Cordyceps Stalk

Ware all ye who walk these halls
of Lauvitssin and the deeper thralls
for down deep below, in cavern of mist
the codyceps stalk forms chaotic cyst
Its power demonic, its slaves unthinking
Keep it contained, lest its power fall
upon the very life of Kai Mendebal

— Fragment carved in the ritual caverns underneath Akratia's Edge

Earliest History of the Stalk

It is difficult to place where exactly Lunetar and his cadre found the Cordyceps Stalk, or for that matter when. The first record of the Stalk comes late in the period of Final Collapse the Akran Imperium underwent before all of Akratia was abandoned, and those records are simply the ritualized accounting found beneath Kai Mendebal. From those records, Selanar Daenala, has determined the Stalk came from far to the south, in a land of pungent and chaotic growth. Its recovery was the final Akratian quest that Lunetar undertook before he sailed west to the Sovereign Isles, and though its power is chaotic and antithetical to civilization, it seems to have saved the town from the marauding undead, for a time.

Demonic Ritual

It is incredible to realize that such a luminescent figure of the Pentarchy would be implicated not only in consorting with demons, but in being instrumental to summoning and binding one himself. The stalk formed the basis of the ritual to protect Kai Mendebal from the undead, but it was powered and governed through the binding of Lauvitssin, a minor chaotic demon of life. It is unknown the exact deal struck between Lunetar and Lauvitssin, but it is clear that Lunetar betrayed the demon shortly after binding it, collapsing the tunnels that led to the ritual chambers, locking away the demon from the citizens living up above. Because of the demons nature, it was forced to follow its side of the bargain, extending the power of the Cordyceps Stalk to imbue the very walls of Kai Mendebal with anti-undead properties, protecting those that lived within.

Powers of the Stalk

Separated from its demonic ritual (by Sparks of the Embershroud Company), the Stalk has returned to its normal properties. If it is used to strike an enemy about the head with great force, spores may be released into that enemy's body, infecting them. If they should die within the day, they will rise as a shambling, not-quite-dead slave to the carrier of the staff until their body withers away from lack of sustenance.

Mechanics & Inner Workings

Powered by an inherent chaotic life energy that seeks only to propagate.

Significance

Ritual Artifact, Magic Weapon

Item type

Weapon, Melee

Current Location

Akratia's Edge

Current Holder

Kenzie the Elven Witch

Owning Organization

Embershroud Company

Rarity

Unique

Weight

2-LOAD