The meaning of the word
The uncomfortable silence as everyone packs up to get on their way says more than conversation could convey.
They can all tell, without saying it.
They all had the same dream overnight. They all felt the same illness start to overtake them. And they had all been saved by some mysterious figure, who promised they could help.
Itachi doesn’t like the idea of using the parasite- whatever powers it might offer them, and however tempting they might be, he wonders what cost they might come with. What it might do to them over time.
“Copper for your thoughts?”
Itachi jolts, cursing internally for allowing himself to let his guard down enough for Gale to sneak up on him like that.
“Sorry- didn’t mean to cause a fright! Just thought you might like something before we head out.”
“No. It’s fine- thank you.”
He accepts the food with a nod, picking at it while his busy thoughts swirl through his overcrowded head.
“What’s the plan for today, then?”
“It seems like we’ll be helping deal with the duergar that have been giving the myconids some trouble. After that, who knows?”
“So we’re really going to go through with that?”
“We’ve found some more of that Absolute symbolism around the area, so we think it’s related to our problem, yes.”
“I see…”
“We’ll be on the lookout for those mushrooms Omeluum asked for, as well,” Gale assures him. “Or that tower, if we come across it.”
“I certainly hope so. I’d like to get home sooner rather than later.”
“Hm.”
Gale seems sad to hear that, but doesn’t voice it beyond that sad hum.
Orochimaru flags them down, feeling annoyed and twitchy- a feeling that grows stronger the longer they linger here.
As he turns to leave, he’s interrupted by a stout, portly myconid that stands there expectantly.
“...Did you need something?”
“Flesh walker. Tongue talker.”
The stout myconid looks up at him with beady, expectant eyes.
“Reach into memory. Tell me of home.”
Interesting.
Orochimaru isn’t sure why this creature is asking.
More than that, though, he isn’t sure whether he has anything he could call ‘home.’ He hasn't had anything like that for a long time.
The creature lets out a soft, sad sound, perhaps moved by his emptiness.
It then offers up its own memories; memories of flames and scores of slaughtered myconids, of devastation the likes of which Orochimaru is sadly quite familiar with.
“I am a sovereign with no circle,” the stout myconid says, bitterly. “This one does not welcome me. But- I have heard the song. The rot is to be cleansed- I will help you exterminate.”
This feels like a bad idea, but Orochimaru nods along.
“If you think you can handle it, that’s fine by me.”
“I will remain with you in the Underdark,” the myconid declares. “We will exterminate the rot together.”
Fair enough- having an extra set of hands could end up being useful.
Just before they leave, however, they get stopped by someone clearing her throat.
“You- you seen a fella named Baelen down here?”
"Who's asking?" Orochimaru asks.
"Derryth Bonecloak, if it's any of your business."
“What does he look like?” Gale asks.
The stout woman shrugs, speaking in a weary, yet irritated tone.
“Bald,” she says. “Blue tunic. Dumb as a stick.”
Gale and Itachi look at each other for a moment.
“Not that I recall,” Itachi says.
“Neither hide nor hair, I'm afraid,” Gale concurs.
“...Right. Nevermind.”
“Are you needing someone to look for him?” Itachi asks.
“Eh. If you come across him bumbling about, I wouldn't mind you sending him back down this way. Don't waste too much of yer time, though. I heard the ‘shrooms talkin’ and it sounds like you have plenty of work to be doing already.”
There’s something not quite right about the harsh tone this woman uses.
“Who is he to you, anyway?” Orochimaru asks, curiosity getting the better of him.
“Baelen? My useless husband.”
Orochimaru raises an eyebrow.
“It doesn’t sound like there’s much love lost between the two of you.”
“Love?” the woman snorts. “Never known the meaning of the word. Eighty soddin’ years of marriage and all I’ve got to show for it are the scars.”
Itachi nods, listening even though he seems more intent in stroking the snout of the rothe grazing beside her.
“Want master back,” the creature whines. “Master treats me good now. Doesn’t hit or kick me anymore. Miss him.”
That makes his heart hurt terribly, and sends a surge of anger up his throat that he swallows down.
“If we find him, we will send him back here,” Halsin assures her, though his face is also grim.
“Don’t go too far out of yer way, unless he’s actually managed to get his hands on some noblestalk this time.”
The name clearly means something to Gale, who lights up in fascination.
“No other reason for us to be down here. Luckily the ‘shrooms are friendly, so it’s not hard to find a place to stay.”
“...What is noblestalk?” Orochimaru asks.
“A very rare and valuable mushroom,” Gale explains. “It’s used in a lot of medicines.”
“Oh? What does it do?”
“What doesn’t it do?” Derryth answers. “It can cure blindness, The Bite, scale rot- even hair loss if you catch it quick enough. People aboveground eat it up.”
Though Itachi’s expression is as impassive as ever, the way his hands tense up in the rothe’s thick fur gives away what he’s thinking.
No sense lingering, so they leave after that.
They head off down a staircase made of yet more fungus, which Orochimaru inspects in fascination the entire way down.
This entire Underdark is so alien to anything he’s seen before. The surface world seemed at least superficially like the one he is familiar with, but this place, with its hauntingly beautiful surroundings and bizarre wildlife, is something entirely foreign. He can hear whispers in the dark of promised secrets, of mysteries he can unravel if only he gives it the time…
Despite the dire circumstances, he can’t help but feel something like a child set loose in a candy shop, with so much to look at and so many secrets to sink his teeth into.
“Pick up the pace, will you?” Astarion calls back at him. “You can gawk at everything later.”
Orochimaru rolls his eyes even as he follows, annoyed but realizing this is important.
At least they’ve got a nice view- luminescent lichen and fungus creates a tapestry of lights below them that keeps them from stumbling around in total darkness.
A huge tree springs up from the seemingly endless abyss below, standing as a silent watchman.
As they walk, Halsin suddenly stops.
“What’s the matter?”
“...Someone seems trapped down there.”
Without waiting for any acknowledgement, Halsin climbs down the gnarled vines leading down to a small, rocky outcropping.
The others follow, though Astarion and Orochimaru exchange annoyed glances as they do so.
“Oh dear,” the person says, in a tiny, fearful voice. “Oh dear, this isn’t good at all…”
“Looks like he’s gotten himself into a bit of trouble…”
As Itachi tries to approach the obviously confused man, wanting to help, he holds his hands out.
“Stop!” he shouts. “Bibberbang!”
“...Bibberwhat now?”
“Oh dear…”
“Be wary,” Halsin warns. “Bibberbang is quite explosive, and they go off with very little provocation.”
Explosive mushrooms- as if they didn’t have enough strangeness to contend with already.
“What is it that sets them off?” Itachi asks, scanning the field with his Sharingan and frowning.
(The mushrooms are indeed primed to burst with the tiniest effort. the energy coursing through them is incredible.)
“Nobody is quite sure. Movement, maybe. Or the vibrations of our footsteps.”
“Footsteps.”
“You’ve gotten yourself into quite a mess, eh?” Orochimaru asks.
“I-I know that!” The man whimpers.
With a few familiar hand symbols, a pair of crows appears before him, peering up at him with expectant eyes.
“What do you need to get out of there?” he asks.
“My pack!” the man says, panic growing by the second. “My pack, please-”
“Alright, you heard him,” Itachi says. “Find his pack, and be careful.”
The pair of crows split up and start their search, sharp-eyed and eager. They swoop down over the field of explosive fungus, circling around looking for the elusive bag.
They split up in separate directions, one of them finding the bag and scooping it up without much trouble. The other goes somewhere else, grabbing something Itachi can’t see.
The bag is dropped into the man’s hands, and he sighs in relief.
“Thank you!”
He rummages in the bag until he finds a rolled-up scroll of paper, opening it up and squinting at it.
“Just- there we go-”
He speaks the incantation clumsily, but it does the trick, as he evaporates into mist and arrives safely away from the explosive fungus.
“Thank you, thank you!” he declares again, looking around in a mix of relief and confusion.
“How in the devil did you end up in this situation?” Gale asks. “It's dangerous to be out here on your own.”
“I know that,” Baelen says, shaking his head. “I was uh- I was just um- now, what was I doing…”
“I think your wife is waiting for you,” Halsin urges, speaking a bit slower than normal.
“I- Derryth! She’ll be worried sick- thank you, ta!”
The man scurries off, with a broad smile on his face.
“...Should we follow him back?” Gale asks, as the man leaves. “In case he gets himself lost again?”
“Can we really afford to delay any longer?” Orochimaru complains, even though he follows after the others as they trail after the hapless man as he bumbles his way up the hill.
“It’ll just take a moment,” Halsin reassures him. “It’s easy to get lost here in the Underdark, especially when one is not of their right mind.”
Orochimaru rolls his eyes so hard it’s a wonder they don’t fall out of his head.
At least it’s only a few minutes’ diversion. Hopefully.
Glut follows behind him all the while, not saying a word, but seeming just as annoyed as he is.
Itachi’s second crow lands on his shoulder, something clutched in its beak, fluttering its wings to get his attention.
When Itachi holds his hand up, the crow drops its prize into it.
It’s a cluster of strange, bluish fungus, in a vaguely spherical shape.
Itachi wraps it up in a bit of paper and tucks it into his pack, figuring he already has an idea what it is.
It’s a short trip back up to the colony, and Baelen is already back with his wife.
“You doddering buffoon, where have you been?!”
“Eh? I got lost, sorry-”
“Did you get it, at least?” Derryth asks, holding her hand out impatiently.
Baelen stares at her with an oblivious smile.
“Get what?”
“The noblestalk, you idiot!”
“The- oh! I felt like I had forgotten something!”
Baelen doesn't lose his smile the entire time, petting the large, ox-like creature standing beside him.
“Gods, you are useless …”
“S-sorry darling. I think it uh, slipped my mind.”
For a moment, Itachi hesitates before he steps forward.
He had heard this woman talk about how valuable these mushrooms are. And how potent their capacity for healing.
But after hearing even a bit about her misfortune…
Internally, he curses that his mother had imbued within him a desire to not be a selfish bastard, and offers the slimy mushrooms to the woman.
“Is this what you were looking for?”
Derryth’s eyes go wide, and a smile crosses her scarred face for just a moment.
“...Wow. No surprise you’re more competent than Baelen,” she says, shaking her head in disbelief as Itachi places the bundle in her hands. “How’d you get yer hands on so much?”
“We got lucky.”
“Well, I’ll be thankin’ you,” Derryth says, deciding not to question a turn of good fortune. “Look-”
She shoots Baelen a wicked glare.
“-This means a lot to us- this stuff goes for a mint up on the surface. Baelen nearly sunk the shop to pay for drink when he was of his own mind. This- well, we can hold on a little longer, now.”
Itachi nods, feeling good about the situation even though he can’t help the contempt he feels for the man for how he apparently used to be.
Though he clearly isn’t like that any more, he knows that woman’s scars are his fault.
“If you’re ever in Baldur’s Gate, look for a shop called Bonecloak’s,” she says. “Take care out there.”
Itachi nods, and, praying there are no further diversions, they head back out.
“Now that we’re done playing babysitter to a grown man,” Astarion says, “let’s take care of those Duergar before someone else needs a favor from us.”
Fair enough- after last night, the desire to get things over with is higher than ever.
Orochimaru looks up at the gnarled, eerily beautiful tree that extends up higher than the eye can see, its leaves and blossoms giving off a strange glow.
One of the blossoms detaches from the rest of the tree and floats downward- he grabs it before it hits the ground.
Oddly, as he holds the flower in his hands, he finds himself feeling strange. As though something is sucking all the energy out of his body.
Strange. The moment he releases the flower and it floats down into the abyss, the feeling immediately fades.
This new world is turning out to be far more fascinating than he ever could have dreamed.