were led to was choked with thick smoke that assaulted their nostrils with a pungent odor of brimstone. Strange, flickering orange light illuminated the smoke. The area was free of fungal growth; crystals grew from the rock. Nearby, a large cluster of purple crystals jutted from the stone. Opposite where the group entered, a glowing orange crystal wedged into a fissure in the cave wall seemed to be the source of the light. Streaks of soot traced a path along the cave walls between the purple crystals and the fissure. Brick approached the glowing orange crystal and struck it as hard as he could with his warhammer. When the crystal broke, a two-foot-diameter sphere of smoldering obsidian fell to the floor amid the other pieces and broke open, releasing a fiery snake from its stony egg. The adventurers prepared for battle, but not before two elemental creatures, which looked like little dragons formed entirely of greenish smoke, rushed to attack the adventurers. The battle was hard fought. Two of the party members almost lost their lives. But, in the end, the adventurers were victorious. After defeating the fiery snake and the elemental dragons, the group destroyed the remaining orange crystals, allowing the noxious fumes to escape the cave and stop the blight that was harming the myconids It was still unclear where the fumes originated from, but the myconids were safe. In time, the group knew the myconid colony would fully recover. In gratitude for their efforts, the myconids gave the party enough heart cap mushrooms and ruby morel to take back to Dragon's Rest. There, Tarak could make enough healing potions and an elixir of health for the party. Mask also gathered 24 tiny chunks of obsidian worth 10 gp each. The group then left Seagrow Caves and rowed back to Dragon's Rest.
After nearly four hours of rowing, the adventurers had reached the Seagrow Caves. The night before, the adventurers, now numbering five, had heard from Tarak how he frequently visited the sea caves on the island's south side to acquire heart cap mushrooms from the myconids that live there. He used the mushrooms to make potions of healing. But the myconids have installed a fearsome guardian at their caves—a fungus-covered octopus monster—that has turned him away on his latest visits, and he was worried. Elder Runara, the leader of Dragon’s Rest, asked the adventurers if they would go to the caves to find out why the myconids' behavior had changed. When the rowboat made its way into the caves through a tunnel, the group was greeted by a multicolored fungus covering the tunnel's walls, its bioluminescent glow filling the cavern with dim light. The water's surface swirled with colorful, faintly glowing spores—perhaps reacting to the movement of something under the surface. As soon as they rowed into the tunnel, the fungus-covered octopus Tarak spoke of attacked the boat. The adventurers fought back with weapons and spells. During the battle, Zantix was thrown from the boat by the octopus that had struck him with one of its fungus-covered tentacles. The druid had cracked a rib or two but survived the encounter. After defeating the octopus, the adventurers tied the rowboat and entered the caves. The group found themselves inside a huge cavern. Inside was a forest of multicolored fungi, ranging from tiny filaments to tree-sized mushrooms. A sickening smell, like sulfur, hung in the air. A natural staircase of stone columns along one side of the cavern led up ten feet to a higher cave area. Water burbled down from that upper cave and collected in a large pool. They also spotted two small mushroom-like people working amid the mushrooms near the pond. The adventurers assumed these were myconids. The small myconids immediately ran up the stair when the group entered the cavern. The small myconids joined two other myconids, who were much taller. Sein, who carried a foul-smelling sack of food scraps Tarak had provided the group to give as an offering to the myconid colony, carefully walked up to the taller myconids and laid the sack on the ground before them. One of the myconids seemed to recognize the gesture and walked up to the paladin, who found himself breathing in tiny spores from the myconid. After, the paladin felt a strange presence in his mind. Although he couldn't directly communicate with the presence, he could understand its emotions. He knew that the presence was also able to understand Sein's emotions. Sein related to the others that the myconids were afraid. Something in the air was poisoning them. Their leader had fallen gravely ill, and they feared she might not survive much longer. The paladin also felt the myconids' desperate plea for help. Sein and the others offered to help the myconids with their problem. After the adventurers had inhaled the myconids' spores and could 'communicate' through emotions with them, the myconids led the adventurers to their leader. Glowing fungus and colorful crystals grew from the walls and ceilings of the small cave where the myconid leader, a larger specimen of their kind, lay on a soft bed of seaweed. Two human-sized mushroom folk tended to their leader, who was shriveled and covered with unhealthy purple blotches and did not move. The two myconids were collecting spores from a barrel-sized, glowing red fungus that vaguely resembled a human brain and were puffing the spores around the leader’s head. The myconids were able to communicate to the adventurers that strange fumes were coming out of the rock walls in a nearby cave. Since then, the myconid colony began to suffer as purple blotches appeared on their bodies. The group asked the myconids to show them where the fumes came from. The air in the cave the adventurers were led to was choked with thick smoke that assaulted their nostrils with a pungent odor of brimstone. Strange, flickering orange light illuminated the smoke. The area was free of fungal growth; crystals grew from the rock. Nearby, a large cluster of purple crystals jutted from the stone. Opposite where the group entered, a glowing orange crystal wedged into a fissure in the cave wall seemed to be the source of the light. Streaks of soot traced a path along the cave walls between the purple crystals and the fissure. Brick approached the glowing orange crystal and struck it as hard as he could with his warhammer. When the crystal broke, a two-foot-diameter sphere of smoldering obsidian fell to the floor amid the other pieces and broke open, releasing a fiery snake from its stony egg. The adventurers prepared for battle, but not before two elemental creatures, which looked like little dragons formed entirely of greenish smoke, rushed to attack the adventurers. The battle was hard fought. Two of the party members almost lost their lives. But, in the end, the adventurers were victorious. After defeating the fiery snake and the elemental dragons, the group destroyed the remaining orange crystals, allowing the noxious fumes to escape the cave and stop the blight that was harming the myconids It was still unclear where the fumes originated from, but the myconids were safe. In time, the group knew the myconid colony would fully recover. In gratitude for their efforts, the myconids gave the party enough heart cap mushrooms and ruby morel to take back to Dragon's Rest. There, Tarak could make enough healing potions and an elixir of health for the party. Mask also gathered 24 tiny chunks of obsidian worth 10 gp each. The group then left Seagrow Caves and rowed back to Dragon's Rest.
Report Date
07 Apr 2023
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