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GoingToChurch

but we had a detour

Before our party could head off Stoop collapsed unconscious, apparently poisoned by some sort of sea life he had trod on while pulling himself out of the water after sinking the boat.

Kami managed to stabilize him with the help of the fishers who had knowledge of the various venomous animals in the area, but Stoop was unconscious until he recovered. Luckily Cor managed to catch up with the party with warnings that the village was preparing to evacuate ahead of some terrible enemy that was approaching.

Deciding on the SOUND strategy of placing Stoop in the bottom of a small boat, filling the boat with as many dehydrated and smoked fish as they could, the party would drag these rations across the plains and thus saving the village ONCE AND FOR ALL!

As usual, these plans became quickly moot as we noticed a plume of smoke rising in the distance from the direction of the village. Birdsabove (who we still didn't notice was just using the birds, above her, to see great distances) exclaimed that there was a great exodus of villages fleeing towards the nearby Temple of the Wildes, so the party redirected their route in that direction.

Arriving just at the setting of the sun, we were greeted by a terrible scene. Dead covered the plains and a large force of armed tribals threatened the temple.

Leaping into action Kami and Cor charged the attackers giving the Fishers that had accompanied them a chance to flee to safety.

Their concern seemed limited however as they abandoned the unconscious Stoop to his fishy fate in the boat. And while the tribals were easy to dispatch it became apparent that their deaths was just fueling the summoning of some terrible ghostly warrior from every death, all controlled by a large warrior who seemed to be leading the assault.

When one of these ghosts approached Stoop the party begrudgingly abandoned their hack and slash and went to rescue their party member. At this time it also became apparent that these ghosts were almost impervious to harm, and could kill with a single touch.

As once, the party retreated to temple where they found Elder Shaman Moonshine summoning some sort of barrier, apparently attempting to hold the approaching army off.

During this brief lull in the battle, protected by the barrier, the party queried the Elders about what was going on and after some bullying, and some definite strong arm tactics, the full story came out.

Apparently many seasons ago, one child returned to the village alone, without his parents. Instead of welcoming him and performing the naming ritual, Shaman Moonshine experienced a terrible premonition that the child would one day bring about the destruction of the village, so he banished them without name and never spoke of this to anyone.

Of course, this became a self-fulfilling prophecy and the Nameless child returned and destroyed the village (with help of the deep seated anger and magic that fueled him)

Some time in the distance past, Kami had once had occasion to hold a favor over the Shaman, one tied to the Shaman by blood and old magic, and one that Kami now used, ordering the Shaman to go down to the Nameless man and make things right between them.

Forced by the magic of the favor, Shaman Moonshine ended the barrier and walked went down to the maddened man.

What was exactly said between the two men we cannot be sure, we can know the Shaman whispered a name to the man once boy, bowed his head in shame and apology, and then had it crushed like a grape.

The anger and hatred now quickly evaporating, the once nameless warrior turned, and like his ghostly sprites of anger, disappeared into the night.

The night ended there, burning our dead and gathering up what villagers we could find for a trek as refuges to the north