Muste smiled as the monsters seemed mostly agreeable to the proposal, having expected such from the summoned minions based on the impromptu employee satisfaction survey Zogi had brilliantly, in his mind, conducted. Zoppy requested the procurement of sundry the mutant goblin questionably considered commercially viable, and nodded. "I will see if I find anything fitting that description," he promptly answered. He would make a cursory look with occasional castings of Detect Magic, and if nothing enchanted would be foum,d he would nonetheless still make the effort to bring something with aesthetic appeal. And so, having equipped the minions with suitable equipment for storing materials such as bone buckets and the leather sack the adventurer left, having since been repaired with a cast Mending spell, the expedition set forth from the dungeon.

Having visited the outdoors once a day since the beginning of the employment, Muste had gotten used to the strain on stamina that the lack of the dungeon core's revitalizing magic caused, and was primarily the reason why the illithid had not ventured too far into the surrounding lands besides the small stream he had previously discovered. However, now that he was emboldened by a specific objective that would improve the well-being, and by proxy, the productivity of the dungeon, he would not let himself be deterred by his admittedly less-than average physical qualities, and pushed forth, mapping out sectors for the minions and fellow monsters to perform their search in. After about ten minutes of searching, the vocally expressed his enthusiasm for the mission: "Good work, my fellow employees! We are right on schedule. By my estimates, we will be at full operational capacity for the next hour or so. Until then, let's do our best." Of course, he wouldn't only be directing the survey squad: he also searched through the grassy bushes and under rocks, occasionally writing notes to his grimoire.

Just as the search turned to not produce anything useful, the kobold had procured wildflowers, which Muste planted into a bone bucket full of soil he had deemed the most fertile and suitable for growing plantlife based on his casting of Detect Good Soil: a spell he had developed based on an offshoot of Detect Magic, inspired by the time he spent in the woods, surrounded by nature. In retrospect, it might have been outside of his usual expertise of arcane knowledge, and more suited for a druidic career. However, limited as he was in his opportunities for poroper magical education, he decided to pursue magical knowledge wherever it would be found: the natural world was just another grimoire just waiting to have its pages read, after all.

Inspired by the discovery, Muste requested the rest of the monsters to simply gather soil, fern, logs and moss, and return back to the dungeon. As Zogi checked under the logs of fallen trees, the illithid also checked to see if there were any mushrooms growing near or even on the trees in the region. He also considered if they could bring back a whole tree for them to grow in the Grove, but deemed it impractical: it would require sunlight, which the dungeon could not currently provide even through magical means. However, the illithid envisioned a future dungeon level with a simulated forest, complete with artificial sunlight and an illusory blue sky cast overhead. Perhaps it was something only a mad mage could envision in an undermountain, but as a magic user himself, and one dedicated to developing a dungeon, only the sky was the limit.

Pleased to see Zogi's efforts in helping to direct the minions as well as scour the wilds on his own. After Muste had watered the newly made flower pot with water from the stream, the illithid saw that Salbjörg had passed by them, accompanied by the swarm of surprisingly clever members of the Rodentia animal order. He handed the flower pot over to the naga. "Once you get inside the dungeon, place this flower pot next to my bed. I will be coming back shortly." He then walked away, following after the Shahmaran. As he saw her in the distance transform and blend into the enemy crowd, he realized she was keeping herself hidden from the human camp, and understood that she was about to infiltrate the hairless monkeys. 

That was when Muste had an idea. He flipped through the pages of his grimoire, and found a spell suitable for covert action: Disguise Self. Thus, Muste took on the form of an [url=https://i.imgur.com/2TVmw6i.png]unassuming older man[/url]. Having disguised himself, he followed at a distance from Sal, with three goals: observe Sal's attempt at subterfuge, intervene in case something goes wrong, and make observations of his own about the humans. He wanted to see if there was some kind of hierarchy formed in their primitive society, any signs of upcoming danger, as well as any weaknesses the dungeon could exploit. He also enjoyed getting wtihin brain-smelling range, though he would refrain from sniffing: he would have plenty of time to do that when such a morsel was available for devouring. Of course, if he gets emotionally charged, whether by abundant joy, sorrow, rage, or even surprise, his moustache will slightly move prehensively, a flaw in his magical illusion.