Episode 52 - Funglets

Previously in the Underdim

The party emerged from the roper cavern to find Grumpy emerging into the clearing. The Tyrannosaurus Rex was twice the size of the one they had encountered before. As the beast unleashed an earth-shaking roar that echoed through the ravines, it abruptly bumped its snout into a Wall of Force Scomitch had cast.  The party concluded that if Grumpy had possessed any hot dogs, it would have eaten them long ago.

Making a hasty retreat, the adventurers returned to Grimble's dwelling and handed over the molds, slimes, and fungi they had collected. As the svirfneblin began brewing the Sporewash concoction, a foul stench quickly filled the area. During the process, Grimble shared that a drow patrol had passed through the region three days earlier. Unlike the slavers commonly encountered in the Underdim, these drow traveled light, wore leather armor, and appeared focused on speed.

After bidding Grimble farewell, the party headed southwest. Before long, they came upon a grisly battlefield. Five dead drow lay where they had made their final stand, backs pressed together against overwhelming odds. Twice as many fallen funglets lay scattered around them. Towering fungal humanoids lay with split mushroom caps, severed limbs, and crossbow bolts protruding from their caps and torsos. Pools of sap-like ichor spread across the cavern floor.

Tracks revealed that at least one additional drow had continued westward, pursued by more funglets. Eventually, the drow’s tracks disappeared, leaving only funglet footprints. Then, from somewhere ahead, a woman's scream echoed through the Underdim.

Advancing cautiously, the party spotted an immense structure rising above the Fungi Forest. It stretched upward toward the distant cavern ceiling, seeming to grow to an impossible height and still stand.

Near the structure's entrance, four tall, gaunt funglets shuffled forward carrying a captive female drow. Bound and slung over a shoulder, she continued to struggle and yell at them as they carried her inside.