The party arrives at the home of Yarmin Ravenshire, the noble-mage of High Rock. When they walk up to the large manor, they are greeted at the door by a hurried butler, who curtly asks what the party's business is.     He hurriedly and invites you into a sitting room near the entrance, and leaves without another word. The house is bustling with activity. Before long, you realize this is not from excitement.   Yarmin appears and begins to explain. His son, Ellor, was cursed while out on an expedition. He needs your help to retrieve a special ingredient from a nearby cave. Normally, Yarmin's aids are able to collect spell components from this cave for him, but his aids are currently in pursuit of the creature who cursed Ellor.   Yarmin Ravenshire tells you:

I can cure him, but I need a special fungus: gnistleshroom. It can be found deep in the caves just east of town at the foot of the nearby hills. Follow the passage down for about a mile and you will come to a mushroom forest forest. Beware the strange monsters that dwell there.

Once you have found the small, bright green, glowing mushrooms with umbrella-like caps, collect enough to fill this small pouch. Finding just one colony should give you more than enough. Be quick. The longer you linger there, the more hungry monsters will take notice.

Make it back here in the next four hours and I should be able to save my son. You will be handsomely rewarded, and forever in my debt.

...Now, please go!

   

The Way Down

 

Area 1

One of Yarmin's personal guards, Richard Nettle shows you the way to the entrance of the caves. He will wait outside for your return. It's about 5pm.  

The cave entrance is smaller than most would expect, allowing for a single file line only. After the first few feet, the cave turns sharply left and downward, and all the light from the entrance is lost.

  After walking for about 15 minutes, the passage levels out and opens up to a wider cavern. However, the floor in here is as smooth as glass, making it hard to traverse without slipping.   Glassrock: This slippery surface goes on for a half mile. Moving at half speed ensures a safe crossing, but will take about an hour. Characters who wish to move at full speed through this area will need to make three DC 12 reflex saves to cross without slipping. When running, the DC becomes 20.   If a creature fails thier saving throw, they immediately fall and slide across the floor, taking 1d8 damage from jagged sections of the floor.  

Displacer Beast x2 (CR6)

The slippery floor gives way to more familiar rocky flooring.

  Two displacer beasts lay in wait, looking for prey to ambush here. They initally think the party is a good catch, but then run when one is reduced to less than half hp.  

Ledgeway

Eventually, a wide chasm opens up on the left side of the passage, and the path you are walking on becomes increasingly narrow. Looking over the ledge reveals only darkness.

In order to continue, you will need to slow down to quarter speed. Crossing this section in this way takes 40 minutes. If you wish to move at half speed, you will need to make one DC 20 Reflex saving throw. If you want to try to move at full speed, you will need to make two DC 20 Reflex saving throws. If you try to run the length of the ledgeway, both reflex saves become DC 30. Characters who fail their saving throw fall 30 feet to the ground below, taking 3d6 fall damage and must climb back up. The climb is not very difficult, allowing a character without a climb speed to climb up without needing to make an Athletics check. The bottom of the cavern is difficult terrain. If a clever character wishes, they could climb to the bottom, walk along at half speed, and climb back up near the end of the ledgeway 20 minutes later.  

The Mushroom Forest

Slowly, you notice the cavern ahead seems to glow an etheral pale blue-green color. You climb a gentle slope and at the top, find you are overlooking the Mushroom Forest. There are rock formations that reach from the hundred foot ceiling down to the moss-covered floor. Tall mushrooms and other strange plants and smaller fungi make it impossible to see how far this goes on. The pale glow is the result of many multi-colored boluminescent species mixing together.

 

Biobright Ooze x4 (CR2)

As the party begins to look for the general area Yarmin suggested to them, read this passage. Feel free to increase the number of biobright oozes to one per party member   [aloud] You stand in the cavern, certain you are near the area Yarmin told you about. You begin to notice, however, you begin your search, you find that  

Finding the Cure

To find the correct medicine (without exposing yourself to hallucingens) Roll a DC 20 Investigation, Arcana, or Medicine check to find the correct fungus. If you fail by 10 or more, You stumble over some pink, bulbous fungi which explodes and fills the air with a strange, musty scent. You quickly begin to hallucentiate, giving you a 20% miss chance on any attack roll.   Each attempt takes about 20 minutes. Note that if the players try more than three times, they will not have time to make it back to the cave entrance without moving faster through the dangerous terrain before the 4 hours are up.  

Escape

Having retrieved the fungus, the party heads back towards the surface.

An Ambush (CR 9)

The two displacer beasts from the previous battle, plus their master a Darkling Elder, lay in wait to ambush the PCs near a patch of Biobright ooze. (2-3 oozes) Roll stealth vs the party's passive perception to start the ambush. After 1d3 rounds, the party realizes the Biobright oozes is closing in on them. The Darkling Elder defends this place to the death.

The Cave, in Reverse

Now, the party must make thier way out of the cave. The hazards presented above are the same as before. They may need to hurry, depending on how much time they have left at this point. Impose the penalties as written above.

Conclusion

If the party returns within 4 hours, they have saved Ellor. Within 5 hours, the chance is 75%. Within 6, the possiblility drops to 50%. If a character is proficent in medicine and offers to aid Yarmin, add 15%. If Ellor is saved, Yarmin agrees to give the PCs the planar travel they need now (and possibly in the future), as well as room and board. They also recieve a discount in all the local shops, who all hold Yarmin's opnion in high regard.

Biobright Ooze

Large ooze, unaligned

Armor Class 8

Hit Points 32 ( 5d8+11 )

Speed 10ft Climb: 10ft

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STR

12 +1

DEX

6 -2

CON

16 +3

INT

1 -5

WIS

6 -2

CHA

2 -4

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Skills Stealth +2

Damage Resistances acid, cold, fire

Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, deafened, exhaustion, frightened, prone

Senses blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 8

Languages -

Challenge 1/2

Amorphous. The ooze can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing.  
BioFlash. The biobright ooze can emit a burst of brilliant blue light 3xday. Creatures within 20' must make a DC11 Constitution Saving throw or be blinded for 1d2 rounds. Creatures that are sensitive to light additonally take 1d6 radiant damage.  
False Appearance. While the ooze remains motionless, it is indistinguishable bioluminescent moss.

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Actions

Pseudopod. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 ( 1d6+1 ) bludgeoning damage plus 7 ( 2d6 ) acid damage, and if the target is wearing nonmagical metal armor, its armor is partly corroded and takes a permanent and cumulative -1 penalty to the AC it offers. The armor is destroyed if the penalty reduces its AC to 10.

Reactions

Split. When an ooze that is Medium or larger is subjected to lightning or slashing damage, it splits into two new puddings if it has at least 10 hit points. Each new pudding has hit points equal to half the original pudding’s, rounded down. New puddings are one size smaller than the original pudding.