The Melds

Beneath Qualimor and the Neblinhala, and connecting to the dark realm of the Duergar below, are great, beautiful caverns lit by bioluminescent fungi. These caverns are harvested by Elves, Gnomes and Deep Dwarves alike, and have often been the source of much grief and violence between the three nations, for they contain a nutritious and seemingly infinite supply of mushrooms and other fungi useful as both food and magical components.
Tending these great fungus fields are the Myconids, a race of sentient mushroom-people who live peacefully in communal circles, and without whom the fields would surely perish. Their leader is Meld-sovereign Hgranathodh, who guides the Myconids in a practice of trancelike meditative communion called “melding”.
Along with the Duergar of the Deeps Below, the Myconids have recently been enslaved by Illithids, whose psionic influence has perverted the meld and brought Hgranathodh and his people under their evil yoke.