Session 59: "Why are We Here?" thought the Adventurers.

General Summary

"There's Something Nearby that Wants What is Inside Me. I Do Not Know Why."

Kaswink and Agave began approaching the strange plant at the end of this tunnel. Kaswink tried to recall some information about this place that might've had to do with dark events. She didn't see much in terms of detail, but she could see smoke, lightning, and could almost feel the heat and taste the ash as people were consumed by some unseen orb of light.

Agave used his connection to plant life to communicate with the plant and see if anything could be learned that way. He kept Kaswink from getting too close to the vegetation before he had a chance to speak with it, and she complied tho she also tried to get a feel for this plant herself. The rest of you began to take defensive stances, and DAN started to practice juggling...perhaps also as a defensive stance? or perhaps just to practice? We'll never know.
The plant began to shift, roots pulled at the ground but didn't unearth, leaves shifted but didn't open enough to reveal what was inside, and Agave began to introduce himself. He asked the plant if you all could approach as you were seeking wisdom and knowledge from it. The plant agreed to let you approach, a bit confused by the question, and Kaswink moved forward to gently touch it while looking for more dark histories with this plant in particular.

---

Agave's first question after asking the rest of you to lower your weapons a bit, was about whether or not any other travelers had come through the area recently.
"I know that someone tried to take what is inside of me, but they perished in a blinding flash followed by smoke. I don't know why that happened..."
Agave next asked what was inside the plant. He elaborated that he was unfamiliar with this type of plant, and the plant tried its best to answer.
"There is something inside of me that sometimes wants to leave and sometimes wants to stay still. I don't know why it is inside me, and I do not know why it wants to leave."
Agave tried to get some more information about what exactly is inside this plant, suggesting fruit, a heart, perhaps an artichoke or something. However, the plant was unaware of what exactly it was as it can't see inside itself. Though, it also stated that "There is something nearby that wants whatever is inside me, but I don't know why."
Upon hearing that there is something nearby, there were thoughts that maybe it was referring to the king, and Agave tried to get more information about this. The plant had to think for a bit, but it finally said that it is very close and "somewhere below".

---

Meanwhile, Kaswink was still trying to get a feel for this plant and tap into any dark history that might be involved. She didn't get much in terms of grim events, but she was able to tell that there was something warm inside the plant. She also noticed that certain parts of its leaves were brighter as if being illuminated from within.
Kaswink seemed satisfied with this and gently gave the plant another pat. The second bit of contact cause it to shake again, as it did before, but it continued to do so for a bit longer than before. Its leaves started to separate and it looked like it was blooming. Light escaped from between the spaces forming as this happened, the ground shook violently, and a trio of long, thin, mummified arms breached the surface.
These arms were different lengths with the shortest being 10 feet and the longest reaching all the way out to 20 feet. They had unusual amounts of randomly placed joints, and they bent into grotesque positions before reaching out towards you all in attempts to slash at you, slam into the ground or even grab you. While fighting them, you noticed that they were immune to piercing weapons like bolts, warpicks and spears. Kaswink managed to bypass this invulnerability to help things go a bit faster, and they were each defeated. The arms somewhat turned to sand and slithered back underground as they were vanquished, and things seemed to be calm again for the time being.

---

"Why are You Even Here?"

As the arms were vanquished, the plant had also finished blooming. An orb of light with strange, swirling strands of darkness rose out from inside it, and then some pondering happened. You all discussed whether or not this is the orb you were supposed to be investigating as its light filled the room and provided a bit of dry heat like standing in the sun on a hot day. Agave also confirmed, with the plant's help, that there was still something underground...that the arms were there and waiting.
Kaswink felt meditation might be helpful, or trying to get underground to drive back the weird arms. Frode questioned whether or not his was truly the light you were looking for, and Hysteria suggested trying to speak with the plant to learn more. Agave tried speaking with it, but there didn't seem to be much in terms of actual communication. Instead, he turned his efforts back towards the plant, but not much info was gathered from it either. However, a conclusion was reached that this light might be providing necessary nutrition for this plant, and removing it could harm it.
Agave then turned his attention back towards the light, and he asked it if it knew of the creatures underground. It didn't respond with any words, but it did dim its light, becoming just an orb of darkness for a moment before glowing once again. Kaswink then devised a system to try and communicate, but god got confused because she's used to the more traditional trope of "once for yes, twice for no" and a whole lot of miscommunication happened.

---

Kaswink: "Blink twice for yes, once for no. Do you want to stay here?"
The orb blinked twice, but slowly, meaning a hesitant "no". Though this was interpreted to mean "yes".
Kaswink: "Is this thing here to protect you? This plant?"
The orb blinked twice, meaning "no". Though it was interpreted to mean "yes".
Kaswink: "The thing underneath. If we reach it and kill it, will you be safer?"
The orb blinked twice, meaning "no". Though it was interpreted to mean "yes".
Kaswink: "Do you know about the king outside that wants you?"
The orb blinked once, meaning "yes". Though it was interpreted to mean "no".
Kaswink: "Well, there's a king outside that wants you."
Frode: "Ja, the king doesn't want this though, it wants the light!"
Kaswink: "Yeah, it wants the light. That's what I'm talkin to, but..."
Frode: "I don't think this thing is the light though..."
Kaswink: "I think it is. It's just not what he was expecting. Are you, uh, Ar'en'el?"
The orb hesitated, and Agave asked another question, "Do you know who Ar'en'el is?"
The orb flashed once, slowly, meaning a hesitant or unsure "yes". Though this was interpreted to mean "no".
Kaswink: "Does the name feel familiar?"
The orb flashed once, slowly, meaning a hesitant or unsure "yes". Though this was interpreted to mean "no".
Kaswink: "Do you know who Vsevolodrik is?"
The orb dipped towards the ground as if growing heavier, it then rose back into the air and flashed once quickly, meaning "yes". Though, this was interpreted to mean "no".
Kaswink: "We're not here to harm any of them. We want to help Ulunor find him. She's been missing him, you seem to be a part of her even if you don't really know it."

---

Agave then turned towards the plant again and asked if it would be able to provide a warning if the creatures were returning to the surface. The plant awkwardly informed him that that was actually happening at that very moment, and a hand burst forth from the hard ground to grab the light. Everyone sprung into action to stop this arm, and it very nearly had to retreat once more, but it managed to grab the orb as the rest of the creature revealed itself, positioned itself above the plant with the light in one of its massive hands and stared at you as its eyes began to glow.

It had the appearance of a strange, emaciated creature with a vaguely humanoid frame. Its face was similar to a vulture, and it had three extra arms that extended out from its back which were long, bending in random directions and just as thin as the rest of it. Weird afterimages were left both behind and ahead of the creature as it moved. It vaguely matched the description of a creature that could be found in The Field Guide, the Whydigo.

---

Frode wasn't havin none of this bullshit and immediately attacked the creature in front of him. Its immunity to pointed weapons was bypassed again by Kaswink, and the creature reeled back in a surprising amount of pain before the intensity behind its eyes was finally released in an intense flash.
Some rather invasive thoughts came with this flash of light, "Why'd you come here again? Not just here, but, like, here, y'know? Plagues? Blights? Truth? Life cycles? Vsevolodrik and Ar'en'el? The Oni? The Spirit World is fine the way it is, your life is fine the way it is, and there certainly isn't a reason to go gallivanting about looking for trouble. Relax, enjoy the sights, consider going back home when you have a chance. After all, you're probably just causing more harm than any of those nonexistent issues."
DAN, Frode and Kaswink were each struck with these thoughts, though they mostly managed to resist their strange presence. Combat proceeded mostly normally with you all ganging up on this weird bird guy, but then it got kinda weird again.
The Whydigo's eyes flashed again, and you all felt your very reason for being here being erased, or perhaps consumed, by this spirit. Frode and DAN resisted its effects, and they were able to stay together and fight the Whydigo physically, but the rest of you were transported someplace else, and had to rely on your sheer conviction and trust in the fact that your reason for doing what you do does matter, does exist, and is not being lost. Each time you succeeded at doing so, the Whydigo took some psychic damage, but each time you failed the Whydigo consumed your reason to exist.

---

Agave found himself back at your Home Base. A dreadful vision of the rest of you dying from wounds or disease filled his eyes, and he immediately got to work healing the nearest person. Frode was injured, stabbed through the side with a spear, and Agave's magic managed to patch the hole right up. However, Agave found himself taking more mental strain as Frode's body turned to dust in his arms and the real Frode, still fighting the Whydigo, took damage from Agave's healing attempts. He collapsed from the mental strain, but he eventually managed to get back up, run to the Mothlight Tree under your cabin, and begin traveling into the Mothlights.
Kaswink found herself back in The Lost Oasis. It was burning down, smoke filled the air along with ash and an intense heat. Ohrsecte, The Beetle King was barking orders and everyone was scrambling about trying to rescue the poor trapped beetles and other citizens. Kaswink got to work saving people as much as she could, but she found herself getting closer to death each turn. She decided to focus instead on her weapon and her knowledge that this is not the way things should be. Using one of the pylons for her Oni's Bane which she had placed earlier in the encounter, she managed to stun the Whydigo, and the fight became much easier for DAN and Frode.
Hysteria found themselves in a dungeon. An old, emaciated figure was chained to the wall and struggling to move. A hulking though somehow lithe figure was standing next to this chained up man and holding an equally impressive glaive. He wore a mask as well, a porcelain mask not too unlike Hysteria's own but with three horns coming out of the forehead. This unchained person swung his glaive at the chained man multiple times, causing immense pain and bringing him closer and closer to death. Hysteria lunged at this figure, stabbed it, and eventually did some sick moves to remove the figure's mask. Hysteria was able to see the horrific true form of this being, and their mind slowly began to fill with its unusual nature until the Whydigo was defeated.

---

Frode immediately banished the Whydigo to some harmless demiplane somewhere, and DAN and Frode were left with the task of preparing for its eventual return. Despite it being gone, the Whydigo's influence remained and the rest of you did not return during this time. Frode used some of his newfound magic to help protect DAN and himself, and he set up some neat guardian spirits. As everything was getting prepared, Frode finally stopped concentrating on his spell as the Whydigo returned to face its demise.
Thanks to Kaswink's resolve and quick thinking, the Whydigo ended up getting stunned. Frode's new fancy, nasty spear that he got from that Necromancer lady caused the Whydigo to take more damage, and DAN ended up blending it to death.
As its head was removed by one of DAN's handaxes, it turned to sand which was scattered around the room. The rest of its body fell slowly to the ground and also slowly turned into a pile of Whydigo-shaped sand. Kaswink looked for any loot and found none, and there was as distinct lack of loot as well. Instead, her and Agave ended up just collecting some Whydigo Sand in the meantime.

---

Get the Orb Back Inside the Plant!

The orb of light, missing some of itself thanks to the Whydigo, had returned to its usual activity of floating in the air. It was on the other side of the room, however, a bit far away from the helpful insulation of its weird plant home. Kaswink offered to take it home, and the orb blinked once, meaning "yes", but it was interpreted to mean "no". Meanwhile, Frode brought Agave and Hysteria back up from near-death.
Agave asked what the plan was with the light, and Kaswink suggested bringing it back to the cabin. Maybe let the beetle king visit on weekends, but giving it to him would be a bad idea. Everyone agreed, and a plan was slowly put together. The first step would be getting the orb back inside the plant so that it can be moved safely, but the plant's roots go too far underground in the dense, hard dirt. Another idea was to move the orb to where the plant is, and then teleport the plant and everyone else back to base.
DAN tried to through some rope around the orb with their warpicks, but it ended up just getting destroyed in the process. Their rope will be missed, but they can probably buy more in some town somewhere...
Kaswink tried a similar idea, but with magical chains! She managed to launch it across the cavern while narrowly avoiding Agave and the plant. She tried to do the same trick again with much less force while risking removal from reality, and she ended up landing the orb in its plant home which slowly began to close around the strange light.

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Return to Base

Agave reached out, touched the plant and teleported you all back to your base. Things seemed normal, and a heavy sigh escaped you as the long, long journey had concluded. Surprisingly, it had only really been a couple of days, but it was a lot of walking, filth and other struggles like meeting your dead family or spending a month in the real world for one of you.
Agave got to work finding a place for the new plant in your underground farm. He made sure to partition some soil and dry it out before gently placing the roots and refilling. It seemed to be doing fine.
Kaswink also got to work on trying to create something from all the weird Unanswered Questions parts you guys have collected. She wanted to make something that could be used on an enemy so that it forgets its reason for fighting you, but it'll probably take some time before it is complete.
Discussions were had about what to do next, and Kaswink revealed that she had been visited by Death. Her undead nature was fading, and she was likely to be dead for reals if something wasn't done. Ideas were floated, including the priest's suggestion to visit The Dying Gate, but it was eventually decided that visiting Spalsis, The Spiral Hermit might be a bit less risky and more informative. The question was: Where is Spalsis?
When last he was seen it was at The Sleeping Oak, but the tree woke up during that visit and he ended up leaving with Kaswink and DAN. He might be back there, sleeping again, or he could be wandering the forest. Someone will need to find that out somehow, but visiting the Oak seemed like a fine place to start. Kaswink offered to stay behind as everyone else left since she had some work to do on the new item, and Agave also offered to keep watch.
Just as these plans were beginning to get settled, Hysteria was struck with an arrow. They managed to see where it came from: a glint of porcelain on a white face in a nearby tree. The session ended at the start of this encounter.

D&D Monday, Feb 06, 2023

In-game Date:
Daulok 22, 308

Report Date

06 Feb 2023

Primary Location

The Lost Oasis

Secondary Location

Home Base

Related Plots

• Of a Patron, a King and a Lost Child
• Unanswered Questions

Related Characters

• Ar'en'el, The Crying Star
• The Oni
• Vsevolodrik

Encountered Spirits
Whydigo
Encountered Other Things
Hysteria saw the glint of a pale, porcelain face in the direction of whatever shot them.