Something's Wrong, And Getting Worse [IC]

[Khosan]

During the trip, Grix chooses a corner of the wagon, hunkers down, goes limp and remains absolutely motionless for the entire three week journey. He doesn't speak, he doesn't breathe, he doesn't so much as blink. By all appearances, dead. The Yellow, however, is much more active. Within the first day or so, it spreads like a wave to cover his body in a vast, glistening, yellow, mycelial network and slowly continues to expand and grow from there. Around noon on the second day, a number of mushrooms sprout from Grix's snout - long, thin, flower-shaped mushrooms, with pale yellow gills and vibrant orange, indented caps, which smell very faintly of apricots. When, somewhat predictably, no one picks them, the mycelial veins reorganize themselves to spell out PLEASE ENJOY on both sides of Grix's nose. Somewhere in the middle of the second week, still struggling to get people to pick its bounty, the Yellow has spread to the nearest sides of the wagon, and begun to sprout different kinds of edible mushrooms, including a few variety of smooth white mushrooms, a small black-capped ball, and one with an unusual honeycombed cap. Near the end of week three, Grix's body is almost entirely hidden under the ever expanding Yellow mold.

Shortly before Grix reawakens, his entire external fungal network collapses in a matter of minutes. Some of the edible mushrooms remain, some form miniscule spore pods, but much of it retreats back into its kobold host, leaving little sign of its expansive growth. Awake, Grix dryly smacks his lips, and groggily glances back and forth. He sweeps the edible mushrooms into his bindle, and the spore pods into the main colony on his neck.

Grix hops out of the cart, bindle in tow, "Thanks," and starts surveying the land. He was more used to cityscapes than landscapes, but even he could tell this was wrong. Grix makes his way towards the sign, just to double check if what Amir said is true, grabbing handfuls of the local plant-life to inspect on the way and reaching out with the Yellow to feel for magical energies.

Spoiler: Actions and Checks

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Grix casts Goodberry a lot during the ride over.

At the scene, ritual casting Detect Magic to look for magic.

Nature - (1d20)[11] seeing if he can discern anything weird about the local plants where Jegg was.
Nature Advantage - (1d20)[9] just in case because of Detect Magic.
Investigate - (1d20)[1] and also just looking at stuff in general.
Investigate Advantage - (1d20)[18] just in case because of Detect Magic, again.

[JNAProductions]

Spoiler: Religion DC 16

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Queria is able to recall the founding story of the Stony Egg.

Their leader, Dog, found what he thought to be an egg. He took the egg, seemingly from the middle of nowhere, and nurtured it. But it never hatched. Eventually, he realized it was a rock. But, he had learned much from his compassion, however misguided it was, and sought to teach others of ways to view the world differently.

Spoiler: Nature DC 10

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The area nearest the center, where Jegg itself stood, has not grown so well. The rest is about what you'd expect.

Spoiler: Investigation DC 18

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Yup, Jegg's gone. And... Honestly, you can't figure out how, or why.

But the sign is odd-its made of some kind of material you don't recognize. And, after a little more snooping, you realize its shadow is wrong. It always points north-northwest, no matter what direction the sun shines on it from.

Spoiler: DC 30

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You aren't able to find much more details from this check-but you can recognize the writing on the sign, from now on. If whoever wrote it writes again and you see that? You'll recognize it.

[Khosan]

Grix wades through the long grasses that now dominate the area where Jegg once stood, a lone red blob in a sea of greens and yellows. At the lone manmade landmark, he stops and inspects more of the plants, taking handfuls of wilted leaves and discolored grasses, sniffing some and offering others up to the Yellow to inspect. He places a hand on his hip and scratches his brow, "Bad soil? Bit weird for a farm. Growing bad." Grix climbs on top of the sign to try to get a better view of his surroundings.

Spoiler: Checks

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Doing a Perception - (1d20+7)[16] check like I should've last time, because he's actually good at it. Final result is 19, adding the 3 from Knowledge from a Past Life rolled in the OOC.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Queria instinctively holds out her arm to warn the others away from the sign. "Something is wrong here. That shadow..."

Q dons her mask and activates it, not bothering with the ritual this time. She puts on a gauntlet from her bag and runs her gloved finger down the face of the sign.

Spoiler: Arcana

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Can't use Guidance and Detect Magic at the same time, but the spooky sign can't go un-detected.

Arcana: (1d20+8)[11]

[JNAProductions]

Spoiler: Perception DC 19

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Looking across the landscape, you see few signs of animal life. And nothing hostile, or that notable beyond what's already been seen.

Spoiler: Detect Magic And Arcana

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Yup, that shadow ain't right. But it isn't pinging as any school of magic you recognize.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

"It isn't any worldly substance. I can't think of anything intelligent to say about it, except that it could be something out of one of our visions."

Queria steps back from the evil sign. Her gauntlet begins to heats up as she prepares a cantrip, its silver metal glowing a golden yellow. "This is probably impulsive of me, but I want to try and destroy it. Any objections?"

[Khosan]

"None," Grix hops down and slaps the sign for good measure, "Might do some digging. Could be something below. Also, could feel out with Yellow. Long shot, but maybe something hidden?"

With some distance from the soon-to-be-exploded signage, Grix sits down in the grass, closes his eyes and lets the Yellow's spores expand, searching for minds beyond their own.

Spoiler: Actions

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Grix casts Detect Thoughts from his Telepathic feat, just hoping he detects some brain activity outside of them.

[JNAProductions]

Grix does not detect anything sentient nearby, save for his companions.

Amir's thoughts are a bit jumbled, but thoroughly nervous, and he says "I'll... I'm going to wait by the carriage, if you're messing with that sign. Don't know what it's gonna do."

Spoiler: OOC

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Looking at that, it might make Amir sound suspicious, but his thoughts aren't malicious-just worried about safety.

[Khosan]

Failing to find any interesting discoveries with his other means of investigation, Grix cracks his knuckles and places both palms on the ground, "Time to dig." "One..." He takes a deep breath in. "Two... His back arches upwards. "THREE!" An enormous mushroom erupts from the ground, carrying with it a mound of dirt that quickly slides off to the side. Large as it is, it doesn't appear to be long for the world, as soon as the dirt it displaced is gone, it loses all structural integrity, flopping weekly over to one side, rapidly deflating and ultimately vanishing.

Grix repeats the process a few more times, building up a respectable pile of dirt and a dirty downward slope.

Spoiler: Actions

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Grix casts Mold Earth, a lot. Mostly just kind of slowly digging down for like...ten minutes. I think that'd get about 20 feet down, unless he hits something, like a rock.

[JNAProductions]

The ground quickly becomes much more packed in, and it takes considerably more effort to move smaller amounts of earth. Beneath the ground is exactly what you'd expect-dirt, some rocks, worms, bugs.

However, no matter if you move the earth near the signpost, it stays perfectly still.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

After finishing her notes on the writing and confirming that no one minds, Queria raises the palm of her gauntlet and aims for the base of the sign. "Bonfire!"

Presumably, it seems immune. She watches it not burn for about ten seconds before she gets a bad feeling and dismisses it.

[JNAProductions]

The sign does not burn.
The shadow remains the same, even with the fire at its base.

[Khosan]

Grix crawls out of his hole, barely any dirtier than when he went in, just in time to see Queria set the sign on fire. He tilts his head, mystified by its lack of reaction. As soon as the fire has gone, Grix crawls over to further abuse the posting. First a light push, then a heavier shove, and finally an all out punch.

[JNAProductions]

Grix manages nothing more than a bruise on his hand.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

"That leaves us with either an exceedingly potent illusion, or an otherworldly material. It might be anchored to space in a coterminous plane of existence?" Queria rubs her temple while her book floats at her shoulder sympathetically. Looking at this sign is starting to give her a headache. "At any rate, I believe that's all we can do here for now. Let's continue toward the monastery."

[Khosan]

Grix shakes his bruised hand out, "Mmm. My question, who does this? Thought, at first, memorial, from lone survivor but...no, can't be. It has to be, must be, from the takers. Don't think anyone from Jegg capable of this, no one strong enough otherwise would pass through here. But why? What is goal?" Grix rubs, in tiny circular motions, his head just behind his eyes, a headache of his own forming, "Not a threat. Not a ransom. Shame, maybe? Apology? Only if accidental, but...not sure how. Strange, strange."

With a heavy sigh, the mostly dead kobold starts walking back to the cart, "Monastery best bet. Might need some help, before we go. Probably noticed...bit weird?" He motions towards his face, drawing attention to his eyes and scars, especially his throat, "Look a bit...dead. Not actually, kind of, but churches rare to accept. Don't want to cause panic. Better to plan now, than later. Need disguise or excuse."

[JNAProductions]

Amir calls over, from his safe distance. "Any luck?"

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

"It still feels like a taunt to me," Q says under her breath, "but you're right; we have no idea what sort of alien minds we're dealing with here. As for your appearance..."

Amir calls over, disrupting her train of thought. She walks back to join the rest of the group in the cart. "Not really. It's impervious and immobile, as though it's anchored in some incorporeal world instead of this one. At least we'll know if we find anything else like it."

She returns to her conversation with Grix when he catches up. "Anyway, you are a druid, right? Most druidic traditions are even more hostile to necromancy than the church, so I'd inferred that everything you've done to your body was to accommodate your fungal companions. I imagine Brother Dog would understand that."

[JNAProductions]

You get situated in the carriage, and Amir starts you on your path again. He goes perhaps a little faster than is wise, to get out of the immediate area, but slows down to a more normal pace once you're back on a main path.

A few more days pass, and you approach the foothills of a mountain. A decent-sized building is there, built in a rounded architectural style, and with a sizeable garden in front, being tended to by a young halfling woman in a robe. She waves as you approach, setting her tools down. "Good day, travelers!" she calls out. "What brings you here today?"

[Khosan]

"Me? Druid? Ehh..." Grix screws his face up as he contemplates how best to answer, squeezing one eye shut and staring hard at the ground, "Never met a druid before. Lived in city, whole life, so no chance to meet, just heard stories. So, me druid? No. Yellow though? Probably. I ask, they answer, best they can. Never magically trained, but can kind of feel it out. Mostly learned to fight in life, learning magic as we go." On the subject of his body, Grix drums his chin some more, "Was not my choice to be this. Died. Was murdered, even. But don't feel bad. Deserved. Well-deserved," the hint of a sneer crosses his face, remembering the sort of person he used to be, though he soon shakes it, "Got dumped in sewer, left there for...never sure how long. But a while, yes. Long enough to lose some fingers. Hard to explain waking back up, after that. Don't think it was death magic, necro-stuff. But feel now like...like a big ship, with big crew. Get to be captain, in control, but can't work alone."

---

On the cart, Grix does not, this time, go stiff in the corner, answering questions and just trying to be a little less...dead. Edible mushrooms do continue to sprout from him, but he politely picks, cleans, and hands them out instead of inviting people to do so themselves this time.

---

At the monastery, Grix is bundled up in far more layers than usual. He's pulled a hood up over his head, hiding much of his face, and has let down some bundled up rags, covering his hands and feet completely. As befitting his lack of social graces, Grix steps forward and addresses the halfling woman directly in a cold and serious manner, "We come with questions about Jegg."

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

"Oh. Huh." Q seems a bit lost in thought as she hears out the kobold's story, then takes a breath and suddenly becomes quite animated. "So, they found you in that state and chose to help you, apropos of nothing? Grix, that's incredible! You've discovered a new, intelligent, naturally benevolent species! Yellow, do you understand how rare it is to find something like you?"

You can practically see the stars in her eyes as she gets into it, practically spilling out everything she knows about fungi and animate plants as she tries to categorize the gestalt entity now trapped in the cart with her. "-so you must yourself be comprised of hundreds of different component species, possibly bound together by a guiding spirit, which might also help explain your telepathic connection to other living beings. How do you decide which types of spores to grow into caps? No, I'm sorry, that's of course a silly question, I may as well ask an animal how they decide whether to flex this muscle or that-"

-

"Indeed," says Queria at the monastery, more mirroring the halfling's cheery mood as she steps forward on her cane. "First and foremost: is anyone from the diaspora still around? We've found someone they might want to meet." She turns around to make sure David is coming.

[JNAProductions]

Spoiler: OOC

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Making me google words... I'd never heard of diaspora before. Thanks for adding to my vocabulary, but hopefully I'll never need to use it in real life!

"Hm?" the woman replies at first. "I, ah... Give me a moment!"

She looks you up and down, silently, as she moves closer. She examines Amir's cart, and gets a "Hey, watch the merchandise! I'm already losing money on this trip, I don't want anything damaged!" She obeys, being careful of the fabric, but still does a thorough examination.

David comes, awakening from his nap, and moves to stand next to you two.

The halfling woman, eventually, comes back to stand in front of you. "You're here with good intentions, yes? No harm to anyone within these walls, no malice in your hearts?"

David nods. You two agree as well. Amir thinks a moment, and says "I might try to turn a profit here-but given what we know, I'll keep the prices reasonable. If anyone even wants some rugs."

"Well... I believe you," she says. "I am Donna-it's a pleasure to meet you all! May I have your names?" she asks as she turns around, heading for the door. You introduce yourselves as she opens the door, a touch awkwardly due to her height, and she invites you in. "I will not be taking you directly to where our refugees are-they are... Still nervous, about newcomers."

David frowns. "Is there a young man in there? Looks like me, but younger, and should still have his teeth? Johnathan?"

She nods. "Johnathan has actually taken well-"

Cutting Donna off, David asks "Please-can you take me to him? He's my son, and... And..."

Donna's eyes close a moment, and she finishes, saying "He has taken well to our tutelage here. I believe he is meditating with Dog now. You will see him." You can see the tears in David's eyes, and he's practically running ahead of Donna.

Soon, you arrive at a central garden. The plantlife is subdued, but healthy. And in the center is a maroon-furred tabaxi, sitting by an egg. Next to him, a young man, perhaps 14, who looks similar to David. David runs ahead, shouting "Johnathan! Are you alright?"

"I am fine," he replies, his eyes opening. "Why-DAD!" he yells as soon as he sees who it is. He stands up and meets his dad a few paces ahead, hugging him close. "Gods above, dad, you're alive? And... Missing teeth? But you're alive! We all thought you were dead!"

"No-but... But... Johnathan, I'm so glad you're okay. I love you," David says.

Johnathan mutters "I love you too, dad," as he cries into his father's shoulder.

Dog's eyes finally open, and he smiles. "We should leave these two to their reunion. Good day, travelers-walk with me?" he says, standing up and heading towards you.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

"Of course," Queria nods. She follows Dog back onto the garden path until she's confident that the reunited family isn't listening. "I'm glad that you were able to keep Jegg's survivors safe. I'm afraid we don't yet know much about the event that drove them here. David, Johnathan's father, doesn't remember anything since he was abducted, but whatever had taken him has been operating at least as far as Leandra City."

Q's garish notebook appears and floats next to her. She takes a breath and prepares to flip through it for her notes on the shadowed visions and for David's account, but suddenly thinks the better of it.

"Perhaps it would be best to let you go first," she says, despite having already gone first by about 60 words. She wants to call the monk by his name, but she can't quite get over how rude it feels to call someone Dog to their face. "What do you know about the event? Was it described to you?"

[JNAProductions]

"Whatever happened in Jegg was traumatic," Dog tells you all. "It also happened at night-with that being said, I can't really speak to the truth of what they've told me. Not that they'd be lying-simply that what they know may not be as accurate as they would hope. The details that were consistent across all of them is that there were a multitude of creatures-it wasn't one being, but many. They didn't move fast, but nothing seemed to stop them. And... This is mostly speculation on my own part, but... I think they were searching. For what, though... Gods may know, but I do not."

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

"I see... whatever they were looking for, they likely aren't telling. They had some kind of enchantment on David when we found him, but they severed their connection and wiped his memory rather than risk us questioning him. They almost killed him in the process - I don't suppose you you remember anyone else's report featuring teeth significantly? I can only assume they hold some symbolic significance to his captors..."

Q summons her pen and tries to piece together the parallels in events in diagram form. "That it happened at night doesn't seem very significant at first. That is when thieves and creatures of darkness operate by default. However, there may be more to it than that, as all of our own psychic visions also took place at night and had themes of falling darkness. Perhaps their organization has some special connection to the night... itself..."

She remembers something.

"Of course! Why didn't I notice it earlier?!" She desperately flips through her notes. "I didn't even think to draw the angle... There was a sign posted in the center of Jegg, made of some unnatural material. Its shadow was frozen in place; it didn't match the angle of the sun. If I'm right, the time when that shadow was frozen must correspond to the time of night when our villains are at the apex of their power, and the time of the Event." Her notes aren't helping. She opens to an empty page and draws a diagram of the planet, the sun and the moon. "On the night of the event, probably a few days before everyone arrived here, last harvest, do you happen to happen to recall the phase of the moon?"

[Khosan]

Grix seems content to let Queria ramble, standing quietly in the background like a grim little halfling, gripping his staff like a child might their security blanket. When Dog mentions that the attack on Jegg occurred at night, something clicks, "Mine, ours, our encounters, also at night." The kobold shifts forward, uncomfortably stepping into the spotlight he'd been trying to avoid, "We, also...victims? Targets? Not sure how to say. Had visions, figures in shadows, silence, darkness. Wrongness. Feel it still."

"Think...maybe takers are limited to act at night. Maybe harmed by daylight. But all three, at night, not coincidence."

[JNAProductions]

"I do not track the moon-it's been a long time since I've had to deal with werecreatures and I've fallen out of the habit of caring for that astrologicals," Dog says. "More than that, I'm not even sure I can tell you the exact day they were attacked-the people of Jegg weren't the type of folk to pay attention to calendars. Seasons, yes. Years, sure. Dates... Not as much."

He shrugs, and the path you walk down leads to a sheer wall, some 15' high. He starts scaling it as easily as he would walk, and continues. "Teeth, you say? It seemed David was missing his-what happened there?"

[Khosan]

"Not sure. We, not David, me and girl, were talking in tavern, about our visions, experiences. Saw someone sneaking, moved to stop. Scared them and...started vomiting teeth. Many teeth. Many times more than one should have." Grix pauses, reminded of Queria's accusations toward him back then, "Did nothing! Just scare! Fixed it even!" He tightens his grip on his staff, just in case the holy man tries anything, "Was David. Strange magic. Hadn't seen before."