Adventure Three, Session Fourteen

INT/EXT. VILLAGE OF TARSEL - NIGHT
When we last left our heroes... Teffa, Temerity and Warren were back inside Figley's tower, having just spoken with the newly arrived mage (Figley) and his assistant, Yordle. Figley requested their aid in locating a missing "tome," which was apparently Figley's journal. To him, it was of the utmost urgency that it be found, though no explanation was provided as to why. Teffa and Temerity took to the second and third floors, while Warren remained on the lower level for a time. Eventually, he decided to check on Naiya and Clickwild, both of whom had been last seen on the top floor. On his way up, Warren passed both Teffa and Temerity as they searched for the missing book.
After finding both the Inheritrix and Clickwild safe and secure, Warren decided to head back out to the tavern, where the remainder of the party apparently had convened. On his way down the stairs, however, he saw neither Teffa nor Temerity. This seemed a bit odd...
Back at the tavern, Tesken finally arrived, hidden, and joined the rest of the party in watching the townsfolk go about their business. The people broke off in groups of two, with each group heading towards a different domicile. One group of two townsfolk headed towards the cemetery, which was odd enough to pique the party's curiosity. They decided to follow, but before they left, Tomison was dispatched back to the tower, carrying with her the wooden plank that served as a piece of the altar (or whatever it was) originally seen down in the root cellar of the tavern.
Tomison, still invisible, arrived back at the tower just as Warren reached the bottom floor, where he found both Figley and Yordle (but no Teffa or Temerity). Warren questioned the mage and his apprentice, but they seemed to not know where the missing party members might be. They did, however, reveal a bit of backstory as to what might have happened here. Figley explained that he was teaching his assistant the art of summoning creatures from the lower planes, specifically demons, in order to "learn from them," when unfortunately Yordle accidentally broke the protective circle (the salt!) surrounding the altar just as a demon materialized. "Thankfully" due to Figley's "quick timing and prowess," the mage was able to send the vile creature that emerged back to whatever hellscape (he maybe mentioned Hades) it came from.
After the story was complete, Yordle suddenly (and somewhat creepily) asked Warren to go with him upstairs to look for the book and the missing party members, but Warren declined. At this time, Tomison snuck in and whispered an update into Warren's ear. The two decided to go join the rest of the party at the cemetery.
EXT. CEMETERY - NIGHT
The group arrived in time to see that the entire graveyard had been dug up. All the plots were empty, save one. The last undisturbed plot was in the process of being excavated by the two townsfolk, who spoke to each other in an ugly, stilted language. This speech was soon identified as Infernal. One of the two then stood up and walked to the far end of the grounds, where stood a giant statue made of various tombstones, effigies and debris from the graveyard - seemingly cobbled together in some haste to form a crude likeness of a giant man. The towns person proceeded to piss on the statue and utter a curse at it, before then returning to his comrade in the process of digging.
The party decided things were about to get bad, so they decided to return to the tower, and along the way they bumped into Tomison and Warren. Now reunited (minus the missing Teffa and Temerity), the party reentered the tower.
INT. FIGLEY'S TOWER - NIGHT
The bottom floor they found unoccupied, but as they began to ascend the stairs to the second level, they heard voices. It was clearly Figley and Yordle, but they were speaking in the same guttural language as heard in the cemetery... Infernal.
The party desired to surround the two and force them to reveal what was going on, and to that end, Mangy had a plan. He suddenly rushed past the others, up into the second floor room, and loudly declared that he'd found the missing book! Figley seemed quite amazed and happy at this news and quickly asked him where it was. Mangy responded by running past the men (getting behind them) and banging on a small section of wall, which he declared it was hidden behind.
As provenance would have it, the random section of wall Mangy chose to bang on in his "empty ploy" was indeed hollow!
Shocked, Mangy declared that he was going to open the compartment, and he prepared to cast a Thunderwave spell. As this was occurring, the rest of the party made it up the stairs, flanking Figley and his assistant on the near end of the room.
Just then, Mangy cast his spell - but with a trick! He cast it over his shoulder, focusing the spell's effect on Figley and Yordle. Figley was hurt, but stood his ground, while Yordle was hurt worse and tossed across the room, right into Tomison!
Figley demanded to know what was happening, but the party was already on the offensive. Before he could take another blow, the mage ran to the "hidden compartment" in the wall, knocking Mangy aside. He smashed it out with his fist, revealing a tiny cubby hole in which a wrapped, book-sized parcel was hidden.
Figley, excited beyond measure, unwrapped the book and cursed the party for their meddling. He then ran towards the corner of the room, where a window opened up into the courtyard below. But he didn't try to escape, rather he opened the book and seemed to be about to use it. Mangy in turn, pulled out the two beads of Fireball he acquired back in Varuumae Corona and tossed both of them at the mage.
A giant explosion erupted just next to Figley. It should've been enough to kill a normal man, but as fire raged around him, the mage rose back up from the floor. He then declared that the time for ruses had passed, and he quickly transformed into his true shape... that of a demonic Hezrou (a greater demon)! Figley then, instead of using the book, tossed it in the flames around him, attempting to destroy it!
A fight broke out which eventually ended in Figley's death, but at the cost of Mangy's severe injury.
During the battle, Warren cast Hold Person on Yordle, which seemed to work. And at the end of the combat, the rest of the party tied up and gagged the assistant, not certain whether or not he too was a demon.
Warren managed to recover the badly burned book as well. Some of it's pages were even slightly legible. He discovered a few things inside. First, the last journal entry spoke a bit of the summoning of a demon, much as Figley previously explained. But it also ended in a strange name... Yanexiglava!
There was also another entry that made reference to the graveyard and "the guardian" within. Something going by the name Xalixlig!
The party set about questioning Yordle, with Warren using his Telepathy to enter his mind. Indeed the assistant was a demon of some sort, and he proclaimed to know of the whereabouts of both Teffa and Temerity! "Kill me and you'll never see them again!" This was enough to stay the party's hand... for now.
Searching the small cubby where they'd found the book, the party also discovered two green potion bottles and some money.
They took Yordle and tied him to a chair in the middle of the summoning circle, having fixed the spot where the salt outline had been broken. Desperately needing rest, the party set a watch schedule and took turns recuperating. Warren set his familiar, a crow, about the task of scouting outside. He then set about reading what he could of the burned book that Figley had coveted so much.
After just about an hour, the crow returned with news. Apparently the villagers were slowly converging on the tower, carrying pitchforks and other various farming implements as weapons. They also seemed to move unnaturally, as if either possessed or possibly of inhuman origin.
Further, a smaller group of villagers used ropes to pull the wooden "altar" (or effigy) out from the root cellar, and were now also pulling it closer to the tower.
The party was roused from their sleep, and Tesken set about barricading the main door using any furniture she could find.
Soon, the group realized that some ritual was to take place, probably involving them, and so they decided to find a way out of the tower. But beforehand, searching the tower for any items of use, Guy discovered a stone etched with an "X" in its center. The party eventually connected the X on the stone, which Warren arcanely identified as some sort of "control stone," with the name in the journal... the guardian Xalixlig.
They decided that the cemetery should be their destination. And so Mangy, utilizing his flying carpet, flew himself, Sendry and Tomison out the hole on the second floor created by the two fireball explosions. Warren cast Fly on himself and flew just outside, providing cover for the party by flinging Eldritch Blasts at the villagers below. Clickwild, with Naiya on his back, scaled down the walls and ran, and finally Tesken smashed through the main doors and bum rushed the villagers, knocking them back. Everyone then high tailed it for the graveyard.
EXT. CEMETERY - EARLY MORNING
At the cemetery, the party found the great makeshift statue that they identified as Xalixlig. After some attempts to "revive" it, including looking for various spots to insert the control stone on its body, eventually Guy (holding the stone) began to chant it's name. The statue suddenly began to come to life... slowly but surely.
The rest of the party began chanting its name as well, and soon the great statue was fully alive and under their control, with Guy in the driver's seat!
And just in time, for back at the tower, the wooden effigy suddenly turned out to not be just an altar or symbol after all. It rose from the ground, standing on two legs - a mockery of the human form. The villagers, it seemed, now had their own giant golem. The wooden beast began charging towards the cemetery.
It seemed that there would be a battle. One between the giant constructs...
To be continued...