Session Three: Bricked Up

Aenelis investigated the buildings in front of her - using the light from the iridescent trees and fungus around - and noticed similarities between these and buildings she’d found while adventuring in the ruins of Nauntilet, albeit a rougher, slightly speedier looking version. As Thuradin went to join her investigating, he was caught in a puff of spores from seemingly out of nowhere.

The spores now ingested, he heard a small voice in his head introduce themselves. As he started to find out who this person was, Lesras attempted and failed to hear the same voice. Eventually the party allowed themselves to all succumb to the spores and found themselves talking to a recently bloomed Myconid named Greenfoot.

Greenfoot told them about her circle and the community of Myconid that worked the land down here, passing memories on throughout the centuries with their melds. The group were told that the fungal farm she came from seemed to be growing from - what they would eventually find to be - human skeletons. Greenfoot also told the party about things she’d learned during her melds, specifically about a burnt tunnel to the north west of the town that one of her Circle had once navigated and discovered a giant. Finally, the party had a hint of which direction to head.

On their way to investigate, skating around the border of the town as much as possible, the group encountered a graveyard. Stone tombs were dotted around the land, arranged around a large statue of a part-woman, part-spider that the group recognised as Lolth, a Drow goddess.

Both Thuradin and Lesras attempted to open the same tomb to investigate, and despite Thuradin beating Lesras to the tomb, Aenalis stepped in using a wall of wind to push Thuradin back and preventing the desecration of the tomb for the moment.

The party moved past the grave and headed to the site of Greenfoot’s bloom, one of the many fungal farms around - after a slight delay fighting with some tall grass. As they came closer to the area, there were clear signs of a partial cave-in on one side and behind the fungal farm stood a large wall. As they got closer to the wall, Greenfoot informed Cybille that she’d heard a voice like hers before coming from behind the wall, along with the voice of a man.

Yagharek investigated the skeletons - their bodies facing away from the town - in the fungal farm, discovering a few magical daggers around their corpses. Lesras also took the opportunity to take some of the iridescent tree bark and one of the skeletons for later crafting.

Now that the investigation of the fungal farm had brought them some new riches, the group continued westward towards the town. Consciously avoiding the town center - as they spied it, they saw yet another statue of Lolth alongside a reflection pool - the remaining corpse shambled behind them. “Free us”, it growled repeatedly.

Specters and ghosts sleekly emanated from the nearby buildings. The voices of the dead filled a few of the party’s heads, causing pain but rather than fight back Lesras attempted to figure out what they were after. The group quickly realised that the anger seemed to be directed at the bricked up buildings, so they started to destroy the bricks in the windows and doors.

After struggling to make an impact, bricks in one of the windows gave way exposing the contents of the house for the first time in centuries. Peering in through the new gap in the window, Aenalis discovered skeletons trapped inside the house. Xaljin inspected further, noting that they were Drow bones. The discovery drove the party to be more expedient, breaking down the brick walls in multiple houses, spirits dissipating with each house opened as further bones were discovered. With a crash of bones, the group were finally alone and untroubled once more. The air feeling less tense now.

Passed the street to the north of the town sat a large stately house, likewise bricked up. Thuradin climbed the wall and dangled from the ledge of one of the upper floor window ledges until the bricks were destroyed above him, at which point he climbed in to what appeared to be a study.

The shelves were filled with books and parchment littered the desk. Further inspection of the parchment revealed designs for well known buildings from Nauntilet, the crowd of the Pagdon Empire. As Thuradin continued to search the house, Cybille and Greenfoot climbed through the window to investigate further. As Cybille looked around the room, familiar features triggered her curiosity and with the tug of a certain book a part of the wall spun around revealing notes that spoke of the Drow’s search for a new home, their bargain with the Emperor to help design and build the centerpiece of his empire, Nauntilet, in exchange for land beneath the city, and the Emperor’s betrayal once building was completed. It also made mention of a secret way out of the town that the architect was aware of. Cybille thought about this, Drow weren’t seen around Il’Nantet nowadays, she only knew of one.

The rest of the windows and doors were opened and the group took a long rest. Before heading off to the burnt tunnel, Thuradin and Lesras went back to the graveyard, finding only a Drow skeleton inside one of the tombs, which Lesras collected to add to his bone collection. Meanwhile, Cybille, Greenfoot, and Aenelis went back to the wall where Greenfoot had heard the voices. With a quick investigation, and inspired by Aenelis’s lyre playing, Cybille discovered that part of the wall seemed to be moveable. The three kept it in mind and regrouped with the rest of the party before they headed off down the passage.