3,383 Necrologion 5
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Arktouros, Anekdotos, Athyn, Maia, and I gathered to venture deeper into the necromancer’s cave. Before leaving, we visited Melaina so Maia could deliver a crystal to her. She was thrilled to receive the crystal, which started glowing as she held it.
When we headed out, it was a pleasant day. After four hours, we saw a scantily clothed man and woman dancing in the meadow with the sun gleaming off them beyond the pass between the Forest of Fate and the Eldenwood. Looking closer, they seemed to be glowing. As we approached, Athyn began to play her flute and I supported her with my horn. After brief introductions to Perseus and Alea, Arktouros started dancing with Alea and Anekdotos soon joined in. Maia broke Anekdotos’ trance with an excellent shot from her bow into the minotaur’s horn. Anekdotos tried to charge Arktouros to break his trance, but the paladin side-stepped like a matador. Maia shot the paladin with an arrow and Alea healed her. They asked us to stay with them and celebrate Heliod, but we pulled the others away and continued east.
Traveling on the Old Imperial Highway, we passed the ancient tower and reached the eastern part of the Elden Wood where we made camp.
While Maia was praying, Athyn noticed her go silent. Maia pointed toward some mushrooms and began to investigate. She picked up a large one and put it down. Arktouros put his hands on it. Maia seemed to carry on a conversation with the mushrooms. According to Maia, they said they had seen Pallas and Niobe pass through the area a month ago.
The next morning, we followed the blazes into the Eldenwood and encountered more mushrooms.
As we headed toward the cave, we heard a roar in the distance. Maia said she saw bears in the distance. Making haste, we reached the cave and entered.
In an unexplored room, we found decomposed corpses and two large mushrooms Maia said were called myconids. The myconids offered to lead us to their queen, and we agreed. We followed them through a secret door and down a long passage into a room with a pillar of pure darkness in its center, surrounded by glowing green runes. They led us beyond that, to another room with tattered purple tapestries, a blackened bookcase, and piles of burnt paper. Down another long corridor, we reached the room where we had fought the necromancer. Surrounded by mushroom people, was the myconid queen, who demanded physical contact to join their tribe.
When we refused, the queen grew angry and attacked us. After defeating the queen and her myconids, we searched the cave. We gathered enough mushrooms to make seven rations. We found two gems around the myconid queen’s corpse, one citrine and one bloodstone. Among the corpses was a centaur wearing a rich fur cape. At the top of the stairs was a lever that Athyn determined controlled a trap. Looking through a peephole over the lever, she saw down into the room with the iron chests.
In the next large chamber, we found three fine purple tapestries and two magical scrolls. We also found a scrap of paper with the words: “We must make sure the offerings are not discovered again.”
Before we left, I threw javelins into the black column, and each time a shadow emerged. They were no match for our radiant strikes and we soon put an end to them.
After a short rest, Athyn was able to reset her wounded leg. We left the cave but we got lost and wound up back at the cave where we rested for the night.
The next morning, Athyn was able to stop Maia’s bleeding wound.
As we left the cave, we were confronted by Pallas and Niobe along with some masked guards. Niobe threw Arktouros’ amulet to him and suggested we both go our separate ways, but we weren’t having it. Charging onto the wagon, we began knocking them off until they were soon retreating. Noibe fell from a javelin and an arrow while we secured the wagon and Maia spurred the horses away.
At the end of the day, we made camp near the coast on Old Imperial Highway.
The next day we reached the pass between the forest of fate and the Eldenwood.
After three days of traveling, we made it back to Neolantika. Maia set off to roam in the grass. Arktouros notified the guard of our encounter with Pallas and Niobe. Anekdotos and I followed Athyn to see Anaxomander, who confirmed that the constellation on the trinket belongs to Nylea.
Matthias
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