((This is an awesome part of the game, I wish I could play faster through it! Weekends I tell you!))

Gotur, you feel the snake kind of fade away and disappear inside you after it slithers right into you. 

And then you feel bad. Really bad.... 

And then suddenly you feel better. 

You would notice now that you're actually able to slither up the last set of stairs. It's quite odd... you can't slither anywhere else, and you have to actually slither on the stairs in order for the magic (or whatever it is) to work. If you try and walk up the stairs, the effect doesn't work. 

So, Gotur is now able to slither up the last set of stairs completely untroubled by the poisonous snakes, which would take him to the top of the ziggurat, to the shrine. 

Will anyone else perform this and go with Gotur?

Both the guides absolutely will. Eku has no problem doing this. She doesn't want to say anything though as she doesn't want to brag that she's not bothered by eating a snake.

Azaka has her reservations, but she has a desire to see the naga, and after all, they've made it this far, what's so bad about eating a snake?

Azaka says to Gotur "Well? How was it?"

Before the guides proceed, please let me know who of you will do the same, and please roll the CON save.

Once you make the rolls (if anyone else is going up), I will then make the rolls for the guides.

Phillip will try! He eats all kinds of crunchy and slithery bugs anyway. He bashes, then tickles, then lays down with his more-than-amply-wide mouth open, waiting…

CON save: 19 

If all goes well, he attempts to slither up after Gotur…

Gotur slithers up, then attempts to stand once he's up there.

"It's forking weird. But it doesn't feel like it's in there anymore. I thought I was going to barf and mess myself, for a moment there, but it passed."

Evo is last to go and is already green.

"It ain't eating it. Food don't crawl down your throat..."

He mutters as he dry heaves again.

Con save: 22

Apparently having already emptied everything out, he manages?

((Also should have been a plus 3, sorry. Too many characters to keep track of in my head.))

Alton also reluctantly follows the rest of the group, and performs the small ritual before laying down with his mouth open (he would try to pick the smallest possible snake that was available). He closes his eyes and hopes for the best: 

Con Save: 15

All of you do the same thing as Gotur, and the same thing happens to all of you. The snake feels very strange going in, and you probably gag and think you're going to puke... and then all of a sudden it feels better, and you're all able to slither up alongside Gotur to the top of the ziggurat.

Eku and Azaka do the same thing as well!

Saja N’baza’s Shrine

The shrine atop the ziggurat is a simple, rectangular structure of brick. The outside walls are decorated with labyrinth symbols. Beyond the open doorway is a barren, dusty room.

If any of you actually enter the room, as long as you still have your flower and feather, the room instantly transforms before your eyes from the barren dusty room you saw when outside of it into the following. (if you enter without those items, it's just the empty dusty room)

Hanging lamps illuminate the room, while incense burners fill it with exotic scents and curling smoke. Cushions and reed mats cover the floor, pots of blooming flowers line the plastered walls, and singing birds flit from plant to plant.

An immense snake with iridescent scales rests on a heap of cushions opposite the doorway. It rises slowly to a height of 5 feet, staring directly into your eyes as it moves. Its face is remarkably humanlike, and its tongue flicks before it speaks. It looks... pleasant and greets whoever comes in. 

Let me know who actually goes in. Both of the guides are going in for sure. 

The naga says:

"I am Saja N’baza. What do you seek in this ancient place? Speak truly, for I hear your hearts!"

This is what it looks like, and I will get a map of the room set up should anything happen that would require one. I've also added the creature to our Bestiary tab. 

What is next?

((Eku and Azaka would for sure interact with the naga, although I want the party to lead the questions. If there are questions that do not get asked that might be important to the main quest, then Azaka and Eku will chime in.))

((Gotur would have kept feather and flower, after all, we don't know if we'll need to do all those steps in reverse to get back down.))

"Greetings Saja N'baza. I am Gotur. Are you aware of the the troubles facing those who have returned to life after death? We have been sent to end this curse, and it has brought us deep into the jungles of Chult, on our way to Omu."

He's not quite sure how this works, but she seemed to be cutting right to the heart of matters, so he skips the small talk.

Evo tries to collect himself, still clutching the feather and flower tightly in a sweaty fist, and stands next to Gotur, nodding his agreement and adding,

"And this curse seems to be stopping souls from being resurrected or finding their way to where they belong."

Still recovering from momentarily becoming a snake, Alton quietly stares upwards in awe at the powerful Naga. He gives a small bow as a respectful greeting but then stands in the back and allows for the others to ask the questions. 

Phillip continues where Gotur and Evo left off, “… and I havvve a very dear ffff-P’riend, who is now suffff- huh… Sufffff-P’ering…..”.

Phillip’s speech impediment seems to be even worse in the presence of the Naga, or maybe he’s just not choosing his words very carefully. 

After his short sentence, he face just breaks. He looks like a lost child. It’s heartbreaking to see. And he just looks at Gotur and Evo for help, too overwhelmed to say anything else.

With a look of understanding to Phillip he supplies,

"Aye, we know a woman directly afflicted with the curse. Her strength is taken from her little by little each day."

He then has to try and suppress a full body shiver from a snaky tasting burp.

((a little combo of RP and info dump here - hope that is cool!))

The naga listens as Gotur and Evo get right to the point and explain why the party is there and describe the death curse and its apparent source (the Soulmonger, an ungodly necromantic device) and also describe what seems to be going on with the resurrected folks and peoples souls in general. Eku and Azaka would've also assisted with the explanation.

Alton and the others listen intently to her response.

From the look on her face, it seems she is quite pleased when you mention that you seem to be on a quest to end whatever is going on in Chult. 

Phillip, she also sends you a genuine look of sympathy when you explain about Syn and break down.

When you describe everything along with the Soulmonger, she confirms that it indeed fits her visions that she has been having.

She responds:

"This curse you speak of. How it affects the resurrected. And this Soulmonger you speak of. Visions of this I have had. I am still seeking clarity with these visions, although I have my suspicions about the culprits."

"The fact that you all are arriving here before me now and telling me all of this must be a sign of fate. Open your ears, adventurers. I shall tell you what I know."

The word “ras” is a noble title akin to “duke.”

Ras Nsi was once a Chultan paladin, a Chosen of Ubtao and sworn protector of the city of Mezro. He betrayed his oaths and was banished from the city. Becoming a vengeful warlord, Ras Nsi attempted to conquer Mezro with an undead army but was defeated. Rather than seek redemption, he sought revenge and was stripped of his god-given powers. The undead horde, no longer under his control, spread throughout the jungles of Chult.

((I believe the party knew these details specifically about that undead piece from the camps earlier in the game))

Withdrawing to Omu, Nsi clung to his noble title, joined forces with the yuan-ti living there, and underwent a horrible ritual to become a powerful yuan-ti malison — retaining his human head and torso and gaining a serpentine lower body. With Ubtao gone from the world, Ras Nsi and his new yuan-ti followers began searching for a way to bring forth Dendar the Night Serpent and essentially the end of the known world as it is today. 

"Omu. Snake people." Azaka faintly says under her breath as she remembers back to when the party met that faerie dragon in the jungle. 

Ras Nsi has died and been brought back from the dead more than once. Consequently, he also must be suffering from the Soulmonger’s death curse, and that is how this naga believes that Ras Nsi is linked to all of this.

"Perhaps Ras Nsi is using this device in his grand scheme. Perhaps he's learned some type of immunity?"

The naga remembers Ras Nsi’s first uprising, and she urges the characters to kill him both as punishment for his past atrocities and to prevent any possibility of a recurrence, especially given the new information about the curse and soulmonger that the party has told her.

"This has to be connected in some way."

Will there be any other questions for the naga? The naga will be happy to answer and clarify anything she's told you as well as give you more specific details about anything she's told you.

She will have some final remarks when the party leaves, but wanted to give an opportunity for more questions first.

"Or perhaps this Ras Nsi is also wasting away? Do ye know why the other undead aren't affected?"

"Perhaps. I can only hope, friend. Either way, I fear he is involved. Perhaps this device you speak of and the curse it possesses is part of Nsi's ritual to bring forth Dendar. I can only speculate."

"Hmmmm. Nsi's undead... that is a good question." 

((I won't RP this part. I found what I think is a sound explanation/rationale for why the curse doesn't affect undead, let me know if it jives with you all))

So I think there's a difference with magic that resurrects vs magic that animates dead.

When you're resurrected, your body is repaired and your soul is returned into your body (right?) So you are an alive individual. Syn, for example. (in this case, the Death Curse would affect you)

When you're turned into undead, your dead body is animated with magic. You have no soul inside, you are not a person anymore, but just a puppet, like skeleton or zombie. (The Death Curse doesn't affect you.)

Since the soulmonger is stealing souls, it is taking the souls/affecting people with the curse from 1. living people who now die and 2. people who have been resurrected.  It wouldn't take souls (affect) undead since technically they their souls are long gone. Also, Ras Nsi's undead were created before the curse started, but I think the first main point is the one that reconciles it in my mind.

((But undead things with souls in them would be affected? The only ones that might fit the bill I could think of off the cuff would be lichs, that keep their souls nearby, and revenants whose souls inhabit dead bodies. Guessing revenants just get sucked out of their corpses(?) and the lich would be in trouble either way if they can't get souls to feed to their phylactery because the soulmonger mongs them. None of this probably matters!))

((Do the affected become undead? Don't recall if we've heard of anyone afflicted by the wasting dying of it or from other causes, but that'd be a whole nother level of horrifying, if all of these resurrected adventurer's (and adventurer's moms) die and rise as zombies...))

Quote from Rodgeir >>

((But undead things with souls in them would be affected? The only ones that might fit the bill I could think of off the cuff would be lichs, that keep their souls nearby, and revenants whose souls inhabit dead bodies. Guessing revenants just get sucked out of their corpses(?) and the lich would be in trouble either way if they can't get souls to feed to their phylactery because the soulmonger mongs them. None of this probably matters!))

Oh, it matters!!! Especially the lich part! I mean, I guess it's not a huge surprise, just look at the cover of the book. 

You guys are just too experienced! ha! What I mean by that is basically the exact thing that you bring up here is part of the main story in the game. So just keep it meta and all is good!

Quote from Spiderwrangler >>

((Do the affected become undead? Don't recall if we've heard of anyone afflicted by the wasting dying of it or from other causes, but that'd be a whole nother level of horrifying, if all of these resurrected adventurer's (and adventurer's moms) die and rise as zombies...))

Oh wow I didn't even think of that. As far as I can tell, the affected do not become undead when they die. Their resurrected souls (or just regular souls if they haven't died yet) get sucked in by the soulmonger, and then thier soul-less corpse remains, but it is not automatically animated or anything like that.

((I won't get into specific about the lich and if it is affected or not and how/why - that'll come later))

((I updated the Chult map with our progress))