The Waterfall & The Tree – Agents of B.E.A.R.D. 043

The Assignment

While on a mission to collect plant life on Storm Island, DRACO, Zilis, Salix, and Svamp find a massive tree, where a river diverges sending water down a fall into an underground cave system. After seeing a strange blob head down through the falls, leaving a trail of slime, they decide to follow it and see what it is.

Mission Summary

• The party encounters the descendants of the Fey who’ve been troubled by gnolls while setting up a homestead. DRACO asks for their names and suggests relocating to Sydund for protection, but they refuse both. The group offers to help find and fix the Feywild gateway but they decline wanting no favors.
• Meanwhile, Salix uses Druidic to communicate with the giant tree and notices an oily sheen on river plants and a mysterious shape in the water heading down the waterfall.
• Exploring further, the party discovers a cave beneath the tree, where a slime trail leads them past captivating (for DRACO) crystals. They opt to follow the slime, which guides them to a troglodyte den, witnessing an internal conflict among the troglodytes and finding a long-deceased body that releases a poisonous stench, affecting Salix and Svamp.
• Deeper into the cave, they encounter and swiftly handle an ambush by more troglodytes. Continuing their exploration, they find a passage leading to a lower level marked by slime. Nearby, they encounter giant frogs, two of which are dead.
• A dangerous interaction with the frogs occurs when Salix approaches. They tried to eat him, but the party was able to dispose of them.
• They then descend down to the lower level, where they hear rushing water, more slime, a mineral pool, and rooms filled with more crystals.