Session 16: A Long Lost Spore Blows Home

General Summary

This session begins with a journey to the region of Buds known for oration, public speaking, and other types of out-loud-talky-performing. This is two-fold: L0L4 needs to sate her dark hunger for all things bardic, and Num Erik Al needs to satisfy his need to be terminally nosy. Which is to say they're looking for gossip or tales of what's happening in the area, and also, L0L4's a nerd for bard stuff. Wynnie Bishop also tags along, looking for interesting historical context, Amanita Guttata is there to be grumpy about people being too loud, Kitanya Evermoon and Khashayar Entezami both just love to dance and get down on the pan flute, and ALEK51 is along for the ride. (Pun mildly intended. Sorry not sorry, Alek.)
Num is able to verify that the issue with the Mill of the Gods nearby lately is not that there's an unceasing horde of undead coming to overwhelm the city but that the caliber and scariness factor of what is coming out is worse and worse and that they're becoming an increasing threat to the city, getting closer all the time. This sense of urgency is lost in the tone of these stories, which carry a distinct "somebody should do something...but not me" vibe that the party is able to roll Arcana enough to determine is likely due to whatever memory-modifying, anti-memetic properties the Mill has which make people feel uninclined to explore its depths, zombie problem or not.
In this, Num is also able to watch a truly skilled orator-newscaller-messenger give tips to a group of people about how best to catch people's attention, deliver news in a way that is helpful but interesting, command urgency when delivering foul omens etc.
L0L4 and Wynnie don't exactly get hot gossip but they do get to experience a truly rare treat: an oral telling of the Unknowing of Avbrienne, the first and one of the only "first-hand" accounts of the Mill of the Gods and the insanity-making power it allegedly wields over people. This does not neccessarily grant a wealth of new knowledge, but is exceedingly rare as few even are aware of the tale (often discredited as fiction) existing at all. It also gives a glimpse into the ominous power the landmark wields over the people of this area, which tells the two women each something different but true at the same time:
The power of an urban legend to grow based on people's fear and uncertainty, which then creates a fear of investigating it, which then creates a feedback loop of being afraid of it because it's unknown...a phenomena that can exude magic in its own way.
It's difficult to say whether the power is created by the fear or if the fear creates the power or if it is a self-sustaining battery, but neither bard nor wizard doubt that the folklore could be true now, whether or not it was initially true before the tales began spreading.
We then shift away from spooky things to this party's favorite activity: shopping~~~ !
They first detour slightly through the Buds dedicated to craftspeople, where Num Erik Al and Wynnie Bishop help Amanita Guttata find a truly incredible hat that is both charming and silly in equal measure, yielding some absolutely unbridled glee for maybe the first time in our mysterious Owlin.

(The hat in question does, in fact, grant Amanita advantage on Charisma checks when wearing it because it's so darn cute.)
They also buy some various knicknacks and generic goods their DM can't remember and didn't bother to write down. Oops.
The group then sets off for the AHARRG Guild Hall of The Endeavour where they meet the Endeavour counterpart of Dortlitt, Miriel Wis. Miriel is a Changeling who frequently shifts between different faces during the span of a single conversation, though she's always sporting her bright green eyes and charmingly silly be-trinketed large witch hat so you know it's her.
L0L4 sets out at once to charm Miriel into offering a steep discount or deal for a Ring of Mind Shielding but the charm gets Uno Reversed back hard enough that L0L4 finds herself desperate to be liked by Miriel, ring be damned. She does end up striking a bargain, however: "borrowing" the ring in exchange for bringing something "interesting" back from the Mill.
Other items include:

• An Amulet of Animalia Familiara (homebrew) for Alek; Khashayar Entezami having already bought one previously

• A Luminous Locket (homebrew) for Num Erik Al, so people can stop being surprised by his Gloomstalking invisibility when he's just trying to exist after dark

• A Keep-it-Cool (homebrew) magical koozy for ALEK51 's new cheesemaking ways, keeping milk cold. He trades some homemade cheese to help sweeten the deal for this.

• Kitanya swaps her generic shield out for a Shield of the Stoic (and gives Wynnie Bishop her Shroud of Positive Thinking once that's done). Miriel tries to pay her for the shield but Kitanya refuses; the 3 GP offered goes into the Party Funds instead.

• L0L4 also purchases (with real GP instead of bargaining and sweet-talking) the Snooping Eye (homebrew).

Zami also tries to get savvy with the perceived preferences/predilections of xer Arcanum Portentia card, offering to trade or sell or barter it away as an Accord or Bargain, hoping to get it off their hands that way. (Wynnie Bishop practically combusts in her speed to offer to hang onto it if Zami was just going to get rid of it anyway.)
Once done buying things, the gang heads over to the AHAARG's resident mages to dispel a few curses. They befriend the twin fairies Pasaba and Timber (who also happen to serve as the contracting staff for this branch--pun not intended) and dispel both the Withering Garland and Alek's Blasted Goggles.
Mercantalism complete, the party sates their curiosity by journeying to the Research region of Buds (previously referred to as the Bud Wiser). For many, this is their first time to this magical area of intrigue and curiosity. For one, it's a place xe frequented as a courier or odd job performer. For one, it's a long-lost home and the longer they spend in it the more nervous they get.
The different scholarly conversations and activities delight and captivate the party, from Kitanya Evermoon at a giant telescope to ALEK51 deliberately mucking around with a rune lecture's direction and focus. Wynnie Bishop is bedazzled at the Wonderland-esque same-but-different feeling of scholarship this place holds compared to the cramped, quiet, jealously-protected study of the Scriptorium Soiram.
The gang does not make it far along the main thoroughfare, however, before a crash behind them of someone dropping a number of alchemical vials heralds the arrival Amanita has been fearing and yearning for in equal measure: their mother, Caterina Guttata, in shock that her long-lost botanist was not, in fact, dead.
The party gives some measure of awkwardly polite distance to Amanita in this moment, save for Kitanya who tries to Very Polite BusinessWoman seem Very Smart because she misread the situation as Amanita being embarassed by the party itself.
Caterina (a Snowy Owl Owlin) ushers the party to her tree a short distance away where Amanita's father Theophrastus (a Great Grey Owlin) is busy working away. The pair, alchemists of some renown, have the tree Amanita grew up in to themselves, an empty nest where they collaborate on research and potion orders and try not to think about how one of their beloved children apparently got kicked out of school for stealing corpses then disappeared into Demoor to, as far as they knew, die.
Theo and Catarina fawn over Amanita with a mixture of horror at their child's last known actions, parental worry over their child's health and wellbeing, utter relief at Amanita's very-much-aliveness, and cautious trepediation-meets-curiosity at the fungal state of things.

DM Note: Theo and Cat initially refer to Amanita with "she/her" pronouns (at Jackson's consent), not due to misgendering malice but because the last time they saw their child, said child was in fact going by she/her because said child did not contain multitudes to be a very literal "they" yet. The parents get corrected on this quickly (by ALEK51 I believe) and adjust with little issue. We're here to tell cool, funny, inspiring, spooky, sad, interesting stories. Not real-life-bigotry ones.

Amanita tells them the general story, assuring their ethics-minded parents that they are in fact only ethically sourcing their fungus and volunteers nowadays and perhaps even more importantly...that they are happy. Heck, they're even healthy too, other than the spooky brand urging them toward the spookier Mill! Amanita introduces Carl as well, which sends their perpetually curious parents into a delighted fervor, fawning over the little wooden exterior. After a hug that may or may not have actually been open to the whole group but eventually did expand to include the party, Amanita appears to feel much less anxious.
It is clear that Caterina and Theophrastus have many more questions for their child and they want desperately to catch up further, but they can't deny the urgency of the quest that brought Amanita home, so they make the younger Owlin promise to come back safely and visit again soon to talk more.
And so, our beloved feathery grump has received some closure and compassion, resolving a chapter of angst and guilt that had been looming over them and making them ostracize themself for years in the dark. Their parents proved to be full of more love than judgement, more hope than fear, more care than disapproval, which is to say Amanita could now go into the spooky Mill of the Gods with a heart lighter than they had perhaps experienced in a very long time. This is fortunate, as they and their party will certainly need it.
Until next time, adventurers.

Rewards Granted

• Very Charming Owl Hat: Wonderous item, unique. Amanita (or other Barn Owl Owlin) only.
  A charming needle-felted ballcap. When worn, grants Advantage on Charisma checks. Can be worn by others but isn't nearly as cute (no mechanical bonus).

• Amulet of Animalia Familiara: Wonderous Item, uncommon. Requires attunement.
  Allows the wearer, once attuned, to choose one creature they are bonded with. They can now speak with this creature as if having cast Speak with Animals. Can only be applied to one creature at a time - must re-attune the item to change creatures. Using Concentration, the link can be telepathic within 100 feet of one another.

• Luminous Locket: Wonderous Item, common.
  This silver locket faintly glows, providing dim light in a 10ft radius when opened. The light is a faint hue of the perceiver's favorite color.

• Keep-it-Cool: Wonderous Item, common.
  This intricately woven pouch keeps any (single) potion or other bottle of liquid stored inside perpetually cool and fresh. Attaches to belt with a loop; bonus action to add or remove the bottle. The liquid inside is preserved if keeping it at a cold temperature would preserve it. Liquids that are damaged or weakened when chilled behave as expected in the pouch.

• Snooping Eye: Wonderous Item, Uncommon. Requires attunement.
  A small handheld device similarly-shaped to a compass. When held, grants the attuned user holding it advantage on Investigation checks to reveal a hidden path or secret door within 60ft of the user. Includes at night/in dim light, even if the user doesn't have Darkvision. The illuminated path is shown with a slight blue-siilver glow around the edge, visible only to the attuned user.

• Ring of Mind Shielding: Ring, uncommon, requires attunement.
  While wearing this ring, you are immune to magic that allows other creatures to read your thoughts, determine whether you are lying, know your alignment, or know your creature type. Creatures can telepathically communicate with you only if you allow it.
  You can use an action to cause the ring to become invisible until you use another action to make it visible, until you remove the ring, or until you die.
  If you die while wearing the ring, your soul enters it, unless it already houses a soul. You can remain in the ring or depart for the afterlife. As long as your soul is in the ring, you can telepathically communicate with any creature wearing it. A wearer can't prevent this telepathic communication.

• Shield of the Stoic: Shield, +1 AC.
  A simple wooden shield that in its simplicity makes the bearer feel more calm and secure, granting advantage on saving throws against Fear. Must be holding the shield for the effect to happen. If the smooth, polished surface of the shield is damaged signficantly (ex: splintered, split, cracked) the effect is broken until the shield is mended.

• Garland of Peace: A flower crown of beautiful, healthy blossoms that grant calm and peace, giving Advantage on saving throws against Fear. (Formerly the Wilted Garland.)

• Blasted Goggles: Wonderous Item, Uncommon (requires attunement)
  These tinker's goggles have 3 charges. As an action, you can expend 1 charge to shoot a beam of fiery light from the goggles at a creature you can see within 120 feet of yourself. The target must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take 3d6 fire damage. The goggles regain 1d3 expended charges daily at dawn. (No longer cursed.)

Report Date

24 Jul 2024