Good morning,
You were coping well enough with the addition of fungi to your diet, so far, but even New Arvonesse's meagre cuisine was sounding good by this point in your trek. You returned to Siphula's Brood, only seeing traces of the Armillaria. Inside you met a Dark Elf (Voralan) who spoke a little Darktongue with you (and, reluctantly, Aldryami) and led you down into the mushroom. Along the way he gave a slender black dried mushroom, which he called a Rundown Toadstool, to Boamund as a gift. It tasted OK so he kept it. Later, after Miguel did a remarkable roll down the slippery slope to the “Fighting Fungus” garden (As the elf called it), the elf explained that the toadstools would help you do such stunts.
The elf led you quietly past the garden and down the final fungus-ring into Siphula's chamber. She appeared and said she'd like to converse, not having done so with humans for 621 years and not having a good chat last time (Godlearners?). You discussed several things: she hated undead (the “Takers” of Yomil; her creatures are of balance; the Taker and Grower aspects of life; but the undead steal the dead things that fungi feed on)- she recalled Yomil but hadn't observed his actions directly for much time, although she admitted there were more undead about these days and her kind fought them. You asked about the Old Gods and she said she knew of them but didn't mix with them, and wasn't super keen on the Giranois but said sometimes they were useful. (Later you learned from the Dark Elfs that they traded with the Giranois once in a long while, but also the fungus-things would prey on intruding Giranois in the mushroom-forest sometimes) Fraud asked about the “Long Eel” and “Sarvon” he'd heard of via Wucru the Huru elder and Siphula pondered, then said that there was something nearby (north/east on the swamp's edge; region 6 on your map) that she was bemused by- it was outside her forest and the Giranois were interested in/sensed near it, and there was some strange presence there that Fraud's questions reminded her of. Finally, Miguel asked of the Mud Hags, her sisters, and she noted that yes, they were kin via Seshna Likita, great Earth spirit/goddess of the land (and wife of Froalar + many others, including the Pelandi lion-folk before Froalar-she is now declared anathema by the Rokari, seen as a pagan-like entity only sorcerous witches would contact). But she doesn't care much for them, and didn't know the unnamed one's name. But she'd think about it. She said you could return much later and talk more about it. But, feeling your welcome wearing thin and running out of queries, you ended your tense conversation.
The Voralans, though, were still intrigued, and led by the one that had first met you here, they offered to make trades. They had great bounty of this place's garden of magic fungi and other life; but did not know what they really wanted from you. With some deft bargaining they got you to turn over some tools and daggers in return for one small, round, deep black mushroom: a “Trolltruffle”, they explained to Boamund, and it had the magic power of gifting the eater with ability to communicate in Darktongue. However, there were hints dropped that there might be more to this story…
You departed, with Boamund realizing that you could all save 1MP (And trouble) by just picturing for the fungus-circle to bring you back to the first ring. Hence soon were hiking thru the forest again, and indeed beginning to see it thin out into more like badlands with sparser fungi. Yet on the edge of this zone, you came to a field full of tall, white fungal growths. Fraud used his special family Path magic to part a way for you all, and so you passed safely, then camped for the night.
On the sixth day of GTF travel, you encountered a swirling, clammy mist that issued increasingly menacing moans as it surrounded you and thickened. Miguel had the good idea to find high ground and led you there, but Ahappi fell behind and slowed, feeling his will sapped by the power of Iphara's Menacing Mists. Boamund had to run in and drag him out, but the mists did not pursue you to the highest ground and soon passed in the opposite direction; by the time Ahappi had rested himself for an hour they were all gone. You continued northeast. Later Boamund gave a cry of alarm as he saw five man-sized shiny black ants filing toward you, mandibles spread hungrily. Although Miguel got his arm pinned and his leg stung, he held up well and was uninjured. The ants were little trouble for the other three warriors to dispatch, and you took a stinger and mandibles from one.
Boamund led you further from the mushroom forest, transitioning into swampy badlands near the Spider-Swamps on the edge of GTF. With daylight still remaining, he espied a wide depression at the centre of which was a decrepit ruin of eight stone pillars and a fragmentary shell of a former building. Tracks of barefoot humanoids were plentiful in the swampy mud and Giranois totems abounded, although Miguel noticed a conspicuous lack of frogs/toads amongst them. At the ruin's centre, by a wall, there was a wooden trapdoor in surprisingly good shape, with muddy footprints around it. And on the wall nearby there was a curious rune-like design scrawled in mud, like a square (or Earth rune?) with a wiggly/wavy line (like a water rune? snake?) extending from each corner. It was unfamiliar to the point where you were not even sure if it was a rune, and Giranois tended to avoid using runes much so that was doubly odd (if made by them).
Opening the trapdoor, Boamund saw a rickety ladder heading down a short stone shaft, and calling in with no replies but echoes (strangely, his first word “Down” re-echoed), he entered to find a very damp, low (head-height) chamber that was natural cavern on the west (entry) side and becoming more like a cellar with brickwork toward the east (far) side, where a door was set into the wall. To the south (right) side there was a dark arched passage. But before you could do much more, as others descended a spear flew past Boamund; but not close enough so he was unsure if it was meant to hit him or not. As you took cover behind shields or him, a second spear came and he blocked that. You called, with no reply, and heard splashing, so you investigated the archway area where the spears came from.
Miguel took cover by the arch and peered through, seeing a stone shoreline with green slimy film on it and some small fish bones. The water emitted a nasty vapour that did not seem healthy. Disturbingly, script in black ink appeared on the wall by him writing “Miguel Silvestre” in old Seshnegi, so he ran back to join the others and Ahappi saw it was magical script/ink. Boamund looked down into the waters and saw a flooded, narrow tunnel that turned quickly, so the only way beyond the shore was to swim down into who-knows-what. Miguel had spotted not only lots of barefoot tracks all around, but also in the main chamber a big track like a body being dragged and snaky/tendril marks, plus a big tail-flipper-like trace associated with this, and it led to the water; but was not as recent as other tracks. Fraud called out about the Long Eel and Sarvon, and heard back (in his mind or out loud?) in Old Seshnegi, “Astray are my siblings. Chained is my mother.” Miguel then went to wooden door, knocked (loud echoes…), and hearing no reply tried opening it…
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