With the sounding of the scream, the tracks they were staring at were instantly forgotten. They would still be there if they came back later. The same might not be said about whoever was resonating their terror through the cave.

Niaou’li and Baldorf were first to step off the path and into the thick grown mushroom sea. Baldorf hacked away at the smaller stems with his dagger, but found that they were either too rubbery to quickly slash in two, or too thick for this small weapon. It was frustrating.
Niaou’li made her way into the patch by stealthily ducking and dodging the alien forms. As a druid, she did not wish to harm these fungi and their deviating elegance. Crellin also moved carefully, but not so much out of reverie for the mushrooms; more so because he didn’t know what was waiting for them up ahead.

Suddenly a light erupted out of nowhere, approximately where the scream had come from. A Khord they hadn’t seen before was standing behind them, completing the last incantations of the spell he had just cast. He appeared in full plate, with a holy symbol of Solanis held proudly before him. There was no doubt that the light was cast by him, and he too moved into the tangled forest.

So they all moved towards the light, feet stomping between mushrooms, knocking some of the smaller ones down or trampling them underfoot. They dove under stems as thick as their heads, dodging the caps and veils and leaping over puffballs. A mix of colours and forms flashed by, the majority brown, white and orange.
After a short distance, no more than sixty feet, they arrived on the other side, where another path opened up. It was wider than the one they had been on, and it was not hard to spot the source of the scream.

A few yards away lay the body of a female Khord. Some of them had seen her earlier that evening, carrying tankards of ale which she mostly consumed herself. She’d been a lighthearted woman, joking around and laughing, up to the point of annoyance sometimes. Now she lay on her back, eyes gazing at the far away ceiling of the cave.
She might’ve just appeared awestruck by something, had her throat not supported a gaping hole. Flesh had been eaten away by a foul substance, much like in the horror stories young children told each other about the infamous Sour Breath beer. This particular ale was said to be so strong, that it would burn its way out of your throat. Of course, none such thing existed… at least not beer-wise. What this woman had encountered was not the effects of a tasty brew.

Two others of her search party were found a stone’s throw away. Their torches lay smouldering at their sides, surrounded by the same dents in the earth as they had seen earlier. The bodies of these two men were cut up, and they had obviously succumbed to the blood loss and pain. The tracks dotted the scene like strewn flower on a baker’s counter, and went in two directions. One set of tracks went south, while another went west.

Helengir took charge, something she did quite naturally:
“I will follow these tracks over here.” She indicated the trail leading west. “I’ll take you two with me,” she indicated Crulgrin and Loco, “if you don’t mind.”
They didn’t.
“We’re all seasoned warriors, but be careful nonetheless. Give a shout when you find whatever has been murdering these poor people.”

She took her team and left without wasting any more time.

The four of them who remained now had to follow the tracks leading south. There wasn’t much else to do, except wondering how such a festive wedding could’ve turned into a horrific night.

They followed the tracks, but had to leave the path after twenty minutes and cross into the jungle of funguses. Keeping track of the trail was a lot harder now, but they managed, be it with a few misleading or old sideways.
They went deeper into the forest of mushrooms. A damp stench started to penetrate their noses, clinging to the moisture in the air and the stems and hoods of the shrooms around them. It seemed that the temperature was rising as well, as if the bunched up funguses were sweaty guests at a party themselves.

Then they suddenly halted. After passing a series of giant chanterelles they beheld a spectacular but disturbing sight.

The tracks lead into a vast pool of blackish liquid. The pool was almost perfectly round, and bordered by thick patches of white and yellow mushrooms. The oily surface was flat, and there was no telling how deep it was.
In the middle of the pool rested a big boulder, and on top of it stood a single mushroom; a white stem as thick and as high as a tree, with a black top that leaked dark drops of sludge that fell into the pool below with thick thuds. The white stem looked shiny and slimy. On its surface hang the bodies of at least five Khords, like flies on a carnivorous plant.

Two of them were children.

Niaou’li kept on walking, following the tracks and dodging the hats of mushrooms that slanted the path, haunted by the same image over and over again: the glazed look in the eyes of that Khordaldrum woman, lying on her back while staring into the dark above her while life seemed to be sucked out of her. Niaou’li was terrified by the gaping hole in her throat, wondering what phenomenon could have caused this type of horror. The smell of an extinguished fire had made her turn her head, beholding the other two khords that had passed away in the darkness of this forest.

While pondering the previous sight she heard Helengir say “I will follow these tracks over here” , summoning Crulgrin and Loco to come with her. She had noticed the tracked dents had split, one set was heading west while the other went south. Hellengir’s seemed like a good plan, splitting up would increase their chances of finding a clue about the whereabouts of the other children. Still she wondered what the tracks they were following were caused by.. were it drops of fluid? Were it the prints of an animal?..

As she was heading to the south with the others, she noticed the temperature was rising.. what could be causing this? A few feet in front of them the tracks lead into a big, black pool that could not remain unnoticed. It was frightening, black, oily and there was no telling whether it was 2 or 200 feet deep. The giant white, black hooded mushroom that was standing in the middle caused an even darker shadow over this day that should have been the best in the lives of two of their fellow Khords. Niaou’li was shocked by the sight of the bodies of 3 adults and 2 children, that were stuck on its surface.

She turned around, looking at the Khords that had remained in her group. She wanted to say something, when she saw Firenze at the rim. She must have escaped the backroom in the Spores and have followed them, for a deer like her it must be easy to maneuver through the overgrowth of mushrooms. “We should try to get to the middle of the pool, finding out if these Khords are still alive and if not, what caused their deaths!” She said. She tried to think of a way to get to the middle, without touching the dark fluids. “I could wildshape into an eagle and get over there, but then my companions will remain here.. There are four of us.. together we can take one of the giant mushrooms down, using it as a bridge.” But how do we know what will happen if the mushroom touches the pool? she thought. Whatever had caused these tracks, the answer could be hiding out in the darkness of the lake..
She went to the rim of the forest, where Firenze was standing. She picked a nice, thick mushroom that was not too big, and took some rope out of her bag. She tied a tight knot around the mushroom, leaving about 6 feet of rope to hold on to. She swung her creation around her head, throwing it in the direction of the pool, making sure not to let go of the other end of the rope. “Let’s see what happens to this shroom..”

Crellin bounced left and right between the thick stalks of the mushrooms wand held at the ready, awaiting whatever lay on the other side. But when he cleared the vegetation, he was not met with some grand beast, but instead the remains of fellow Khords, torn asunder and left to rot, compost for the forest floor. “Ooooh that’s not the way I wanna go no no,” Crellin spoke out loud though to no-one in particular. They continued on past the bodies, Crellin’s head twisting at odd angles to keep casting an eye upon the newly arrived cleric. “As Helengir’s trio broke off, and the tin-Khord arrived Crellin started counting on his fingers trying to keep track of who was coming and going.

His counting ceased however when they came across the large black pool of oily liquid, surrounding the stone and mushroom looming before them, Khord’s stuck in various positions to the stalk of the humongous fungus . “Ooohh.. Now I know why mamma always said to eat my veggies… So they wouldn’t grow to such a freakin size and try an eat me!”
Crellin watched as people discussed how to circumvent the black pool, thick droplets falling from the cap of the mushroom to land heavily below.

“I could wildshape into an eagle and get over there, but then my companions will remain here.. There are four of us.. together we can take one of the giant mushrooms down, using it as a bridge.”

He was curious to see Niaou’li ‘wild shape’ as she called it.. And into a bird no less! My did Crellin love birds… It reminded him once of these canaries he had in an old mine… Crellin stood idle for a moment recounting that same tale once more before snapping back to reality, his hand still clenching the wonderous rod while Niaou’li prepared a test shroom for submergence into the vile looking pool.

Leveling his Rod at the black pool he awaited the result of Niaou’li’s mushroom toss. If anything other than the shroom sinking, floating, or dissolving in some acidic way happens, he’ll activate his rod on the pool for no more reason than.. He can.

The world seemed to be crashing around Baldorf. Well, at least someone was taking charge, because the world wasn't being viewed straight from Baldorf. But, once the groups split, and then Baldorf stumbled upon the lake, seeing the Khords littered on the mushroom. This was madness. Khords were his people... they weren't meant to be decorations. This was infuriating. Baldorf would not stand for it. However, some flash of mental clarity told him the immediately running into the pool was not the best idea. But something had to go in there...

All of a sudden, Baldorf saw Niaou'li dropping a mushroom into the lake, tied to a rope. Maybe it would be possible to see what happens to life as it gets placed in the water.

Baldorf moved over there, holding his dagger by the blade, as he moved over behind his companion. He remind silent, and simply watched, the silent question on his lips, wondering what was going to happen with the mushroom. Baldorf was still awkward around people, and didn't enjoy it. His beard was still blowing, even though air wasn't blowing down. It had happened ever since that incident.

After the initial shock of the horrific find settled a bit, the party started thinking about how to act on this monstrous Fungoid. Should they continue to follow the tracks, should they check if these Khords were still alive? Their mission was to find the missing children. There were two, right there, stuck like flies on glue-paper.

Niaou’li thought fast. Her druidic knowledge told her that this gigantic mushroom was of the Stinkhorn family, but they should’ve never grown so huge. It was unnatural. And this black pool of goo was also an indication that this was no ordinary shroom. The blackness of the stuff intrigued her, and she found a good, tough mushroom to throw in it. Testing the puddle before going entering it was not such a bad idea.

With a neat little arch, the mushroom thudded into the slush, like a rock on loose sand. The edges sizzled shortly, with little bubbles erupting from underneath the fungus. But the reaction soon stopped. It seemed so far that the black liquid was thick, but not harmful enough to eat away whatever the shroom was made of.

In the oppressing silence of the everdark the four Khords watched it sink, and waited for any kind of reaction. But the puddle remained peaceful, in its own deathly looking way. After a few more moments of silence they realised that it was time to move on to the next step. So far it looked like that meant taking out one or two of the bigger mushrooms and use it as a bridge. Unless somebody had a better idea.

But right when they moved to turn towards labour, they heard a gasp; a strong sudden force of air into lungs. They looked up, and noted one of the adult Khords stuck to the Giant mushroom now had his mouth and eyes wide open. He seemed to be frozen in a scream, with horror lining his face. Then there was a sudden shifting in the darkness above, and down came an enormous arm made of stone.

It was a sight that sank an icy fear into the hearts of those who witnessed it. If Kharox himself had come down from the heavens, this was what his hand would look like; powerful and determined. They could see only the hand and forearm, for the rest disappeared somewhere out of sight.

Though it was enormous, the arm moved quite fast. Its hand, with fingers the size of small trees, grabbed hold of the gasping Khord, and plucked him from the stem of the giant mushroom like a feather from a chicken. Strands of clear, wet mucus clung to the Khord and connected it with the mushroom like umbilical cords. With a sickening tearing sound the clear strands broke and the Khord was hauled up in the darkness, disappearing along with the hand that grabbed him.
Somewhere in the darkness, a faint blue light flickered, like a single, coloured star from the heavens somewhere above the surface of Antaron.

Then a silent calm returned to the cavern, and they were left with beating hearts.

The gasping Khord drew her attention, and Niaou’li stopped thinking about turning the mushrooms into a bridge. When she saw the stone arm approaching the damp soil of the forest she herself stopped breathing for a few seconds, feeling an icy shiver crawling from her neck to her toes. She and her fellow Khords witnessed the terrifying limb, grabbing the male Khord, groping it’s huge, strong fingers around him, and pulling him away from the humid mushroom. The latter seemed to want to hang on to the Khord by creating thick cords of slime..

After seeing the arm taking the helpless Khord and disappearing into the sky the muggy peace in the forest returned. Niaou’li though felt a whirling turmoil inside of her, restless about this innocent man’s faith. What is going to happen to him? she wondered.. Where did this arm come from? she mused. The whirling inside her became more intense with every thought. I’m the only one of us who can get up there, using my wildshape.. She turned swiftly to the others, saying "you can continue to try and make this bridge out of mushrooms, I’m going up there to try and find out what just happened."
She felt the whirling becoming like a warm rush, radiating splendid shades of blue and grey. A frenzy of bold thoughts, courage and will to get to know the truth took possession of the small druid. A light haze came out of nowhere, and she felt like she was swirling around on the inside. What seemed to be an eternity later turned out to have taken just a few seconds, and she looked at her figure being reflected in the oily surface of the black pool. She was looking in the eyes of a giant, splendid eagle, with grey feathers on its chest, dispersing to an intense shade of blue with some opal colored flares. It’s beak was of a bright orange, with fierce black linings. Look at me.. She took off from the ground, waving her broad wings, passing the dark hoods of even the biggest mushrooms and headed out into the dark. The swirling rush in her head continued. If this arm will attack me, I will try to evade it since I am way more maneuverable than this giant rock. She continued ascending, leaving the mushrooms and her companions far behind her. She was surrounded more and more by the darkness that clung to her wings, but she was determined to find out what was going on in Khordal…


OOC: Even if this phenomenon is long gone when I arrive at the ceiling of the cave, I will return to the black pool and tell the others about what I saw.

Crellin watched as the small fungus sizzled a bit in the black pool, but otherwise just sat there. There was no explosion, colour change, no snap crackle nor pop, and it was quite a let down to the mage who had hoped for something more visually appealing. Certainly the fact that the pool was not some highly corrosive substance was a positive thing, as their next course of action would be to fell a large rubbery stalk to utilize as a bridge; but to that plan Crellin gave a resigned sigh. Physical labour was so not his forte.

As he turned to the others, suddenly a massive hand and forearm of stone crashed down through the darkness above, and like the Khord plucked from the very shroom they sought to reach Crellin found his mouth hanging agape, his mind trying to processes what his eyes bore witness to. Of course had anyone tried to read his mind at that particular moment they likely would have gleaned something along the lines of Holy crap! Ping #$%#% Cool! I want One! I may have just soiled my britches, Wait.. Where did that come from… we’re.. under.. ground?”
Crellin was doubly astounded when the druid amongst them to the credit of her curiosity changed into a splendid eagle, and took to the air above them. Crellin flapped his arms in reply wishing he could follow, alas he was grounded and once more gave a second resigned sigh before his mental maelstrom finally escaped his lips.

“By Khorox’s beard! Where.. What.. How did.. We’re UNDERGROUND!!! If someone tells me we’ve been living our lives blind to a mountain sized golem o’er our ’eads I’m going to just drop dead ‘ere and now. You best come back here bird-girl!! Don’t be leavin Crellin down ‘ere while you enjoy the mysteries by yerself!”

Berodin watched the little mushroom sizzle and cook in the forboding pool. Like in a a frying pan, the khord thought grimly.

His thought was interrupted by the sound of one of his kinsmen gasping for air. Turning his attention back to the giant Stinkhorn, Berodin watched in shocked awe and fear as the hand of Khorax himself reached down from the abyss above. "By the gods!" were the only words to escape his mouth.

The stoney hand plucked the khord from the Stinkhorn's stalk with little effort and then disappeared into the abyss above from which it came. "Lord, have mercy!" came the priest's cry, trying to push away the fear which sought to chill his very heart.

From beside him, Berodin heard Niaou’li's voice. "You can continue to try and make this bridge out of mushrooms, I’m going up there to try and find out what just happened."

Still shaking the fear away, it Berodin a moment to comprehend what the druid had said. When he turned to caution her, he found himself staring in awe at a beautiful bird, the creature already launching itself into flight.

"Wait!" the Cleric of Light called out. But it was too late; already the eagle was moving out of range of his vision.

“By Khorox’s beard!" the unkempt mage called out. "Where.. What.. How did.. We’re UNDERGROUND!!! If someone tells me we’ve been living our lives blind to a mountain sized golem o’er our ’eads I’m going to just drop dead ‘ere and now...."

Courage, my child, the voice of his Lord resounded in Berodin heart. Not all is lost...
The priest took a deep breath -- a breath of resolve and courage to dispel the fear. "Thank you, my lord."

Turning to his remaining companions, Berodin spoke truth. "It shall be difficult work felling these mushrooms with the weapons we have on hand. I fear our kinsmen may not have time to wait."

He paused for a moment, looking to the unseen sky above, "Lord Solanis, in the midst of this dark hour, send us help from above that we might rise up against our foe."

[OOC: Casting Summon Monster IV... looking for the hippogriffs. Preferably three. ]

Baldorf looked on stunned. A hand of stone came down and grasped one of the dead Khords. But how that had happened, Baldorf had no idea.

And suddenly, a flurry of ideas came up, with one of his companions going up to the ceiling to examine, another beginning to cast a spell, while the other simply began screaming. All of this activity made Baldorf feel out of place, as though he was back in the old days of ridicule. But he still wished he could get over to those other Khords, find out what was wrong...

Suddenly, Baldorf couldn't feel his feet. He looked down, and saw his feet turned into a fine mist, and it was rapidly crawling up his body. His waist was gone now. He tried to let out a scream, but his vocal chords weren't functioning. By the time it was completed, Baldorf only recognized himself in thought. He was floating off the ground now, and all of his body was a mist. But now... maybe he could fly over there...

Baldorf willed himself forward, and he started to slowly move. He just hoped this wasn't a permanent effect...

---------------

OoC: Using my "Gaseous Form" ability from my Template, and flying over to the Khords on the island.

When the hand of stone plucked the Khord from the stem of the Giant Stinkhorn and began its ascend into darkness again, Niaou’li didn’t hesitate. She knew that if they wanted to find out anything else about this hand, somebody had to follow it. Looking around, she realized that she was the only one who had the power to do so.
And so she closed her eyes and connected to the landscape around her. The strange forms of the mushrooms and moulds around them might appear alien, but they were most of them still natural.
Niaou’li felt the energy of the world; the flow of life in its many guises. Deep in her soul a weightlessness erupted and she felt herself beginning to shrink. She blended with the energy around her, altering their state as much as her own. Her possessions became part of her, and from them grew feathers that covered her body. She heard a high shriek, and remembered it was she who had sounded it.

Then she was off into the air. Below her she could hear Crellin’s cries to take him with her, but she knew there was no time.

While the druid disappeared, there was another change occurring within the party. Baldorf was starting to vaporize. It started with a slight dizziness, an involuntary lightheaded feeling that crept slowly to his toes and manifested there into a gaseous transparency. Soon, where a solid Khord had stood, was now a white cloud that faded slowly with the moisturous air around them. Crellin could vaguely see his companion’s shape as it hovered over the black pool and slowly crept towards the Stinkhorn in the middle of it.
Berodin would’ve noticed it too, if he hadn’t been locked in the midst of concentrated prayer. He called out to his lord, and Solanis answered.

A brilliant light shot up from the loose earth not far from the pool, close to where the two remaining heroes were standing. It formed a perfect circle and blinded everybody for a fraction of a second. Then it was gone, and in the darkness it left stood three winged horses; horses with the heads of an eagle.

In the meantime, Niaou’li was flying fast, trying to catch up with the stone hand, and the Khord it was holding. Through the darkness she sped, when her sharper eagle eyes spotted the enormous form she was seeking. The hand and arm were still rising, though not too far up ahead she could see the ceiling of the cave approaching as well. She caught up with the arm, and noted how the hand was no longer as recognizably formed. It had changed into a solid rock, rough and sharp edged, with the vague form of fingers protruding. She could see the head of the Khord it had captured still sticking from its grasp.
Flying higher she tried to discern what the arm was attached to, but to her surprise it seemed to be coming directly out of the ceiling. The arm was withdrawn back into the stone, as if it was an aquatic predator submerging after an attack. And right before it disappeared completely, a tear in the rock formed next to it, cracking far and stretching out, forming a small cave.
From a safe distance, Niaou’li watched as the captive Khord was placed within this cave, after which it closed once more like a mouth swallowing a berry. The hand sank into the ceiling, and was gone from sight.

Meanwhile, her companions had made their way across the black lake and were now standing at the bottom of the great Stinkhorn. Big washes of black goo landed around them, splattering the rocks beneath their feet. Before them, the white stem of the mushroom gleamed wet and pearly white. It smelled of decay, of promises unfulfilled and dreams smothered with a thick layer of betrayal. Far above them, the remaining bodies of two children and two adults hung still and untouchable.

They had managed to cross the black pool, but what now?

Baldorf hovered there, a gaseous form, unable to physically touch anything. He couldn't touch the ground, couldn't grasp the mushroom, couldn't even dream of touching the Khords, they were too high up. But maybe... if he could float across the water, maybe he could float up to the Khords?

Willing himself to rise, Baldorf felt himself begin to rise, up and up, until he was level with the Khords. He decided to take a look at all of them, and see if he recognized any of them. They all seemed rather motionless, but you never know with Khords, they're usually resilient.

Floating around the top, Baldorf then came up with another idea. If he returned to normal when he was grabbing one of the Khords, maybe he could bring one down with him. Maybe two, if he was lucky... But best not think about that now, unless it happened. Baldorf began to slowly move about the top of the mushroom, looking at the faces of the Khords.

-------------------

OoC: Sorry for the delay. Over the holidays, I forgot. But now that we're going to be back in a 1/week swing, I'll be better.

After seeing the helpless Khord being gulped down by the enormous stone mass, Niaou’li was stunned by this strange spectacle. What had just happened? She tried to get closer to the ceiling of the cave, if it even was a cave. By investigating every possible crack or tear in the stone mass she tried to discover why the drama took place and if there were any signs of more Khords being swallowed.

After thoroughly examining the surface of the stone vault, she turned around and faced the earth again. She noticed two of her companions had found their way across the black goo and were standing near the giant mushroom, she spotted a foggy cloud hovering at its foot and she saw three big hippogriffs. She felt strangely connected to these creatures, these horse-kind animals with the heads of an eagle. Thinking she would be of better use down there than up here at the ceiling, she pointed her beak downwards and started flying to the damp soil.

She felt the wind blowing through her splendid blue and grey feathers when she was going down, focusing on the 4 powerless Khords that were stuck to the gigantic, coaxing fungus. There were four Khords dangling from the mushroom, she and her companions were in four aswell.. everybody should try to save 1 of them, in time for the hand of death itself to return.

While getting closer to the mushroom, she opened her claws, aiming for the Khord that was stuck the highest on the mushroom. If I try to grab a hold of this poor guy, maybe I can cut him loose and save his life! She tried to avoid the big washes of black goo that were coming down from the shroom’s hat and hoped for the best..


EDIT: gotta love HTML..

Poof, The Druidess had taken flight, Pa-pa-poof! A trio of Eagle headed winged horses appeared... These were magics Crellin was not used too. But he sure as heck wasn't going to be left out of getting to ride one of the conjured magnificent beasts!.

Giddy with excitement, the Wild Mage skipped the few paces to the mount, and climbed aboard gleefully, gripping the large group of feathers lining the Hippogriff's thick neck for dear life so as not to fall off when it beat its powerful wings to cross the black goo.

"Giddy up!" He cried, and as he neared a free Khord, much as the other's were, he urged the Hippogriff's to try and free the poor soul from the stalk with it's powerful claws.

(in the event Ayrn's not directing the hippogriff's to do the same or the summoned creature doesn't respond...)
~*~*~
Crellin kicked his heels into the flank of the beast but it wouldn't heed his commands. "Come on you overgrown Chicken Free 'im!" He called again wondering why it wouldn't obey.

They were standing at the bottom of the enormous white stem of the Stinkhorn. Far above their heads, the black hood was oozing drops of goo into the pool below them. The big chunks of black slush fell down around them like some wicked form of rain, just out of reach, as if the giant hood was a protective umbrella against its own foul creation.

Baldorf was moving upwards slowly. His mist-form was difficult to control, but he was learning fast. If this was something he would be able to do at will eventually it would prove an incredible feat. Something people would admire him for, perhaps?
He came close to one of the Khords that was stuck in the clear mucus of the stem’s body. Wondering if he would be able to pull one of them loose, he envisioned himself being solid again. And slowly, he became just that.
Gravity took its hold on him again, and he just in time remembered that he was going to hold on to one of the Khords. Grabbing tight, he let his own weight do the work, and with a slow, tearing sound, the body started to slant forward. Then, suddenly it was loose from the stem and they both plummeted down.

Crellin, who had just managed to spore his steed to the other side of the pool, had only a few moments to jump onto the big boulder. The hippogriff he had been riding took a powerful jump upwards again and flew straight into the air. He followed the creature with his gaze and saw Baldorf falling from quite a height with another Khord in his grip. The hippogriff attempted to catch them both, but succeeded only in taking hold of the limp Khord. Baldorf attempted to grab hold of the hippogriff’s mane or leg, but found his fingers slip in vain. He was going to crash onto the boulder if nothing was done.

In the mean time, Niaou’li had returned and was also attempting to loosen one of the bodies that stuck on the enormous shroom. She dug her talons into the clothes of one of the children and flapped her wings furiously. Slowly it came loose, but it was heavy! She was instantly pulled down 3 feet, and had to utilize her wings with all her strength to not follow Baldorf’s example.

Berodin, in the mean time was focussing hard on telling three hippogriffs what to do. One had already attempted to collect Baldorf and his catch, but failed on the first half. The other two followed swiftly. One managed to grab the child Niaou’li was carrying, using its beak, and the had been directed to grab another Khord from the Stinkhorn’s stem. It was now redirected to catch their falling comrade, but it may not be fast enough.
The cleric shouted: “Crellin! Use your magic!”

(OOC: You’ve managed to free two Khords, one grown up, one child. Baldorf is falling and will plummet hard onto the rock the next round. Time to act is now. )

Crellin was shaking his head in disapproval as the hippogryph he had just managed to dismount left him and flew upwards towards Baldorf, who, being substantial once more was falling faster than a figure skating ogre. His gaze watched his focus distracted as the man fell.

Suddenly however he was jostled from the intrigue as to whether or not Baldorf would bounce upon impact by the shouts of the cleric nearby.

"Crellin use your magic!"

Crellin's tongue was wagging even before his brain comprehended what he was doing.

I could create a shelter under him, the roof would break his fall, or perhaps a lightning blast, the electrical current in opposition to the gravitational pull of the planet would slow his descent... perhaps a gust of wind at the last moment, ease him into that black soup instead of the boulder..?
"Feather Fall!" he called out even though his mind was still strongly considering the plausible use of a lightning bolt to offset the downward momentum of the falling man...