Prototype's Gate

As Alex and the rest of the party walked back to the myconid colon. They entered the cave and were meet with the sight of Spaw lying motionless, his once marvelous glint gone.

The usually vibrant, glowing mycelium of the cave seemed dimmed in mourning.

Alex knelt beside Spaw inspecting the body . "It shouldn't have died from the wounds " Alex thought seeing the stumps and sealed cuts.

Wyll clenched his fists, a look of sorrow on his face. " A leader who lost all , dying alone, such a sad fate"

Shadowhear turned her head the other way .

Lae'zel stood tall, her expression stoic but her eyes betraying a flicker of respect.

Karlach’s usually fiery demeanor softened as she gazed at Spaw. "I wish we could have been here sooner," she said, her voice cracking slightly.

Astarion, usually cynical, found himself uncharacteristically silent.

Gale approached the lifeless body, sadness in his eyes.

"Alex, here you are," Blurg said as he walked inside the cave.

Everyone's eyes turned to him.

"I take it everyone wants to know why Spaw died," Blurg said, pausing for a few moments and looking at everyone.

"It healed itself, did he die of old age?" Alex asked.

Blurg nodded.

"Even if it doesn't look like it, Spaw has ruled this colony for over four decades, far longer than any myconids should have been. We know this because we found documentation about this colony dating back four decades. We even suspected that Spaw was an avatar of Psilofyr, the Carrion King." Blurg walked to Alex and gave him a pendant.

"This is Spaw's reward for finishing his last request. It gave it to me right after you left. 'Give this to the Peace-Bringer' were its last words."

Alex stared at the pendant.

This pendant, crafted from the bioluminescent fungi native to the Underdark, glows with a soft, ethereal light. It is intricately woven with mycelium threads and adorned with small, shimmering spores that occasionally drift off like tiny fireflies. The pendant emits a calming, earthy aroma that evokes the tranquility of the deep caverns. He turned the pendant and found something inscribed in the Underdark: “For your bravery and honor, may the light of the mycelium guide you always.”

"What does it do?" Alex asked.

"This pendant is an exceptionally powerful item, imbued with several highly beneficial properties: Myconid's Blessing, which temporarily boosts the wearer's constitution; Spore Communication, allowing telepathic communication with any creature within 100 feet for one hour once per day; Spore Shield, releasing a protective spore cloud that provides a temporary shield to the wearer and their allies within 10 feet for 10 minutes, usable once per day; but the most powerful of all, Rebirth. This is a one-time effect that revives the wearer with a burst of healing spores if they fall in battle, after which the pendant loses its magical properties and becomes a beautiful memento."

"I guess it was worth the detour, am I right Lae'zel?" Astarion asked with a smirk on his face. Lae'zel snarled at him and put her hand on the blade. Astarion took a few steps back and moved behind Karlach.

"We gathered the ingredients Omeluum requested," Wyll said.

"Follow me," Blurg said.

They walked to where Blurg and Omeluum's camp was. Omeluum was already waiting for them.

"I greet you. How has the search for the mushrooms fared?" Omeluum asked.

Alex brought forth a small sack and gave it to Omeluum.

"These are fine specimens. It will only take me a moment to brew them to proper potency," Omeluum said as it glided away to a table with alchemical tools.

"I'm not well-versed in the art of potion making, but Omeluum seems very skillful. It must have been a master of its craft before... its transformation," Gale commented.

A few moments later, Omeluum floated to them with a potion in his hands. The contents of the potion looked like black oil.

Omeluum looked at the rest of the party.

Wyll was the one who stepped forward. He looked at everyone.

"Go, drink it," Astarion said, waving.

"Tsk," Lae'zel said.

"Go ahead, Wyll," Karlach said with a small smile.

Shadowheart just waved for him to go ahead.

"I will drink it," he said, looking at Omeluum and then at Alex, who nodded to him.

"You must drink the entire draught. I can make no promises as to its taste."

Wyll raised the potion and downed the contents.

"It's absolutely disgusting."

"Not a drop left. Very good. As the potion influences your mind, you may find yourself acting irrationally. Try and stay focused," Omeluum instructed Wyll.

Wyll closed his eyes and started to shake in place.

"IT'S SQUIRMING IN MY HEAD!" Wyll shouted, grabbing his head.

Wyll suddenly stiffened. He started to scream and tried to run away, but Alex grabbed him before he could do so. After a few moments of flailing around, Wyll stopped thrashing and patted Alex to let him go.

"Omeluum, are you well?" Blurg asked, inspecting his colleague.

Omeluum snapped back to reality and shook his head. "The larva is like nothing I have ever observed before. Its power is... unsettling."

"The potion of yours could have killed me. The tadpole almost did the same," Wyll said, a tinge of anger in his voice.

"Apologies. Such an outcome was not in my calculations. There is more to this than mere stasis."

"So I went through all this and the tadpole's still lodged in my brain?"

"Indeed. Although I may have a solution, albeit a temporary one. Your comrade, Alex, has a ring of mind shielding. It prevents Elder Brains from noticing the wearer's presence. It will not remove the larva, but it will limit its influence, both positive and negative."

"Wait, positive?" Wyll asked, unsure if he heard right.

"Yes, positive. The tadpole should allow you to use some of the abilities that an illithid posses ."

Wyll turned to look at everyone and then back at Omeluum. "How do we do that?"

"The tadpoles possess some illithid abilities but are too weak to access them. If you consume more tadpoles, they should grow in strength. And I take it you have already unlocked one of the latent abilities?"

Wyll nodded.

"Apologies, this is all I could do. I hope you find a cure."

"Can you brew more potions?" Astarion asked.

"I can't. I don't have any more of the required ingredients. The ones you brought me were just a part of the recipe."

Astarion deflated a bit.

Omeluum turned to Blurg and seemed to speak something telepathically.

"Our organization has its base in Baldur's Gate, in the lower part of the city. Come visit us there."

"We'll see you there if we don't find a cure," Wyll said, earning a glare from Lae'zel.

"Farewell, then," Blurg said, turning around and followed by Omeluum.

...

They walked back to the surface. As they emerged from the shattered sanctum, they realized the sun had already set, so they decided to head back to the camp. However, they made a small detour to the grove to check on the preparations for the departure. As they walked inside, they were stopped by a man.

"Do you know what happened to the hag at the swamp?" the man asked.

"No, what happened to her?" Wyll asked.

"Someone killed her," the man responded.

Astarion walked forward and locked eyes with the man. "You’re a monster hunter. I'm surprised. I thought all Gur were vagrants and cut-throats."

"Pardon, but who—or what—is a Gur?" Wyll asked on behalf of everyone.

"We are mystical and dangerous people. We travel the land, never settling in one place. We steal your chickens, curse your crops, seduce your daughters—your friend here has heard it all, I'm sure. I wish I had half the power settled folk think my people possess. Alas, I am a simple wanderer. A simple wanderer and monster hunter. But I'm not a witch doctor or cut-throat."

"So, what monster are you hunting? Something terrifying, no doubt. Dragon? Cyclops? Kobolds?" Astarion asked.

"Nothing so dramatic. I'm hunting for a vampire spawn. His name is Astarion, but I fear he's gone underground. I hoped the hag of these lands could help me flush him out." Everyone tried their hardest not to stare at Astarion.

Alex observed as the monster hunter's words made Astarion flinch a little, but he kept his calm facade.

"And when you find this 'Astarion,' you'll kill him?" Wyll asked.

"Not this time. My orders are to capture him."

"And bring him where exactly?" Astarion asked.

"Baldur's Gate. My people wait for me there."

"Only a spawn? Pity. Not like it's a real vampire," Wyll said.

"I don't know. I'm sure a vampire spawn could still rip your throat out if he felt like it," Astarion rebutted.

"He is right, unfortunately. They are only weak when compared to their masters. During the day, we have the advantage. But at night, when they hunt? You will not find a more deadly quarry."

"Yes, I'm sure they can creep right up on you," Wyll said.

"We've all survived so far. Let's focus on that," Astarion said.

"It would still be wise to post guards at night. The threat is real."

"Indeed it is. We should do something about this threat," Astarion said.

"We'll be careful, but we should get going," Wyll said.

"Wait, that's it? We're just walking away?"

"I said we will be careful. Now let's go," Wyll said in a firm tone.

"Fine, but if this comes back to bite us, it's on your head," Astarion said.

"Go in peace, my friends. I pray our paths cross again," the man said.

The party walked past the man to a male gnome.

"They'd better bloody not," Astarion whispered.

"Hey Arron," Wyll waved to the gnome.

"Wyll, always a pleasure. How can I help you?"

"Need some food. Do you still have some food left?"

"The majority of my inventory is already packed on the beach waiting for the ship to resurface, but I still have some."

Arron walked to a chest and rummaged through it before coming forward with a big sack.

"How much?" Wyll asked.

"This is free, considering my thanks for protecting me and the grove," Arron said with a charming smile.

Wyll put the sack on his shoulder and waved to Arron as they left.

At the gate, they were stopped by a tiefling.

"Hey!" the tiefling shouted, running to them.

Everyone turned as a tiefling woman stopped right beside them.

"What's the problem, Tilses?" Wyll asked.

"Zevlor wants to talk to you," Tilses responded.

Wyll turned to the party and looked at them. "Now?" he asked.

She nodded.

He sighed.

"Can I come too?" Alex asked.

"If Wyll agrees, why not?"

Wyll gave Astarion the supplies and turned to walk to Zevlor's secluded chamber, with Tilses and Alex beside him.

They found Zevlor pacing inside the room.

"Wyll, good to see you and..."

"Alex."

"Nice to meet you, Alex. I'm Zevlor," he said, extending his hand.

Alex grabbed his hand and gave him a firm shake.

"Now, Wyll, we need to talk about something."

"What's the problem?"

"Zeus' ship hasn't surfaced yet, and we are still debating whether we should leave on foot or wait for the ship to come up."

"The ship is underwater because githyanki are scouting the area for an artifact. You can imagine what would happen if they found Zeus' ship."

Zevlor took a deep breath and sighed. "I know. The scouts have spotted them inching closer and closer to the grove. It will not be long before they are knocking at our door. Your companion, Lae'zel, did she speak with the other githyanki?" Zevlor asked.

"Yes, they have a creche not very far to the east," Wyll responded.

"That's bad," Tilses commented.

"Very," Zevlor continued.

"Maybe we can convince them to change their search area," Alex intervened.

All eyes turned to him. "Explain."

"Lae'zel . She could find a way to speak to their leader and convince them that the artifact is no longer in this area."

"That's a valid plan. It could work, but what if she fails or she dosent want to help?"

"The druids finish the Rite of Thorns and seal the grove."

Zevlor turned to Wyll. "We could give it a try," Wyll said.

Suddenly, the chamber's stone door slid down, and a druid came rushing inside.

"Who is Alex?!" the druid shouted.

"I am."

"Follow me. Master Halsin has something to talk with you about," the druid said, waving for Alex to follow him.

Alex looked at Wyll and Zevlor.

"You can go," Zevlor said.

Alex nodded and followed the druid into the Inner Sanctum.