Emon requests clandestine help. Apparently something was stolen that will be missed tomorrow morning. A curious boy stumbled through the caves, avoiding dangers. Will you be so lucky?

Characters

Lorsan Brightwood

Usil Chanterelle

Alluremaleth Mellarathiel

Farrival Marchant

Quincy Barrowes

Summary

In the dead of night, the adventurers are drawn to the Velvet Cloak Inn at the summons of Nencio Barthol. It seems the owner of the local Red Star Merchants, Emon has a bit of an issue. Her nephew, while blitzed out of his mind on magic mushrooms somehow managed to … acquire the Copper Crown that is essential to the rituals of the Harvest Festival. Not wanting to implicate her nephew in some light B&E, Emon asks the adventurers to return the crown.

Questioning Barash, Emon's nephew, the adventurers also learn that Jelar, servant to the Mighty Lero and somewhat rival to Farrival Marchant was also present during Barash's incident. Barash believed that Jelar was attempting to steal the crown, so he stole it first. Intermixed with this was a very confusing story about fighting and mushroom people that was mostly nonsense in the moment.

Barash led the adventurers to the cave where he had found his stash of magic mushrooms. True to his word, strange blue mushrooms (identified by Usil Chanterelle as Somnius BlueCaps) grew in one of the caves. Their spores led to people wanting to remain in the area and ultimately become mushroom food. This was a very concerning twist, as the adventurers found a lost member of Jelar's expedition in the cloud, with an advanced case of exposure to the fungus. The cave also has significant problem with undead, some of which exploded. Adventurers did what adventurers do and the undead were made properly dead.

Taking the spore victim to the Celestial Nexus for care, the adventurers (well, mostly Lorsan Brightwood) opted to wander around until they found where the crown belonged. They met a lovely spectral instructor who was able to give directions and even had a wonderful chat with a strange wyvern known as The Drake. They learned a considerable amount about the crown, its purpose, and the involved ritual. They continued through the Nexus until they found the ritual chamber and replaced the crown in its rightful place. However, they discovered at least two of the ritual guardians were hurt or killed by Jelar's assault, as well as a hole blasted into the room and many of the Mushroom People sworn to protect the passageway dead.

Talking with the Mushroom People King, the adventurers learned of their heavy losses in their fight. Wanting to help, Usil Chanterelle mentioned another group of fungus-people looking for a home who could perhaps boost their numbers. Lorsan Brightwood also mentioned that Quillpond could send skills laborers to help rebuild the damage cause by Jelar. The Mushroom King gave the adventurers a token that would allow safe passage back to their kingdom for anyone who wanted to help and showed them a pool that let them swim back to the cave they originally entered without having to deal with the Somnius BlueCaps. These turned out to be a natural defense and food-crop maintained by the Mushroom people, though still quite deadly to anything that breathes.

Satisfied with their good deed, the adventurers returned to the Celestial Nexus to check in on their patient, only to learn that Jelar's people had fast-talked their way into removing her from the Nexus's care. Now worried for her health, as well as Jelar's faction having a potential unlimited source of Somnius BlueCaps, the adventurers pondered over their next move to save the woman.