Bendrak

"Hmph, Pazuzu would do well to remember me." He helps Aranor up and opens a window to dissipate the odor.

Tuuli leads the party, together with Serapio, out of the building. The alley is empty – the sick man is gone, as is the religious procession parked at the top of the alley. The jubilant crowds are still on the main thoroughfare, although a little sparser, drunker, older, and rowdier as the night is growing later and many of the children have gone home. There is no sign of police presence, but the music and food are still going strong.

Unless the party has further business here, you begin the short trek back to Doña Rosa's house. Serapio is still somewhat confused and quiet, but with each step, he seems to recover a little more. 

Tuuli is focused on getting back to Doña Rosa's with Serapio, with as little interference by Pazuzu as possible, so she is on alert.

The party, with Serapio in tow, forges its way through the sloppy, joyous crowd and back to Doña Rosa's quiet vecindad for a happy reunion. Embracing her son, she weeps with gratitude and thanks each of you profusely.

"I heard they arrested Itzmin tonight," she adds, her voice full of uncertain emotion. "I knew he was a bad influence. They say he was a cultist of Pazuzu, just like Serapio's birth father. I think Itzmin has been grooming Serapio, all along, corrupting him, to be like Orencio, to swear profane oaths, and to perform crimes in the demon lord's name, like Orencio. Is Serapio going to be okay? Is this over?" 

You know it is indeed over, and that your time in San Citlán is coming to an end, for now. All that remains is to report back to Paloma in Milpazul if you wish (as she had promised a reward) and to bring the bad news back to a young trader's assistant in the Radiant Citadel – for while the arcane plague is over, it was too late to save Fortino's mother, Xóchitl.

Zartan will cast detect magic on him to see if it is over 

Tuuli, who didn’t meet Doña Rosa the first time, hangs back a little, cognizant of the large number of large people in the group. After a bit she’ll go hang out outside, and wait for the others. She yawns, as she is reminded of just how long this day has been.

"I hope we have sufficiently eased your suffering Doña Rosa. As ambassador for peace of the Radiant Citadel, I wonder if you may consider completing a survey on your level of satisfaction with my service. I must note however, that only perfect service is accepted and if I do not receive a 5 out of 5, I must relinquish my position as ambassador. You may, of course, opt out of the survey," Pax intones as he lays his cold, stone hand gently upon Doña Rosa's shoulder.

Aranor limps into Doña Rosa's house with the others. He's wrapped a bandage around his side so he's not bleeding quite so profusely, although after they've delivered Serapio safely to his mother, he will need to attend to more serious healing. The elf listens to Pax's spiel about his survey with a bemused expression on his face. It has been strange traveling with a warforged, but he can't deny the big guy's competence and dedication to helping others.

"We believe it is over, Doña Rosa," says Aranor. "We managed to separate the demon from your son and defeat it in combat. Serapio should be all right now, and luckily Itzmin has been arrested for his crimes against the citizens of San Citlán."

Doña Rosa smiles at Pax's statement, not quite sure if he is joking, nor quite the context of the joke if he is. "...Five?" she asks, hesitantly, not sure what the right answer should be. "I am overjoyed that you have returned my son. I think he's free now."

Zartan detects no unidentified magic here.

The party is invited to spend the night at Doña Rosa's vecindad, although some must spread their bedrolls out into the hallway and into a kindly neighbor's apartment as they all cannot fit inside Doña Rosa's and Serapio's tiny home. While your sleep is interrupted by late-night fireworks, loud boisterous voices, and stumbling drunks, you each receive the benefit of a long rest.

The morning begins late. Serapio is awake, talking, and seemingly healthy of body and mind.

Doña Rosa and Serapio know where to find the Concord Jewel back to the Citadel, if you're ready, or they can arrange for a reasonably comfortable carriage ride back to Milpazul, if you want to return there first.

Tuuli definitely wants to return to Milpazul. She is curious if the death of the owl demon has done anything for those suffering under the curse.

At some point throughout the day, perhaps early in the morning before most are awake, Walt has a chat with Serapio. After checking in to make sure that he is well, Walt tries to engage in a conversation regarding the owl and his transformation into the fiend. 

“Serapio, my friend. If I may ask, do you find yourself drawn to nature and wild beasts? At a young age I was fascinated with all sorts of wild beasts—especially raptors and various large birds of prey. If you too feel drawn to nature, or perhaps a need for an outlet or a task to focus your energy, might I suggest exploring the study of Druidism? Please seek me out at the Citadel should you ever need guidance.”

Walt pats him on the shoulder and offers up his spear to Serapio as a gift. He’ll show him all the etchings and engravings in the shaft, including some recent additions including the names of Doña Rosa, Serapio, San Citlan and Milpazul—all of which are etched in Druidic. 

———————

Walt wants to check in with Milpazul as well. Though Fortino initiated this journey, Walt felt more of a connection with the people at Milpazul. That place reminded him of home. 

Aranor spends half the night tending to his wounds and half the night in the trance that elves go into instead of sleep. During the trance his wounds knit themselves closed and in the morning he is fully recovered. He would also like to return to Milpazul in order to check on the status of the residents there. Hopefully their defeat of the owl demon has led to the ending of the sereno curse as well.

Agreed, lets return to Milpazul

Recovered from their trials of the day before, the party makes arrangements with one of Doña Rosa's neighbor's friends to travel to Milpazul by carriage – less than a half-day's travel on good roads.

Serapio is quite attentive to Walt's talk (Persuasion: 17) and accepts his gift with respectful appreciation, examining the engravings with special interest.

"Thank you... but I think I've had my fill of magic. I think I want to be a grocer," replies Serapio, thoughtfully

The trip to Milpazul is uneventful.

You find that all the victims of sereno in Milpazul and beyond were immediately freed from the curse the moment the tlacatecolo was killed last night. Returning to Paloma's hideout in Rufina's pulquería, the old revolutionary greets you with deep gratitude for your actions – she, too, is now freed of the cursed plague. Each of you is rewarded with 100 gold pieces.

She also invites you to join her outlaw gang. "They may have arrested Itzmin for his blatant demon worship, but there are other corrupt leaders running San Citlán who must be removed from power until the land is returned to the people who care for it."

Upon arrival to Milpazul, Walt is overjoyed to see the dusty streets free from sickly, shivering people. He stops and stares at the missing person signs outside of Rufina's and he's reminded of the stash of jewelry, coins and belongings they found in the cave. Though he's happy to have played a part in ending this curse, he still feels heavy with emotion thinking of all those lost to the sereno.

As the party shares news from San Citlan of Itzmin's arrest and the defeat of the owl fiend, Walt is taken aback how he's grown so fond of this place in such short time. He spends most of the afternoon enjoying several servings of pozole and various local snacks. He's seriously considering taking up Paloma's offer to join her gang. Walt is old, weathered and very tired. He could envision himself staying here and offering up his services as a healer to the people in this small town. He decides to sleep on it for a night before speaking to his friends about his thoughts.  

Walt slips away several times throughout the days and wanders the streets and goes for hikes amongst the cactus and sage. He hopes the Wild Mother will chime in and help him decide.

~ Conclusion ~

Unless the party has any further business in Milpazul (or the greater world of San Citlán) your group boards the Fire Opal Concord Jewel and returns to the Radiant Citadel to break the bad news to Fortino about his mother's passing, but the good news about the eradication of the curse.

(Welcome to Level 5! You may update your characters and purchase anything you might require at normal PHB prices.)

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Hey @everyone!

You have successfully completed "The Fiend of Hollow Mine", the third adventure of Journeys through the Radiant Citadel!

We will start the fourth adventure soon for whoever wants to join. (This weekend or before?)

I'd also love any feedback you have on The Fiend of Hollow Mine, which I understand was written by Mario Ortegon (@elwarius on Twitter) and based on Mexican myths and legends and his upbringing in Northern Mexico. 

Also, since the Radiant Citadel adventures are completely independent of each other and not a complex overlapping campaign, I can completely and openly answer any remaining questions you might have about this adventure. (Not that your characters can't go back at any time to visit!) As before, you are welcome to read the whole adventure directly - https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/jttrc/the-fiend-of-hollow-mine - just don't read beyond the end of the chapter, pretty pretty please! 

Who wants to continue in the fourth adventure, with level five characters?

As the gang gets ready to return back to the Citadel, Walt bids farewell to Rufina, Paloma and her two dwarven bodyguards. He thanks everyone for their hospitality for welcoming him and his friends into their homes. He impresses upon them how this small town reminds him of home and he finds it difficult to leave. But for now, he feels that his calling is to travel with his friend and help those in need. Perhaps one day when their job is done, he will settle down here and offer up his services to their cause and the good people of this land.  

You leave many appreciative friends behind in the wild town of Milpazul, including your companion Bendrak, who will help keep Paloma safe from the bounty hunters. Pax returns to his peacekeeping work at the Citadel, newly complicated by unrest in the land of Tletepec.

At the Citadel, Zartan has discovered an informal network of dealers in the arcane – an older couple who runs an antique business, a loose guild of magic users, a trickster barber, and a cantankerous librarian. They possess very few arcane items themselves (although they always seem to have a couple of curious but random items on hand) but with a little time and gold, they can usually obtain what is needed. Making some inquiries, he gets solid leads on the following items of interest to the party:

Moon-touched Scimitar - the barber actually has one on hand now that he is willing to part with for a bargain 65 gold.
Staff of Birdcalls - They can obtain one in a couple of weeks for 75 gp.
Alchemy jug – They can obtain one in a couple of weeks for 300 gp.
Comprehend Languages spell scroll - They can craft one in a week or so for 75 gp.
Alarm spell scroll - They can craft one in a week or so for 75 gp.

(If you wish to make the purchase, let me know, then go ahead and deduct the gold and add it to your inventory; if there are complications or delays I'll let you know.)
(Anything else anyone is looking for?)