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Message: <blockquote data-quote="InVinoVeritas" data-source="post: 4958926" data-attributes="member: 41485">To Devour a Demon This adventure is for a party of 4-6 at level 7-8. Introduction:The party begins in the Halfling town of Epicarthos, renowned for its excellent cuisine, and located at the foot of the wide, stony volcano Sacrotini. They arrive in time for a festival, taking place at in the town plaza, at the feet of the statue of the town’s hero, St. Epicarthos, Protector. The party, over wonderful fare, learns the story of St. Epicarthos, and how he defeated the demon Varscivus the Devourer, Bringer of Famine, and introduced the world to the value of cooking, starting the Halflings’ never ending passion for excellent meals and preventing starvation. The saint ended the reign of terror of the demon, trapped him underneath the volcano, and moved atop the volcano to remain vigilant over the demon for all time. The volcano has been silent ever since. This is the five thousand year anniversary of the defeat of Varscivus. Then, the volcano erupts. The town panics as lava can be seen to flow in the distance.  They ask the party to go to the volcano center, find what has happened to St. Epicarthos, and see what can be done to save the town from the volcano. Travel across Sacrotini:The structure of the shield volcano is such that it is not steep, but is a barren field of granite about ten miles across, like a giant cap on the earth.  Nothing grows, and there is no cover. The way is rocky and uphill, and travel is slow. It will take a full day to travel the five miles on foot, although other methods will reduce this time.  Along the way, steam vents open up. As the party comes closer to the center of the volcano, geysers and patches of boiling mud make the way more dangerous.  Lava flows become more common. Finally, they come to the central caldera, a field of flowing lava, small cooled rocks like ever-shifting floating islands in the flow, and dretches fiercely trying to assault a flying structure. Far above the reach of roiling magma, a stone fortress hangs in the air, held above the caldera by chains descending into the depths of the volcano. If the party navigates far enough into the field of lava on the floating boulders, the denizens of the flying fortress will lower a series of cages to lift the party to safety. Laputarcosa, the Flying Monastery: Inside, the party discovers that the fortress is Laputarcosa, a Halfling monastery dedicated to St. Epicarthos. The monastery, filled with male and female Halflings, has existed in secret, away from the rest of the world, for the past five thousand years. It is dedicated to St. Epicarthos’ mission, and to keeping the demon Varscivus chained beneath the volcano. At all times, there are fifty monks chanting prayers, siphoning power away from the demon to maintain the reverse gravity in place on the monastery, keeping it away from the caldera. Food—wonderful, delicious food of manna, nectar, and ambrosia—is provided, despite the fact that there is nothing growing on the volcano and the monks never leave. It is discovered that baskets descend into the heart of the volcano, filled with delights from within, and hoisted back into the monastery. But given the problems with the volcano erupting, the party is quickly given audience to St. Epicarthos. The saint, a Halfling dressed in a simple white robe, and still alive after these millennia, welcomes the party in his inner sanctum. They are simple, Spartan, and flecks of blood can be seen. The reason becomes clear as a monk enters, offers his neck to Epicarthos, who drinks his fill of blood. He explains that he did not, in fact, bring the gift of cuisine to the Halfling people, but that Varscivus did. Varscivus would enslave thousands through offering meals while causing famine and taught the secrets of food preparation. His well-fed soldiers wrought destruction upon the starving masses, until Epicarthos learned the secrets for himself and granted himself the strength necessary to defeat the demon. He did not slay him, however, but imprisoned him beneath the granite shield volcano, because he did not want the demon to simply reform in the Abyss and cause destruction anew. Epicarthos can only destroy the demon if some part of his essence is willingly placed into a destructible object, which could then be crushed by someone who had never eaten food since Varscivus’ defeat. He embraced vampirism to sustain him through the centuries without ever eating anything Varscivus may have made. And Varscivus makes a lot. Epicarthos made a deal with the demon, wherein Varscivus cooks and provides the meals for the monks—only good, healthful, safe food—and Varscivus receives a single skillet. Yet now, the volcano erupts, a sure sign that Varscivus has found a way to free himself, and he will, soon. St. Epicarthos asks the party to go to Varscivus’ prison and determine how, precisely, he is breaking his bonds. He explains that there is another prophecy in addition to the volcano erupting; Varscivus’ worst deal in short shall deliver the greatest good forever. Into the Fire… The party descends into the volcano by way of the meal baskets. Lava cascades around the party within the crater, leaving only a slim shaft leading to a cooler platform below.  The air is foul here, filled with the stench of minerals and evil. A group of quasits meet the party below and attack, to defend their master Varscivus. The quasits deliver the meals from Varscivus to the meal baskets, through a labyrinthine series of lava tubes. The PCs must navigate these passages to reach the central chamber, where Varscivus, a glabrezu, stands chained to the rocks and holding his skillet. With a command word, the frying pan bursts into abyssal flame and fills with boiling oil. Varscivus pours the oil on his chains, which bubble and crack. He has already cut through three of the chains holding him, and he is busy working on the fourth. A cornucopia, filled with fruits and meats, stands to one side, unused as he abandons his role as master chef. “You!” he calls out to the party, brandishing his skillet, “You have come too late! I shall be free, and you cannot stop me! That fool Epicarthos let me have this pan, and for thousands of years, I have placed every shred of demonic power I can harvest into it so that I can be free this day. See how my powers are coming back! Behold my wrath!” Varscivus summons a vrock, which fights the party. Once the vrock is defeated, Varscivus changes his tone.  “No, but I am defeated! Oh, if you are so strong, strike now, while I am weak, and send me back to the Abyss!” This is a trick, because he would be able to return later, and be free at last. Should the party refuse, he replies, “Bah, so you are the merciful sort. Very well, I cannot find a way to corrupt your souls. Bid me my freedom, and I shall leave and take all I have brought to this world with me. I shall trouble this world no further.” This is another trick, because he will also take the gift of cooking with him, plunging the world into famine. Upon a second refusal, he grins. “So you will not strike me down, and you will not let me go peacefully. Then let me give you all the riches I have. My wealth, all my possessions will be yours. All you need to do is stand by and do nothing as I free myself.” Although this is still another trick on the glabrezu’s part, it is the correct response. If the party waits until the demon is free, the boiling oil eating through the last of his chains, he will laugh, tossing the skillet to their feet. “There! That is the sum total of my possessions! Enjoy your newfound riches!” With that, the volcano shakes as Varscivus heads to the surface.  The PCs must race out of the tunnels and back to the meal baskets with the flaming skillet before the tunnels fill with magma. …And Out of the Frying Pan The final step is a race against time. The monastery, without the demon’s power, has trouble staying aloft and will soon crash. Varscivus the Devourer is free, and bursts through the caldera ahead of the magma. Lava flows advance toward the town of Epicarthos. The party must deliver the frying pan, infused with the essence of Varscivus, to St. Epicarthos. As he has not eaten any food since the demon’s defeat, he can destroy the frying pan, and in the process, utterly destroy Varscivus. In the meantime, Varscivus reels the monastery in to exact his revenge before turning to the rest of the town, the countryside, and the lands beyond, famine in his wake. Should the flaming frying pan reach St. Epicarthos, he will tell the party to flee, granting them flight for long enough to escape the monastery, which plunges into the caldera… but then stabilizes. The eruption stops, Varscivus explodes in the lava, and the magma cools. Take note of whether the party members eat any food in the monastery or in town. If any PC has not eaten anything, then that PC can also destroy the frying pan and destroy Varscivus. The party is welcomed back in the town of Epicarthos with dance, song, and lots of wonderful food. The Flying Monastery of the Vampiric Saint Epicarthos is suspended above the Granite Shield volcano of Sacrotini, under which the Chained Demon Varscivus, who granted the Halflings their Never Ending Passion for food, remains captured. The demon enchanted the Flaming Frying Pan of the Master Chef in order to make his escape, but this same frying pan is the key to his destruction.</blockquote>

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