5e Druidic Messaging Services?

[Riftwolf]

In a campaign I've just started, I'm a travelling druid sent by my Circle to meet another Circle who requested aid. So far the journey took three years for narrative purposes. Now I'm close to the Druid Circle I sent an animal messenger back to my native circle and now I'm not sure how they'll send me a message back. The entire point of my journey is the Archdruid hasn't been to the other Circle so can't send an animal messenger. Looking at core spells, Druidic communication is a bit thin on the ground. I'm wondering what spells are available for a druid to contact someone they've met in a place they don't know?
The DM isn't a big rules lawyer, but other players sometimes like to prod if they sense a plot hole.

[Amnestic]

Would your animal messenger even arrive? 3 years of travel distance is pretty far. The spell travels only 50 miles for a bird (about 2 days worth of your travel), and upcasting boosts that by an extra 100 miles per slot level (so 4 days per slot level). Even from a 9th level slot that caps out at about 30 days worth of your travel distance-wise.

If it's an archdruid you're messaging (and it does reach), they could Scry you (to see your area) and then Transport-via-Plants to pop up where you are themselves. 5th+6th level slots required.

[Riftwolf]

Would your animal messenger even arrive? 3 years of travel distance is pretty far. The spell travels only 50 miles for a bird (about 2 days worth of your travel), and upcasting boosts that by an extra 100 miles per slot level (so 4 days per slot level). Even from a 9th level slot that caps out at about 30 days worth of your travel distance-wise.

If it's an archdruid you're messaging (and it does reach), they could Scry you (to see your area) and then Transport-via-Plants to pop up where you are themselves. 5th+6th level slots required.

Firstly, my character wasn't travelling in a straight line (there's a big desert in the way, he kept trying to cross the desert but had to head back), got lost a lot, doesn't trust roads, is old and travelling through unfamiliar territory.
I calculated the distance a heightened animal messenger could travel using a 4th level slot (highest available to me) and the DM said it sounded good for the distance between one end of the country to the other (again, he's not a rules lawyer and hasn't drawn a map with accurate measurements). I realised later I'd miscalculated the distance but if no one else brings it up I'm not going to either.

[Segev]

Yeah, animal messenger is... often slower, less reliable, and less able to cover distance than it seems. There've been a few times I've cast it to send a warning ahead when I was rushing to a scene only to arrive, help resolve the issue, and THEN have the animal show up to deliver the message. I didn't use any special magic to hasten my journey (though I did have a giant wolf spider mount in one case).

[Ionathus]

Animal Messenger falls into the trap that a lot of 5e druid-specific spells do: weirdly granular to the point that they're frequently not even worth it, even in the exact situation where you'd think they'd be worth it.

It's one of the first things I handwave in my games: Animal Messenger just works like a time-delayed Sending. Longer length of time for greater distances, but still reasonable to keep the plot moving and make the spell ever worth taking, instead of just turning into a horse and galloping there to deliver your message in person :smallcool:

[Riftwolf]

The DM and I figured it out. Although my Druid is Circle of the Land (and so my Archdruid would be too), my tribe also contains Circle of Dreams Druids who relay Dream messages for Archdruids to distant minions (and Dream Druids make a point of meeting new Druids at moots for this very purpose).