The Village That Became A Funeral Pyre

The adventurers are still in the subterranean cave which now has a gargantuan corpse of a mind naga in the middle of the cavern. It's fleshy corpse spreading out on the cavern floor. The group tries to awaken several of the townspeople who had initially come down here to protect their god but now mindlessly stand there staring blankly.

Maddox tries several times to use his healing paladin powers. Lay on Hands and Lesser Restoration seem to bring the townspeople back but only so far. The healed move dazedly about, confused and unable to speak. Only Sarkosh and Tam, Maddox's squire, are healed enough to come round eventually to speak, if a little confused.

Waking Up From The Dream

Tam speaks of waking from a wonderful dream in which he felt love and togetherness. He says he has never felt a belonging that strong. He looks at his mentor, Maddox sadly and then looks away.

The group is finally able move out of the cavern and up a ladder that was found hidden away in a corner of a small cave. Leading the townsfolk, tethered together with rope, they emerge into a rough earthen basement below a house in the village. They emerge back into the village with the sun setting over the mountains in the distance. They decide to think freshly on their situation in the morning when they are healed.

Araxie follows Nogan to his small tent, where he says he has a still for making his alcohol. If they are going to produce enough alcohol to heal the entire village they will have to get working.

The Incurable Disease

In the morning, Maddox tries every magical healing at his disposal. Each of the townspeople he tries to remove the mindworm affliction from, just becomes more ambulatory but little more than a mindless wanderer. Creed, the Dragon Blade, has seen the seemingly protective effects of alcohol that kept both Araxie and the town drunk, Nogan, from being infected by the mind naga's eggs. He leaves to find Araxie and how much alcohol they have produced.

Araxie awakens and the genasi, looks to find that the amount of alcohol produced during the night is meager at best. She decides that it probably isn't enough to really help anyone. So she decides to drink some of it. When Creed finds her there is not much alcohol left. Taking the meager amount he heads off to heal some villagers.

Pouring enough alcohol into several villagers, in order to induce the villagers to vomit up the worms and eggs seems to make the villagers slightly more aware but they still do not respond to questions. Maddox who is tired and sweaty from his healing exertions, comes over to one of the villagers who have expelled their worms. Holding his hands over one of their eyes and then removing it quickly he notices that their pupils do not respond to light.

Maddox, turns to the others and tells them, with a disappointed look on his face,  he believes the infection has permanently damaged their brains. Barring the healing spell, Greater Restoration, the villagers cannot be healed.

Funerals Are For The Living
3,000 XP ("Saving The Village")

After much debate, it is decided to collect all of the villagers into a house and set it a flame. A funeral pyre to honor their deaths, for truly they are already dead.

The gruesome task takes the group most of the day. During that time they notice that some of the healed villagers cannot be found. They assume that they must have wandered off. Surely, they will not survive long. Already these villagers here, are looking worse. Their skin hangs heavily off their bones. They have not eaten or drank for a couple of days. Soon enough the villagers are crowded into five houses close together.

They make sure that Nogan is present before they light the houses on fire. When he arrives he is already quite drunk but his demeanor is somber and quiet. He knows what the group is doing is the right thing to do.

Araxie and Creed each pick a house and magically set their fires. Araxie with her new found armor producing a fireball which quickly consumes the house in flames. Creed walks into the middle of the house and envelops himself in flames. As he emerges from the house the flames are already consuming the house, smoke trailing behind Creed as he walks.

One by one the houses are lit on fire. Maddox gives a prayer for the villagers as the rest of the group bows their heads with the paladin. Nogan offers up a toast and each of the group drink from his offered cup. As they each take a small sip they grimace at the taste except for Araxie who takes a large swig. Tam smells the foul liquid and shakes his head before passing on the cup without drinking. Maddox does not force the boy to drink.

They spend the night watching the houses burn. The ashes float up into the star filled sky. Each of them spends the night with Nogan who simply passes out in the middle of the street.

A New Airship

The next morning, the group has decided to take one of the airships. They offer to take Nogan along with them. The old drunk refuses. He was born here in the village. This is where he will stay.

Creed flies off to retrieve the crab-like apparatus which is normally used to load the ships at their docks, but has been recently used to kill several villagers. He enters the large barrel-like housing and stares at near a dozen different levers. After a bit of trial and error he gets the machine walking along. Araxie and Valdania join him inside.

Maddox, Tam, Sang-Yu and the turtle Kame make their own way up the side of the cliffs to the docks, Maddox riding his dire wolf companion.

Maybe We Should Read The Manual

After realizing that they have not perhaps, practiced driving the machine quite enough, the group inside the crab-like apparatus find themselves tumbling off the narrow steps that climb the side of the cliffs. As they plummet off the side, Valdania tumbles through the inside and grabs onto a lever. A loud rumbling sound begins and they no longer feel like they are falling.

Creed, offers to go outside and find what's going on. He climbs out to the top and then...flies away.

Inside Valdania and Araxie look at the confusing jumble of levers and with great hesitation, begin pulling and pushing them. After finding the on/off switch for the external lights, they eventually find themselves piloting the device up and over to the top of the cliffs. When they land, Creed simply says that he knew they'd be alright.

At the top of the cliffs they see two of the village's airships. After loading all the valuables from one airship to the airship they are taking, the group moves through the ship examining their newly acquired mode of transportation. In the hold they see the massive block of ice containing an incredible amount of fish. All of the fish, no doubt, are infected with the Mind Naga's eggs.

Araxie acquaints herself with the rigging and the helm. She notices several golden sigils along the deck's railing as well as the boat's wheel. Maddox and Creed find below a crucible, sigil molds and a chest of gold coins. It doesn't take them long to deduce that this is the source of the golden sigils found all over the ship.

This Is The Only Way To Travel

Araxie begins shouting orders to raise the main sail and the rest of the group begin moving about doing just so. Soon the main sail is fully open and fills with a wind that wasn't there before. A large symbol, similar to the golden sigils around the ship adorns the sail writ large. The boat strains at the ropes holding it to the docks. Finally someone notices that they are still moored and releases the boat.

With a rush the boat flies off into the skies, through and then above the clouds. Everyone is exhilarated. Tam runs to the bow of the ship and gives a loud holler. Araxie grins from ear to ear. She has missed this. Missed it a lot.

Maddox and Creed move about the captains quarters and find a shelving unit filled with maps. There is a map currently on the large desk at one end of the room. Creed is able to get a rough course bearing on how to get back to the Emperor's palace. He goes topside to tell Araxie. She quickly course corrects and the ship responds smoothly and quickly.

A Toubled Maddox

Soon the group begins to relax and each finds their own place to be on the ship. Tam talks with Kame most of the time. The old turtle seemingly trying to counsel the slightly troubled boy. Maddox notices but he is troubled. He is worried that all that seems fine cannot be. The village seemed friendly and good but that was not the case. He is worried because his woman companion from the palace, seems friendly and good. Is it not so?

He moves to the captains quarters where he knows she is. He inscribes that ritual circle necessary for Zone of Truth and then knocks on the door. "Tell me you are good. Tell me that you wont betray me.", he demands.

Sang-Yu looks confused and then concerned. This is not like Maddox to question himself or those around him. "Of course not. You are mine.", she replies. Maddox lets the breath out that he didn't realize he was holding. "Ok". He closes the door on her and leaves, as she her mouth was opening with questions of her own.

As night falls they pass over the mountains into the valley of the Empire. Dotted below them are many small villages, the mountains forming a protective ring around the valley. Tam, who has been using the seeing glass at the prow of the ship, calls for Maddox. When Maddox approaches and looks through the metal tube, he sees a village below in the middle of some sort of festival. Several naked villagers, bound hands to feet are being ushered along towards a massive construction of a wicker man at the center of the village. Along the way other villagers toss stones and clumps of dirt at the prisoners yelling at them.

Maddox turns to the others, we must help them.

Any Landing You Can Walk Away From

Araxie begins to land the ship at full speed. What she hasn't acquired yet in airship piloting skills she makes up for with enthusiasm. Soon they are on the ground after making a large furrow in the ground with their keel.

Plans are made, dismissed and readdressed.

Finally they decide to use the ships weapons as well as stealth to enter the village and free the prisoners. Maddox and Creed disembark while Araxie floats the ship up and slowly towards the village. After coming close enough, Valdania activates the two forward spellguns. A thick magical fog rolls into towards the village quickly enveloping half of the village in a fog 10 feet high.

The Festival Of Kasai
8,150 XP

As Maddox and Creed move quietly through the village they soon run up against a fire monk who questions their arrival. The pair pose as visitors intrigued by the village's festival. They are told that it is their festival of Kasai, their fire god. They will be sacrificing these earth monks that they have captured, in Kasai's honor.

Creed, who looks intriguingly like a fire demon of sorts, conjures a flame within his hands and declares he his Kasai, himself. The act is convincing enough for the monk who prostrates himself on the ground. Maddox and Creed move quickly to free the bound prisoners and pull them back to safety between the buildings.

The disappearance of the prisoners is soon discovered and the monks spread out to look for them. Maddox and his spirit dire wolf begin attacking. Creed still uses his deceptive role as the villages diety to get the drop on the fire monks. As more of the village discovers they are under attack, many rush to the center of the village to where there is a huge construction of a wicker man.

Many of the villagers begin climbing inside the wooden statue of a humanoid, occupying is legs, torso arms and head. Someone sets is a flame and as it begins to burn the Kasai Man comes to life. The burning villagers providing their life energy to power the monstrosity. It lumbers down the street towards the group of attackers.

Soon the street is filled with this Kasai Man as it uses its arms to batter the group as it continually tries to stomp on them with its massive burning feet. Maddox and Creed are able to dodge out of the way but Maddox's wolf, Gray, is pulled into the burning mass of villagers inside of one of the feet. He lashes and bites but is unable to do much other than struggle to get out.

Back on the ship Araxie and Valdania have armed the balistas that are on the ship and begin to fire upon the only thing they can see which is the towering, flaming figure of the wooden monstrosity that is obviously attacking their commrades. Bolt after bolt is fired until one hits directly into the things torso and it collapses into a burning heap, the few villages still alive inside, begin to scream as they finally feel the tortuous flames consume them.

The fog slowly begins to disperse as they look around them.

Well, that's two villages they've destroyed now. What's next.

They Say Wine Is Good For You.

The group finds themselves split.

Maddox has moved back through the earthen tunnels to emerge back above the burned out building, in which they had discovered their now dead and burned quarry. As he emerges from the tunnel he stares around him. Surrounding the entire building is, what he supposes is the entire village. Over two hundred villagers stare at him, faces calm and placid.

Become One With Us
650 XP

"Join us. Become one with us.", they all say in unison. The small boy that had so recently badgered Maddox with a multitude of questions and seemed so full of exuberance, walks calmly through the crowd to stand in front of the paladin. He is quiet and calm. He explains to Maddox that he should put down his wandering ways and settle in the village. Here they know only peace and happiness. No one is lonely, angry, sad. They are as one.

The Slime And The Dark

Below Maddox, Gamma and Araxie are moving further through the earthen tunnels. They soon come to an area in which the tunnels become more solid rock. A larger cavern opens up in front of them as they look down the slope to the floor, several feet below them. The floor seems unnaturally slick. Gamma steps quickly and lightly, using his monk skills. As he steps down on to the floor below he finds himself standing in slick mucous up to his ankles. He moves quietly and smoothly through the cavern until he finds yet another larger cavern in which the mucous-like substance becomes less thick and barely covers the floor. He notices a figure moving through the far side of the cavern. As Gamma slinks back under cover, he recognizes the figure as Bhaga, the villager they had spoken to in the village above. He is carry something in his arms, cradled in front of him.

Araxie, standing alone in the dark waiting for Gamma, realizes that Maddox, Sarkosh and the turtle, Kame have somehow been separated from her and Gamma. She waits until she can wait in the horrible dark no more. She yells out for Gamma as loud as she can.

Gamma, who is in the next cavern, hears Araxie's call. Her call is then somewhat echoed above him in an odd resonance. He looks above him to see several strands of thick mucous stretched across the cavern from wall to wall, criss-crossing in an odd looking web. The strands reverberate with Araxie's voice giving her echo a strand other-worldly sound. Gamma sees Bhaga look around and hurries out of the cavern through an opening in the cavern on the far side. Gamma decides to check back with Araxie.

As Gamma returns to Araxie, he finds an slightly angry genasi staring at him. She scolds him for making her wait here in the dark for so long. Gamma explains what he say in the cavern ahead. Araxie asks him if he's noticed that the others have disappeared.

Escape Rather Than Death

Back in the village, Maddox staring at the villagers surrounding him, decides that while he can perhaps make it through the villagers, he would end up killing too many of them. This does not sit well with the Paladin. He casts Command upon as many as he can to flee but something is blocking his spell on them and only one turns and leaves.  He tries to cast again, telling them to kneel before him. A few of the villagers, awkwardly and resisting all the way down, kneel and prostrate themselves. He begins to back away towards the house and the tunnels.

At this, the village seems to move all at once, converging on Maddox and trying to use sheer numbers to bring down the paladin. He easily fends most of them off but some of the villagers bear weapons. One villager, a large barrel-chested man, drags a huge sword beside him. He swings at Maddox. Maddox is able to deflect most of the awkward attacks, the man clearly not trained in sword fighting. Maddox maneuvers around the wreckage of the burned house and, grabbing the rope still dangling down the shaft, is finally able to push the sword-wielding villager over the tunnels mouth. The villager doesn't scream, flail or make any sound as he plunges down the 40 foot shaft.

Maddox jumps down the shaft, using the rope to slow his descent near the bottom. Once on firm ground once more he lets go of the rope and sees the crumpled body of the villager at his feet, the sword laying on the ground. Maddox picks up the sword and moves through the tunnels looking for his companions. He spends several stressful minutes moving through tunnels only to find dead-ends and backtracking. He really should have paid more attention to the tunnels' layout when he was down here. Finally, he come across Araxie who directs him back to the slime cavern where the meet back with Gamma.

Worship  At The Feet Of Okina Hebi
7,600 XP

Gamma shows them through the caverns ahead. They finally come to the cavern with the echoing mucous strands above them. Gamma points in the direction in which Bhaga had moved through. They move to follow.

They enter a vast cavern. The groups dark vision extends only a part way into the vast darkness. But they hear a voice, the voice of Bhaga, up ahead. He welcomes them and hopes they have come to worship at the feet of Okina Hebi. Okina Hebi will show them the beauty of oneness with her. The group asks, what if they do not want to join, can they just leave?

Bhaga tells them that soon the world will be one. Those that are not of the one, will be of the others. The others can only bring discord, violence and seek to destroy the one. They must not be allowed to remain. Gamma exclaims it's not his fault he can't eat anything. That he doesn't even have a brain to infect. Bhaga reiterates, the world will soon be as one. Nothing else will remain. Maddox asks what will they have to do.

A large portion of what they thought was cavern wall, begins to move. With a slick, sucking, mucousy sound, the wall slowly descends until it moves along the floor and rises above them. Before them rears a massive worm like creature. It's back covered in rocks and dirt and it's mouth opening showing a mass of tentacles, each with its own mouth emerging from it. It moves until it is directly behind Bhaga, it's mouth rising to tower above the dwarfed human.

The group hears a voice, whispering and reverberating everywhere. The voice is coming from inside their heads. In an alien sounding voice, they hear, "Join me. Become one. I will bring a world of peace, joy and contentment. No more struggles seeking power or wealth. We will be as one."

Bhaga explains that other's of Okina Hebi's kind have failed to thrive in the empire. Their offspring devouring and depleting the lands nutrients until even they died. Okina Hebi, being the smartest and wisest had found another way. He made an arrangement with Bhaga. If Bhaga would take care of Okina Hebi's eggs and find a suitable place for incubating and growing them, then Okina Hebi would bring the village prosperity and happiness. Bhaga used the villagers themselves to grow the eggs in. In return, Okina Hebi brought peace and belonging to the entire village.

Bhaga says they shall bring that peace to the world. In the holds of their ships are food stuffs they will offer across the world spreading the oneness of Okina Hebi to all.

If You Are Not Of The One, Then You Are Of The Other

Maddox's sense of fiends suddenly flares, as their one time ally, Sarkosh, emerges from the edge of their darkvision, blade in hand. Blades begin to swing.

Araxie rushes at Bhaga, trident extended. Bhaga raises a mesh net that he was holding and throws it towards the rushing genasi. As the net falls over Araxie it transforms into a steel cage. Araxie begins to strike at the bars of her cage. Gamma running at an unnatural speed is able to move behind the large worm like creature and begins to pummel it with his stone fists.

Okina Hebi turns around to bite at the stone golem, catching Gamma within its mouth. The sound of stone crushing and cracking echos through the cavern. Maddox fends off Sarkosh and sends his dire wolf to attack the naga monstrousity. Araxie is finally able to break through the bars of her cage and the cage collapses back into a mesh net upon the ground. She runs at Okina Hebi and pierces it with her trident over and over. Maddox begins to hack at the monster with his new found massive bastard sword. Large hunks of slimy flesh are hacked off splattering to the ground.

Okina Hebi whirls around again to catch Gamma once again within its mouth tentacles and crushes the stone golem until cracked and crushed Gamma falls to the floor dying. As the others continue to hack away at the monster, Okina Hebi then catches Maddox's dire wolf companion within it's tentacles mouth and begins to swallow it.

The group notices the sound of approaching footsteps. Several off them. They come from the direction the group took from the area of the burned out house. The villagers are catching up to them.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Maddox rushes to the side of Gamma and begins to grab as much stone material that has fallen from Gamma and performs the lay on hands magic that he has now more practiced with on the stone golem's form. The stone golem awakens from the brink of death and uses his own magic to heal himself more, stands and returns to pummeling the monster. His final punch moving through the naga's form until the hideous monster falls to the floor, it's massive body spreading out upon the cavern floor.

Where's It's Treasure!?

Araxie excitedly begins cutting into the monster pulling out massive amounts of slime, guts and unknown organs desperately in search of anything exciting. Maddox notices that both Bhaga and the tiefling, Sarkosh, as well as the group of villagers who had just entered the cavern, stand dazed and unmoving. Gamma moves around the cavern looking, for threat or treasure. Maddox experiments with different spells until a spell of lesser restoration is able to revive Sarkosh and several villagers back to their normal selves. The villagers are confused and have many questions but the group has other priorities.

Araxie turns to the others, now filthy and slime coated, and angrily exclaims there's nothing in here!

Gamma suggests she move through the cavern, perhaps there will be something useful somewhere, not inside the monster they just killed. She moves through the cavern until across a 20 foot chasm they see a multitude of dead bodies heaped in a corner, their weapons, coins and other belongings left to accumulate upon the cavern floor. They easily jump across and begin investigating the refuse pile. Gamma approaches a large wooden chest and cautiously moves around it looking for traps or other dangers. Seeing none he slowly opens the chest. He hears the sound of something piercing a bladder of some sort and braces himself when a puff of gas emerges from within the chest. He waits, then shrugs. Must be poison gas. Oh well, that's nothing to him and opens the chest fully to find treasures within.

The villagers, no longer in need of valuables have simply left them here with the bodies of several of the Emperor's monks. The group now spends much time pouring over new found trinkets, weapons and magical items. They test out new weapons, discern the magic of odd items. Finally they divvy the loot and move back through the cavern's many areas.

In one of the cavern's offshoots they discover a ladder leading back to the surface of the village. It emerges into a basement of a small home. The group, aiding the villagers as best they can, move up into the house and find it empty. They discuss what their next action should be. Maddox decides to go back to the burned out house to see what has become of the rest of the villagers.

Finding The Cure
1,000 XP

He finds most of the villagers still standing here. They are unresponsive without the connection to Okina Hebi. There is also a large barrel contraption standing in the middle of one group of villagers who are now laying on the ground dead, several of them crushed or cut in two.

The barrel stands easily 30 feet tall and about 20 feet around. Attached to it are four crab-like legs and two crab-like arms with large claws at the end. Standing, leaning against the machine is the old scrawny drunk, Nogan. He begins to slur his explanations. He saw what the villagers were going to do to the paladin, so he decided to help. He had always wanted to drive the machine, usually used for loading the ships but Walla brothers never let him. They said he wouldn't be able to drive it.

"Who just drove it, yah?!", he yells as he looks down at the bodies. It is then that it hits him that he has murdered several of his own villagers. Tears stream down as he says their names and unashamedly cries. He looks to Maddox and says that he had to do it, didn't he?

Maddox leaves him to his grief. He has the rest of the village to try and save. He begins to do the mental calculations of how many he can heal with his spells before he must rest and how many days it would take to heal the entire village. He goes to find the others.

Gamma, who has followed along, brought with him some of Araxie's wine she had. Curious as to what might happen, he pours some down the throat of the nearest villager. The villager coughs, sputters and then keels over vomiting upon the ground. The vomit is comprised almost entirely of small white worm-like creatures that wriggle and wither and shrink before Gamma's eyes. He repeats his experiment another time with another villager with the same results.

He turns to the others and smiles. Tada!