There Isn't Mushroom For Error

Nira jumps up onto the mushrooms to avoid the spike growth, but slips and lands on the spikes. Furus tried to jump up as well, but was too lanky and again stumbled into the spiked earth near Nira. Adalia tried to cast a spell now that she could see thanks to the light of the fire beetles, but it fizzled out. Belladonna pulled her longbow out, but the darkness and the sense of the walls pressing in was too reminiscent of her time under the mountain, and the arrow veered off course. She sucked in a quick breath and reloaded, determined to push through her fear, it was a straighter shot, but didn’t meet its target.

Galia attempted to summon her celestial crow, but he wouldn’t come, so she turned her energy towards pulling Furus up onto the mushroom. Her small frame can’t quite get him up and she only manages to drag him through the thorns. Nira climbed up and cast cure light wounds on those closest to her.

Carindrina closed her eyes, and as she was preparing to make an attack, a bright light began emanating from her chest, the light pulsing. She felt the metal in her blood moving and coming together to form a chain. This came out of her hands and spiraled up her axes, connecting them to her body and soul. She felt the spirit of The Miner settle over her. Though the group couldn’t see her, they saw the light shine brightly, then die down until it was the two silver chains wrapped around the axe. Carindrina shifted the weight of the weapons in her hands, and threw her axe at the closest fey. It sunk into the creature with ease, then with a sucking sound, she pulled it back and it spun to rest in her hand. She grinned and twirled the axe back into her grip, ready to throw again. A spell hit her, throwing off her focus. She felt the slow spell hit her, but the effects shrugged off thanks to protection from her ring.

Belladonna sunk an arrow into the same fey and she crumbled into small phosphorescent spores. Venus wanted to cast a spell, but without being able to move without hurting herself, she threw fireball into one of the fungal creatures, the flames wrapping around her body.

The other fungal fey held a finger out to point at Adalia, a spell reaching out to capture her mind. Adalia felt herself shoved to the back of her own thoughts as the fey creature took over. Adalia felt herself turn back towards her friends and cast wave strike at her friends: Carindrina, Midna, and Juniper. She could hear the fey whispering lightly, treading through her thoughts, telling her that she should help her friends and they needed water.

Belladonna slowed her heart and listened. She could hear exactly where the two active fey were moving. Her first arrow just missed, but her rapid shot sunk into the fey that was struggling with the fireball aftermath. There was a soft puff as the spores released.

Galia kept calling ,”Quote! Quote! Quote the raven! Come on!!!” getting progressively more frustrated as the bird wouldn’t not appear. Carindrina turned back to try to see Galia in the darkness, but couldn’t.

Adalia tried to reach Aquilla with her empathic link, but Aquilla didn’t understand with the fey interference. Nira looked at her comrades who were all fairly injured and tried to determine who would be helped the most. She climbed up onto the mushrooms and reached down to pat Juniper and heal her.

Carindrina lifted both battle axes over her head and threw them into the fey just in front of her. They sink in with a squelching sound, then retract back to her, ripping the flesh as they are returned. Carindrina sends her thoughts out to The Miner and thanks them for this gift. She feels that she is being rewarded for staying true to her morals, helping those that she has no connection to simply because they need help, even though she was taking damage herself, she was being true to the dwarven principles.

The fungal creature reached into one of the holes in her cap dress and pulled out an orb, it glowed and she blew it towards Midna, Juniper, and Nira. The spore landed and a large pod erupted that matched her dress. Midna immediately knocked an arrow and shot her in the chest. She stumbled back, but wasn’t dead.

Venus tried to use her sharp cat vision and see the other fey. She couldn’t see them, but decided to shoot a firebolt anyway. She saw the fungal creature light up, but the firebolt only singed her arm.

Adalia, under the control of the fey still, forced her to use hydraulic push to send her friends crashing back into the nettles. She targeted Carindrina and a large wave sent her sprawling back into the thorny undergrowth, knocking her prone. Carindrina, soaked, called up from the ground, “What the FUCK?!”

Belladonna fired two arrows, but the fey had moved and she no longer knew where they were, so she missed. She decided to press forward through the thorns, ignoring the pain just as she had ignored it so many times before.

Galia gave up on summoning her crow and decided to throw some of her knives, they sunk into the wall on either side of the fey. Nira tried to see if she could cast a spell and miss Galia, she thought she could so she cast it, a sonic boom rocking the cavern and deafening Galia. Nothing else was hit. Nira called Sorry! But Galia couldn’t hear it.

Carindrina tried to throw each axe at a separate fey: left, right. The right fey was so destroyed that she only managed to get the axe through an already damaged spot, however the left was hit firmly in the shoulder before the two axes were brought back to Carindrina’s hands.

The fey teleported to her pod, appearing before Midna, Juniper, and Nira. She reached out to Galia and cast energy drain, wrapping her in a rope of spores and mycelium, squeezing her as tight as possible. Midna turned to shoot the fey, but Galia was so tangled with Galia that the arrow missed and sunk into Galia’s shoulder.

“Ok now I’m dying a little bit!” Galia called.

Venus reached out with her chill touch spell, and the fey swatted the spectral hand away. Juniper tried to grab her owner and pull her free, but the fey was too strong. She breathed in some of the poison, coughing, but held firm and pulled Galia out of the fey’s grasp.

The other fey reached out through Adalia’s mind and had her pull hellish chains from the deep, they broke through the ground, lashing out at Carindrina, but didn’t hit.

“Bitch did you just try to hit me with metal? I have the spirit of The Miner in me right now!” Carindrina roared in challenge.

Adalia struggled to break the fey’s hold. Belladonna released an arrow into the heavily damaged fey and it collapsed with a soft puff of poison spores.

“NEVERMORE!” Galia cries out and a heavenly crow appeared. He swooped over the remaining fungal fey, dive bombing back and forth, clawing at her. Nira cast cure light wounds on Galia, laughing at her.

Carindrina turned to focus her attacks on the fey nearest her, she threw her axes one after another, but only one found purchase in her side.

Midna moved to the side so she wouldn’t shoot Galia, but overshot the distance and didn’t hit the creature. Venus tried to use chill touch again, a ghostly hand curved around and grabbed the fey by the throat. They saw her gills flutter and a puff of spores released. She reached into her pocket, pulled out a handful of glowing spores and released them. Everyone but Aquilla, Belladonna, and Nira (who cast an air bubble around herself) took poison damage. They coughed and gagged, and as they looked around, the fey were gone and the magical darkness had abated.

Adalia reached out to Carindrina, “Oh my god, I am so sorry, Carindrina. Belladona, you’re right, fuck the fey. Galia, I’m sorry, but fuck them.”

Galia tried to explain, “These aren’t like the rest and I thought they said something about protecting the queen, so maybe they were forced to do this?”

They all gathered together and worked towards healing the group. They took a moment and tried to mentally prepare to head further into the caverns.