Too Quiet

We arrived back in the underdark town and noticed a construction project on our way through town. 20ish Drow under a Drider are transmuting the stone into sand to carve into the rock silently. A gnoll along with others were then barreling and hauling the sand away. Otherwise everyone seemed tired but happily relieved without the whispers. We went to see the one who sought us out the other day turned out to be their queen's right hand. Alroy and Quinn gave our reports and she gave us hers. She had an attack group go in and damaged the brain into a retreat. The "water" it was in was actually some sort of mucus and housed thousands of the brain worm things like what Alroy showed her from the mayor's house. They invade the body and cause what happened to the lizardfolk. During the whole talk I grumbled to Rose in Ursine of how suspicious the whole situation seems. She agreed with how quickly they managed to rid themselves of it. She felt they used us as a test. I wanted to go look at the new construction just to be sure their not making something for the brain to move into...
Rose, Blu, and I split off from the group and went to go look. Rose said that it looked like some sort of bunker being built. On our way we could see the "watchers," drider that sat anyplace kinda like a spider and just stare you down. Pretty creepy, but I suppose we are the weird ones down here. We make it to the sight and the bugbear was still moving barrels of sand. I sniff around relatively unhindered, and smell wet earth and fungus despite the area being relatively dry. I looked for the foreman to ask a few questions he signed at me and I asked for common, he whispered to me to move past the webbing sound barrier thing behind us a ways. I guess sound is a very sensitive thing to them here with the beasties in the caves. I asked about what the project was and were they were going. They smelled "food" and the walls had metal for a natural fort. I made mention of the moisture and they said that the closest stream was a mile toward the catacombs. They were using a "grub" to scout the area. I guess that was what I was mainly smelling. The grub is a valuable, rare, non-hostile creature also known as Valley Worms. Grubs can meld with stone and are a kinda bulbous pale 9ft long 3ft round things when they fully grow. They were surprisingly forward to me for me being an outsider and seemed to be fully honest. Still suspicious, but satisfied with their answers I thanked them and Rose, Blu, and I walked back toward the others while paying attention to scents in the air.
 
On the way I caught the faint whiff of rot and decided to follow. It led me to a cliff behind the local blacksmith. I tried to ask him about it as Rose's eyes almost popped outta her helm. He only signed at me and Rose ran, like actually ran toward the catacombs. She saw him do mold pours and no hammering while trying to smith. She came back dragging Quinn and Alroy by their collars to translate what the smith was signing. He explained that the 250ft cliff was a body dump to keep the creatures away and that he lost his rod he used to smith. Then he used light on a stone and tossed it down. Looking over there was piles of bodies and grotesques creatures as well as a glowing rod. The book I had said they were Hook Horrors and that they were to be avoided. The horrors attacked and killed about 40 in their last encounter. Alroy had Faena strip and casted fly on her to try to retrieve the smith's rod. She flew over the cliff and pulled the rod free but the creatures noticed. She panic tries to fly away and just... blips outta existence before the creatures crush the light. She reappears and makes it over the edge and says they are coming. We prepare for a fight.
I started by using my greater flaming sphere amulet from the wall. The things dodged it twice while I helped claw the one Blu was holding off. It caught her pretty good and got me mad enough to end the damn thing. I raged and used my greater size to shove the thing to the edge of the cliff and Blu finished it with the last shove. One of the hooked bastards jumped over me and tried to get behind Blu, she responded by tearing it apart and ending it there. I turn and charge at another one behind us that was after Quinn and Blu follows suit as we help end the last one nearby. After all was said and done, Rose said that 2 horrors fled after a spidersnake appeared and displayed enough intelligence to go after them instead of us.
The smith was reunited with his rod and seemed overjoyed. A sphere enveloped him and it seemed to be a rod that cast silence as he happily started hammering away. Satisfied, we head back to the catacombs.
 
We walk through and find lots of skeletons happily dancing and Galt (skele-mage) looking more human than before. Well as happy as a skeleton can. He said that his wings and horn weren't grown yet which confused us. We were offed wine that was a few hundred years bad. He informed us of Blair (the human) vanquishing the brain, and his plans to take the whole floor to Svendio to meetup with his brother "the curator" or "the collector" or something. Sounds crazy. He is apparently a Nephilim and his brother and him are one soul spit or something. One of the 16 souls that survived persecution from the gods. He said that the next hunter's moon will spell the end of the plane. Also the, doors to the East tower have opened something that doesn't happen and he said that he'd take us after he went to Svendio and the Blair wanted to accompany us. Quinn summons a hero's feast and the skeletons entertain us. After we ate our fill we went to investigate the brain's pool.
The pool that the brain sat in was slimy and thick but distinctly lacked a brain. Looking around it seemed that it lacked any of the tadpole things too. Faena used some sort of device to get across without touching the water to a landing on the far side with a chest. When she got there it turned out that the chest was a mimic, but it didn't attack her, but asked for help as it had been abused by the brain. It handed her something and started to climb the rope thing back to us. It must've been too heavy as the rope snapped and it started to rapidly sink into the goo lake. Faena dove into the lake after the mimic and I dove into the lake after her. She struggled in the water and managed to suck the mimic into the chest that had the bagman. I grabbed her just as she was passing out and got us back to the surface. The goop turned out to just be a layer on the surface, but I had to start CPR until Quinn could get over. She lived, but owes me a cleaning.