Runmae immediately notices something, the people here are speaking a language that is remarkebly similar to Dwarven, like it shares a root language with it. If she concentrates, she can kinda get the gist of what's being said. The "stonework" is also very similar to what she's seen in ruins in Sol Udar.
She mutters to herself about it, and Bhaltair picks up on it and asks what she's mumbling about.
She reminisces that she hasn't heard Dwarven in a long time, she hasn't been back to the Mror Holds in almost a century.
Bhaltair is confused, obviously they should expect to hear Dwarven underground? That's where dwarves come from!
Runmae explains that the Realm Below, the home of their ancient ancestors, was abandoned when they dug into it in the last century.
Bhaltair thinks this is a perfect opportunity to explore her history, then! Why do these people speak an ancient dialect of Dwarven?
They take the group to a mess hell and give them some crab and mushroom stew, with loafs of mushroom bread. It has a very strong, distilled mushroomy taste, but it's not spicy (like Mror foods tend to be).
Naze hates it, not his favourite food.
Runmae loves it, it instantly takes her back to her childhood.
Valaari is all business about it, it's food. They do it enjoy it, though.
Bhaltair doesn't really taste, but enjoys the smell.
Warren snarfs it down as if he hasn't eaten in years (he is malnourished, after all).
Bhaltair asks if Runmae could make this kind of food if they could grow mushrooms? She thinks so
Gears provides some context on the village, it is called Krisek Yor. It is small, only about 250 people, (1/3 Minotaurs, 2/3 Morlocks). They are all refugees, the minotaurs fled the service of the Horned King, and the morlocks fled some disaster in their previous home, Arak Yor. Gears doesn't know the details, but Three Mushrooms Concealing the Name of God might.
Valaari thinks about what they've been told and recalls reports of morlocks being encountered before, but being decidely less chill than these people. Always inventive, though.
Bhaltair asks if there is anything they can do to help while the others speak to everyone. Gears asks what they can do, and Bhaltair mentions being good at music and plants. Maybe mushrooms? Go see Three Mushrooms.
Runmae wants to go see Three Mushrooms and Four Hides, she wants to know the history but also the science.
Warren isn't bothered by any of them (as opposed to Steph, who wants to speak to all of them)
Valaari also wants to speak to Three Mushrooms and learn more about Arak Yor, the settlement in their dreams.
Naze possibly wants to speak to the doctor (Pending any input from his player, who had to miss today).
They go to speak to Three Mushrooms, who is an eccentric old woman with fungus growing all over her body. She claims to be able to commune with the mycelium network in the cavern, and access the memories of those who came before them.
She explains that Arak Yor was a technologically advanced paradise, a post-scarcity society. The demiplane bestowed universal understanding on its people, allowing them to speak and understand all languages, as well as a spark of innovation that made ideas come easily to them. They advanced very quickly, but something arrived in the demiplane that forced them to flee. The memories of that are hazy from trauma, something broke them.
Nevertheless, the morlocks have retained the universal understanding and spark of innovation, Three Mushrooms had never spoken Common before today!
Bhaltair asks if they have any objects from that time, as they could try and do a reading. Three Mushrooms suggests trying a reading on the mycelium?
That's a good idea! Bhaltair looks to Valaari for permission.
Runmae laughs to herself, she may have stumbled upon the greatest mystery of her people and she can't return to tell anyone!
Warren apologises, he's recently been thinking about the sacrifices people have had to make to be here.
Bhaltair mentions that there are Postmen about, perhaps they can send a letter. Warren says that the postmen are corrupted too, so no they can't.
With permission, Bhaltair performs a reading on the mycelium.
Initially, with just a psychometric assessment, they get overwhelmed by the amount of information and can't make sense of any of it. They try to narrow it down using a spell.
This is a much more readily readable resource than most of the things that Bhaltair has tried to read, and they get way more information than they expect. They get slammed into the point of view of a refugee arriving at Arak Yor, fleeing tentacled horrors that drove them from their homes. In particular, an image is seared into their mind of an emaciated humanoid with tentacles for a mouth. This refugee also saw other people, confirming that they seemed to be ancient dwarves.
Bhaltair shivers as they come out of the trance, and tells the others about it.
Runmae confirms that when her people dug down into Sol Udar, they encountered mind flayers and other tentacled horrors, similar to "that guy in Kastar Dar" (Sinnoch).
Warren is like "oh so y'all are related? Like cousins?"
Not quite
Mushrooms explains that they are distantly related, potentially sharing a common ancestor.
Bhaltair asks if they can stay here, and Mushrooms is amenable. She compliments their ability to commune with the mycelium, not many can! She asks if they would be willing to contribute some of their experiences, allow it to read them as they read it.
Bhaltair shares some events from their life with the mycelium. The first is an experience from their time in the Eldeen Reaches, sat around a campfire and talking to others, not long after they were born. The second is their experience in the Abyssal Forest of Khaar, and feeding the hummingbirds. The third is the group's first interaction with Tinvak.
Warren goes to find a bench somewhere to lie down for a second. He's not sure how he feels about "mushroom town". He just takes a moment to himself to sit.
Valaari stays with Bhaltair and Three Mushrooms. (Their player was also absent, and they may want to do or ask more).
Runmae goes to speak with Four Ragged Hides Stretched Over a Rack. He's cranky and initially ignores her, but Gears manages to get his attention. He grills Runmae on her clothing and equipment, "what the fuck is linen?"
He demands that she give him her hammer in exchange for information. She refuses, but does offer her war razor. He accepts.
She asks if he can turn her crossbow into something like the weapon Gears has. He says no, ask Gears.
Damn it!
Runmae asks what he can tell her
He tells her the correct dosage of scorpion venom to get high.
Runmae leaves, and Gears apologises. She'll show Runmae how her projectile launcher works.
Runmae tries the launcher out, but it doesn't work as effectively for her. Weird. They investigate together, and Gears makes some modifications to Runmae's crossbow. That also doesn't work as well when Runmae uses it. Huh.
Gears thinks that the runes lack power when Runmae does it, whereas they seem to draw on something within Gears when she does it. Runmae should try putting some dragonshard dust in there.
Bhaltair performs a couple more object readings.
They see the refugees arriving in Krisek Yor, cataloguing the flora and fauna and then cultivating the mycelium. Supporting this, it doesn't have any memories before those refugees.
Bhaltair asks how it is that Three Mushrooms communes with the mycelium. She describes the mycelium connecting with her nervous system, and she communicates with it.
Bhaltair tries to help them find a solution to the fungus losing its connection to the mycelium when physically removed from it.
With Bhaltair's assistance, they make some progress! By removing some of the soil with the mycelium, and maintaining a physical link to that, they can maintain some of the information within.
With this, Bhaltair then performs another object reading, as a treat.
They go for the memory that seems to have the strongest emotional resonance. They see a the perspective of a dwarf inside the tower in Arak Yor, desperate as the mind flayers have found their city and come for it. The dwarves have been driven to a last resort, the enemy are at the gates and they need to repel them. Bhaltair can't understand their speech, but they come to a conclusion on a course of action, and they summon something.
The dwarf never sees the arrival of the entity, they see a flash of light and are blinded. A second later, their ears explode and they are deafened. The last thing that Bhaltair experiences is a wave of confusion and remorse. Then they come back to their senses.
Three Mushrooms is clutching their eyes. Bhaltair asks if they are okay, and they explain that they've never experienced that memory. The mycelium has never shown it to her. Bhaltair explains how their magic works, that it draws on strong emotion, and perhaps the mycelium wanted to save her from that experience.
Maybe.
We think that Valaari's player would have questions here, so we'll revisit.
Warren needs to pee, but doesn't know where it's safe to do so. He asks a nearby Morlock if they have a toilet or anything. They do! He can use theirs if he likes.
He follows her, and she introduces herself as Thirteen Wilted Roses in a Cracked Porcelain Vase. She shows him to the bathroom in her house, which is (like everything else) composed of mushrooms and stone. He does his business, and the waste just...disappears? He cuts a bit of the toilet away to take with him, and considers sticking his head into the bowl to see what happens.
His better judgement wins (other than the part that allowed him to vandalise this nice woman's bathroom).
He thanks Thirteen Roses on his way out.
Runmae sees Warren emerge from a random woman's house and asks what was up. Warren describes them having like a fancy chair you can shit in! He didn't need to dig a hole or anything.
Runmae is amazed that they have toilets.
Warren does not reveal that he cut some of the toilet mushroom and took it.
They talk among themselves and decide they'd like to stay the night here, and leave the following day (pending any input from the missing players).