For the past two years, the northern coast of the island continent of Talaarius has been rocked by a series of increasingly violent volcanic upheavals. Warned by low intensity earthquakes preceding the main eruptions, the local population has long since fled, leaving behind the ruins of civilisation; empty towns, cities, ports, all now barren of life except for a few solitary dogs wandering ghost-like amidst the empty buildings.

Recently unsettling rumours have filtered through from the sea faring folk who still fish the shores of Talaarius. Whispers in the seaside taverns speak of geysers erupting from the sea, and then collapsing as suddenly into swirling vortexes, sucking whole fishing boats and their screaming crews down into the steaming depths to be cooked alive. Others speak of rivulets of fire glowing in the deeps.

But most disturbing of all the developments have been the ominous rumblings that rattle windows in the coastal cities and towns of the northland. Accompanying the rumblings came a tsunami that devastated many of the southern ports, and in its wake, wild rumours of some malignant force directing the spread of the vulcanism towards the northlands are sweeping throughout the kingdoms of man.

With the mood of the people rapidly climbing to a fever pitch of panic and despair, an extraordinary council has been convened to deal with these events. The priesthood has been able to gain little understanding and the scrying of wizards has produced no result. Thus it has been determined that a small group skilled in magic, and in the favours of the gods, and prepared to deal with any threats that might arise, should go.

Beginnings
The party will land in the northwestern post city of Yednys, abandoned now for the better part of two years. The fishermen say that they occasionally tie up at the derelict docks, but this has become less frequent of late as the ash fallout smothers the town, and the sulphurous air taints and poisons the water in the wells.

More ominously they point to the sea cliffs north of the city, where countless generations were buried. They have evidence, they claim, that the sepulchres have been raided and that bones of the dead are gone, and only the graves clothes remain in the empty tombs. If pressed about the source of the latter knowledge, the fisherman will quickly clam up and it should become obvious to the more astute members of the party that the fishermen themselves have been involved in robbing the tombs, since the departure of the former populace.

While hiking along the sidewalls of a dry valley, along which flows a river of ash the party will stumble across an abandoned encampment – the first sign of someone else’s presence.

Even the most per functionary inspection of the campsite reveals the campers were overwhelmed by a sudden attack that originated from the ash flow, for a multitude of tracks, including obvious drag marks from bodies being towed lead out across the ash flow.

Items of food, shredded blankets and backpacks and cookware have been left. Deep impressions left in the cinders indicate that the attackers were human, the ash perfectly preserving evidence of naked human footprints.

The tracks lead out to the centre of the valley, where a conical depression that resembles a giant ant hole can be glimpsed

The Entrance
The pumice forming the pyroclastic ash flow is giving underfoot, the heavier member of the party sinking up to their knees. When they reach the lip of the conical depression, it can be seen that the sifting ash of the depressions slopes has been much disturbed. At the bottom of the ash cone is an entrance to a shaft, crudely boxed by wooden boards that drops away into complete darkness. From the shaft emerges the top of a ladder.

The Church
Climbing down the ladder will bring the party into the darkened vault of an ancient church, the bright frescoes decorating the walls, now nearly obliterated by the clinging dust. Thick dust also carpets the floor, deadening sounds, but not enough to absorb the sickening rending sounds emanating from beyond a pair of tall double doors that stand slightly ajar.

In the vestry beyond, 3 ghouls fight and claw over the partially dismembered body of a half elf.

Crypts
Here the tombs have been thrown open, and the mouldering remains plundered. Ancient yellow bones and skulls carpet the flagstones, too old and too dry for even the ghouls.

The Village
The ghouls have burrowed between the buried houses of the village, uncovering the entombed bodies of the villagers who asphyxiated in their homes when the village was buried beneath a wall of volcanic ash and poisonous gasses that swept down the valley one night, many months ago. In some of the houses the party will encounter scenes of incredible pathos, parents crouched protectively over their children in their final moments.

The tunnels mined by ghouls are unstable and frequently collapse (5% chance per turn).