Upon entering the passageway under the tree, please post here.

In reply to Game Master (msg # 1):

Gregory heads down in to the grotto, holding his glowing holy symbol aloft. He takes a shallow breath, trying to sense if there's any unholy evil about (not including any possibly undead party members).

The ghost follows Gregory through the brushes, and literally through some trees.

Ex-Jon then stops, and starts sniffing the area, trying to pick any smells that might be worth exploring. One noone knows where we might find interesting ingredients.


19:13, Today: Ex-Jon Hudson rolled 5 using 4d6, dropping the 3 lowest rolls with rolls of 5,1,2,1.  Chef's nose.

The shadows between the trees begin to move in an unnatural way, soon merging together and beginning to take on a solid form.  This shadowy form rises into the shape of a human figure.  A few more seconds, and it has indeed turned into a human, a man of average height, middle age, dark hair, gray eyes.  He taps his staff on the ground and the shadows retreat to their original positions.

"Not cool, guys," the wizard says to the rest of the party.  "I told you I just needed two minutes to check out the carvings in that rock, and you went ahead without me?  I could have uncovered great secrets about the history of this area!  I didn't, it turned out to be nothing, but I could have been onto something.  You lot just don't appreciate these things..."

He sighs, then turns to face the grotto entrance.  "This is the place then?"

In reply to Hinimas (msg # 4):

Gregory says, "Sorry Hinimas, I assumed you'd be taking the rear guard. Maybe there'll be some history in here. Or some tea..."

In reply to Ex-Jon Hudson (msg # 3):

13:00, Today: Game Master rolled 12 using 5d6 ((1,3,2,5,1)).
OOC: Chef senses down one Ex- Jon Hudson.

One does not need to be a chef to wade through the scent that appeared in the grotto entrance, a wafe, more like a slap of both heavenly and repulsive spores (literally) slapped the adventurers. Especially the ghost Hudson, to the remains, or memory of his olfactory senses, the smell was of Portabello, shitake, and a myriad of others (truffles, no doubt truffles) escavated into his thoughts.

No doubt this would be a great place to harvest a sourdough starter.

For the grotto entrance, underneath the massive tree opened into a massive cave of glowing undulating fungi. Mushroom, mushrooms everywhere, and between those a dazzling array of tendrils that glowed with a great intensity. They cast out a prismatic spray of color all around, making the shadows intense and light sources unknown to those without an untrained eye.

It seemed was an entire cavern of Mycelia, an altar to toadstools and sweet yeasty mold everywhere, it vaulted downward into a natural cathedral and a path that lead to the very bottom of it. Within it all undulating mushrooms and tendrils inviting like coral reefs do to a mighty little fish.

The machine finally relented and allowed at least the appearance of control back over to the furious little gnomish pilot. With a lurch and a snort of steam, the T.A.N.K. proceeded to enter the grotto.

"Dratted detritus!" Gnorton concluded. "Hey Wiz, maybe you'll find some graffiti in here by the local hooligans who defaced yonder road marker! Little rascals probably think that's quite a joke!"

The contraption paused as a thought tried to work itself into the gnome's cantankerous mind...

"... or maybe they wanted us to go this way...Bah!" he shook off the offending inspiration and herded his scrap heap along behind the others.

Gregory lets his holy fire fade from his symbol as it seems the fungus casts enough light to see by. "Well, looks like we're all set for mushrooms here ... anyone know if any of these are good to eat?"

"Not only safe, but the quality and variety on display is astounding! Definely collect as much as possible! Unless we are to return here often, in which case you should leave some to spread and grow. I can't wait to make them... Or... Guide you to make them into amazing dishes!"

Hinimas walks cautiously into the grotto, looking around at the mushrooms and nodding sagely.  As he examines the scene he says, to whoever is willing to listen, "During the time that I spent in Betochta, I tried a dish that was made with a variety of local mushrooms, and also the eggs of a certain cave snake that lives in the same caves where those mushrooms grow.  The adults snakes are quite toxic of course, but the eggs were delicious.  And judging from the layout of the different mushrooms here, there should be some snake eggs right... over... there!"With this last word, the wizard takes two decisive steps toward the spot he indicated and begins gently prodding with the butt of his staff.

Hinimas rolled 10 using 3d6 with rolls of 3,2,5.  mushroom knowledge (Well-Traveled Human).

I don't know what the target number would be here, so GM, what do I find?

12:57, Today: Game Master rolled 19 using 5d6 ((1,3,4,5,6)).

These mushrooms are different from the others. The snakes, not so much. There among the tendrils and fungi are true, the eggs of the snakes, a wonderful treat for those with the wit and experience to know where to look.

Snake eggs YUM!

OOC: Target number is just beat the cliche (5) with the highest roll.

"Oh, cooking with snake eggs! I'm glad to have someone with some cooking knowledge around, even if they are an amateur! Collect them aswell, so we may replicate that dish of yours!"

Ex-Jon Hudson nods in approval, as a good number of party members seem to be interested in the culinary arts aswell.

Gregory says, "Excellent, only in here a few minutes and already eggs and mushrooms. Maybe we can leave some of it for the trip home?" He looks around, deeper into the grotto, to see if there is an exit or another passage.

"Snake eggs... Of all the silly... wait a minute, there are the eggs... but where is the mother?"

Gnorton mashed a button inside the cockpit and turned the T.A.N.K. in a slow, nervous circle.


OOC: Thanks for the idea, hmmm.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:57, Tue 31 Jan 2023.

Ssssstrange ssssounds ssssuddenly rise in the underbrush of the tendrils (4), strange things that slither and roam, approaching it seemed until coming closer. The sound of forked tongues hissing and slithering, things smelling out there just beyond the main entrance...

In reply to Game Master (msg # 15):

Gregory turns back to the entrance, raising his holy symbol again. "Does anyone else hear that?"

Hinimas waves his staff in the direction of the sound and says "What, over there?"

Attempting to push the shadows to the side and uncover whatever might be hiding there.

Hinimas rolled 17 using 4d6 with rolls of 6,4,5,2.  Shadow Wizard.

The machine had apparently relented to allow Gnorton to lift the glass bubble-like dome when the question of unexpected company was raised. As he reached for the scanner modulation knob, the lid closed with a rather loud noise!

"All of you stop breathing for a few minutes while I get this calibrated," he suggested, carefully turning the knob, seeking the sweet spot.

The machine seemed to slowly rotate toward the mouth of the grotto, almost as if a steering pedal was stuck slightly depressed... almost.

When the little gnomish pilot looked up again, he was clearly disoriented and had to reorient to the changed position with relation to the mushrooms. One of the T.A.N.K.'s appendages extended in the direction indicated by Hinimas. "Something over there lad... I think."


Gnorton rolled 6 using 3d6, keeping the highest dice only with rolls of 6,6,1.  Assist Hinimas (Team up) - gizmos, gadgets and gears (3).

10:56, Today: Game Master rolled 17 using 4d6 ((5,5,4,3)).

OOC: A Bourage of snakes is revealed in the negative energy of the shadow power. Hinimas narrate what you see in a monologue of victory, with the rather helpful help of Gnorton!

The shadows peel away, revealing several adult snakes slithering among the fungi and foliage of the grotto.  The wizard steps back cautiously and begins narrating to the others about these snakes' various properties, such as their coloration, the potency of their venom, and their... confused movement?

"...normally they move with a sense of sinister purpose, not so frantic and random like this.  I suspect that something is disturbing their ability to detect prey by vibrations in the ground, though I've no idea-"  He stops, turns to look at the T.A.N.K., and then mumbles "oh, right."

Between his ongoing battle with his creation causing a bit of perspiration and the increase in humidity from the cool air of the grotto, Gnorton's goggles had gotten fogged. He removed them in an effort to alleviate the problem, but like many oldsters, once spectacles are removed the ability to hear is lost as well.

Strange phenomenon that...

His cheeks flushed a bit when what he thought he'd heard had to do with frantic nominal spinsters and disturbing vibrating hounds. Flustered, he sputtered back his indifferences on the particulars and promptly replaced his goggles!

The T.A.N.K. convulsed a bit, very similar to someone trying to suppress... laughter.

Nah, couldn't be...

Interupted in his philosophical ruminations by the sounds of combat, dr madz rushes into the grotto, flames in his hands.
"What happened? What I miss?"

Flames look like a good idea to Gregory, too, and he fills his left hand with a small ball of fire.

The T.A.N.K., not to be outdone, emitted a small jet of green flame from a battered appendage.

"Not gonna play nice all day I think, better get harvesting whilst they be... fuddled."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:51, Mon 06 Feb 2023.

Are the snakes really befuddled? Can the vibrations and wondrous shadow magic?

Let's see who is like a snake charmer beating 2 5's

08:54, Today: Game Master rolled 11 using 3d6 ((5,1,5)).

08:39, Today: Gregory Gilligan rolled 13 using 4d6 with rolls of 4,5,3,1.  Acolyte of Lady of Fire and Frost burning up the snakes.

The snakes don't take kindly to fire or frost, curious that their sssss'ing causes the magic to dissipate a bit.

OOC: Gregory down a die.

Hinimas waves his staff around, moving shadows accordingly, quickly working into the shape of... a giant mongoose.  Surely something that snakes should fear instinctively, whether or not such creatures actually live around here.

Hinimas rolled 9 using 4d6 with rolls of 4,1,3,1.  Shadow Wizard.

"Careful! You are gonna ruin their meat!"

The ghost of Jon Hudson, reached out to the snakes, firmly believing that no harm may come to him (ever again). He attempted to calm himself, and soothe the snakes in the process. "Easy there. Keep your meat soft and tender"

09:15, Today: Ex-Jon Hudson rolled 8 using 2d6.  Supernaturally Empathetic.

Dr madz attempts to cast a sleep spell on the slithering snakes

Dr. Madz Eyeinsists rolled 15 using 4d6 with rolls of 2,3,6,4.  Tinkering mad mage. –

11:55, Today: Game Master rolled 13 using 3d6 ((5,2,6)).

The Slithering lovelies appear to resist just about anything thrown at them. A strange  thing indeed. It seems that the TANK just whirs in the background, without a care.

OOC: Please mark 'Record each Die". I can only count the roll if I see the individual dice, since we are using highest roll.

Mush. The contraption seemed to flounder a bit in a patch of mushrooms, or whatever organic matter beneath them upon which they'd been growing! Gnorton pulled a lever which locked one track in place whilst the other churned ahead. The effect worked well to unstuck the scrap heap, but probably didn't do much to help with the current serpentine dilemma...


Gnorton rolled 14 using 4d6 ((5,2,4,3)).

In reply to Gnorton (msg # 32):

Gregory looks at the snakes. They don't seem to be moving anymore...and neither does anything else.

"Oops, sorry about that."  Hinimas waves his hand in a quick motion of dispelling, and the shadows return to normal instead of synchronizing to create the illusion of stillness.  He then reaches into his cloak and pulls out his most frightening possession: a cheap recorder.

The logic would of course be obvious to anyone with a modicum of knowledge about the world around them.  Snakes are mesmerized by the sound of a reed instrument.  Or a woodwind.  Definitely one of the two.  All it took was a bit of skill.

Hinimas does not possess the right level of skill.

Hinimas rolled 2 using 1d6.  Amateur Musician.

08:36, Today: Game Master rolled 6 using 3d6 ((1,4,1)). Success! I considered the lead being Hinimas and Gnorton providing a wondrous echo-symphany with his T.A.N.K. (though no cliche was mentioned). So by all means- Monologue of Victory Hinimas!

If one were well versed in the social behavior of cave snakes and knew what signs to look for, one might catch the serpentine equivalent of an eye roll and a "this sucks, let's leave" gesture.  Hinimas, well versed as he may be in the cultures of humans and other obviously sapient species, has no such awareness when it comes to mere animals.  So instead he treats his companions to an unjustifiably confident lecture about how the cacophony produced by recorder, TANK, and general adventuring party scared them away because of their sensitivity to vibrations of air and earth.  A lecture which, all things considered, risks having a similar effect on his companions.

"Hrrumph! We were just getting started!" Gnorton was grinning now that the moisture from the inside of his protective bubble had been wiped free.

"Make your harvest and let's get going, steam ain't cheap and we're not getting any younger!" He maneuvered the contraption in preparation to continue further into the depths, surmising it an obvious shortcut to their destination.

Gregory picks up a few more mushroom pieces, then also heads down towards the depths.

The depths open up to a large immense cavern rising up to membraneous buttress, making the whole area seem like a giant ribcage. A shallow canal ran through the middle. Otherwise the place looked completely deserted (4).

As they progressed into the grotto, Gnorton looked around and took it all in. He wasn't really very thrilled about being below ground anyway, and though this... shortcut, seemed to have been forced upon them by the hand of Fate, he'd rather be on some testing ground blasting off munitions, making adjustments and contemplating upgrades.

As the T.A.N.K. idled by the edge of the water, he tossed a flexible hose below the surface and turned a valve which would draft water into the reservoir used for producing steam.

"I suppose we should follow the water. Probably the left-over of whatever cut its way through here to begin with. At the very least, it'll lead us along the path of least resistance."

Whether that reasoning was entirely sound would depend on the severity and frequency of concussions the little gnome had sustained during his career.

Hinimas shrugged and followed along.  Gnorton's idea seemed as good as any other, so he didn't bother coming up with any other.

Gregory says, "And we'll have something to drink if we get trapped down here." He follows with the rest of the group.

Gnorton snorted at the suggestion they might not emerge from this subterranean sojourn. "Shortcut, it's a shortcut... but yes, water is quite a nice luxury to have at our disposal for whatever the reason."

The scrap-heap he was piloting belched a sulfurous-smelling gout of steam as it proceeded forth in exploration mode.

Gregory fans away the smoke with the hand holding his holy symbol.