Five: Fire in the Lake

23 Jun 2020

• Although the residents are anxious the party is accepted on the island. Narya and Jackson speak privately while the group is fed and entertained.
• On their return, Narya explains that she is in hiding. The island is surrounded by a ward to keep the Kharisari out, so they are perfectly safe.
• Narya shares the myth of the temple: when the world was young an evil god fell from space and feasted on the land, corrupting all he touched. The trickster god fooled the god into seeking food underground and sealed him in a tomb of stone, then worked a spell out of solid gold, trapping the god in a magical ward.
• Eventually, white men came and broke the ward out of greed, creating the curse. Since then the land has been plagued by these cursed white men, who feast on the fat of others and use it to feed their master.
• Since Larkin visited a few months prior, the Kharisari have changed; their numbers are growing and their sporadic attacks more frequent. Villagers are now disappearing, and some of them have been sighted with the curse themselves. She herself has been hunted, leading to her having to flee her home. She implores the party to restore the ward.
• As the dark of night falls the island is beset by the Kharisari despite the protective ward. Jackson leads Narya to safety indoors as the party battles the monsters.
• Fires erupt all over the island during the melee, and multiple villagers are killed.
• As the party gains the upper hand an injured Jackson is thrown through a wall.
• Within the house Mendoza, holds Narya aloft by her neck, evil in his eyes…