The Age of Worms/ The Spire of Long Shadows pt. 6 / Bris the 30th, 3593 CE / 8-3-23

Not By Choice stand before the ancient ruins of Kuluth-Mar, once home to the evil Caius and his thousands of followers. As the stifling heat of the surrounding jungle pushes down on them, Rados's vision begins to swim, but knowing that he is magically impervious to the effects of the heat, he is surprised when his sight is filled with an almost hallucinatory image. In his vision, he sees Kuluth-Mar at the height of its power, with Caius as its master sitting on a throne atop the ziggurat at the city's center. Rados also notices that in his vision the strange spire which sprouts from ziggurat's zenith like a twisted tree is topped with a black stone monolith which is no longer there when his vision returns once more to the city's ruinous present state. Surrounding the ziggurat the party observes a great black wall of obsidian stone. The volcanic glass shimmers with an internal runic light. As the party draws closer to study the magic runes inscribed upon the wall's surface, they are set upon by a band of humanoids with serpent-like features, hissing a language that cannot be parsed by the party. The snake-men soon enough make their intentions clear by attacking. Rados fires off a volley of spells as Jozu pounces and Taavi holds the line, protecting his sister. As the snake people are felled, their champion, larger and with a serpentine lower torose, magically vanishes from sight, escaping the fate of his comrades. After looting and finding no further clues, Not by Choice returns to the wall, finding the runes to be in draconic. They proclaim that Caius is forever bound within. The party flies over in Nari's wagon. The area surrounding the ziggurat seems barren at first glance. Looking closer however, a writhing motion can be seen from potentially millions of Caius worms churning the earth. As they approach the ziggurat, they encounter a worm-infested zombie knight. It greets the party in Necril, praising Caius, but is seemingly unaware of its own state, or Caius’s rumored ascension. After a brief but futile exchange it saunters back into the depths of the tower, where more creatures can be heard to stir.