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
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.
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.
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.
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