The Ritual

"The Ritual" is the latest episode in the Dungeons and Dragons campaign, Sword of the Godslayer. It follows episode three, "Abandoned Mines"

Synopsis
''The adventurers find a drow imprisoned down the caverns. Meanwhile, a dark ritual could bring forth a very powerful Queen from the dark ages.''

A Dark-Elf Prisoner
Following the defeat of the kobolds, the adventurers decided to take a rest inside the empty room. Ashvell insisted on moving forward, but Azula persuaded him to wait. They rested for an hour and prepared to get deeper into the caverns.

Adjacent to the chasm, there's another door. Marley entered and found a prison dungeon. As the rest pushed Marley inside, they awoke one of the prisoners. Ashvell recognized this as one of the villagers, Otheric, the dark-elf Azula and the rest caught arguing with Cassana the day before. They asked him what he is doing imprisoned under the caverns and he told them why Cassana was abducted and what the rest of the werewolves are planning to do with her.

Return of the Fey Queen
Otheric, together with the other drows who abducted Cassana, are all members of a cult who wanted to bring Maeve, the Fey Queen of Air and Darkness and ruler of the Unseelie Court, back to life. Centuries ago, Maeve rebelled against her sister Titania and marched against the other races of the Material Plane.

However, she was defeated by the humans she persecuted, and she was executed here, in this very place by the mountain where the village now stands. Her body was burned, however, her disciples, who are mostly dark-elves, scattered and continued to worship her.

Cassana's mother was a descendant of Maev's mother, and being a half-elf like the Queen, she is the perfect host for her spirit's return. Otheric objected to their plan as he has fallen in love with Cassana. She asked the young half-elf that afternoon to marry him and run away together, but she rejected him. Otheric tried to stop the dark-elves from abducting Cassana, so they imprisoned him inside their dungeons.

Saving Cassana
After explaining, Marley heard footsteps from outside the dungeon. Another duergar stepped in, bringing food for Otheric. Lira collared the dwarf and Marley slammed a plate to his face to stop him from screaming. They exchanged the duergar with Otheric's place and Lira unlocked the item on Otheric's neck, which apparently is a magic item that stops its wearer from casting spells. They then headed to the next chamber where Marley found and pocketed some jewelry.

Above the chamber is another room which appears to be a kitchen. There, they found Cassana's items, including her clothing, and a box of healing potions. Overlooking the kitchen is the grand hall where they saw the ritual to resurrect the Fey Queen already under way. Otheric explained to the group that they have to take away the Bow that the drows uses to perform the ritual, as that's the only way to stop it.

As the rest of the adventurers prepared themselves for battle, Marley rushed towards the altar, sneaking from pillar to pillar. Lira ordered her animal companion Scout, a giant weaver, to run for the bow and grab it. One of the drows noticed Marley however, but not before stabbing another drow in its chest.

The Grand Hall Battle
After the other guards were alerted by the group's presence, a fight ensued. Scout was knocked off by the Bow which appears to be protected by magic. The drow Marley has wounded started transforming into a werewolf. Otheric ran towards the Bow, and Ashvell and Nicolas fought the other drow guards. One of the warlocks cast the spell calm emotions to the group to which only Lira got affected.

The adventurers managed to kill all the guards easily. The werewolf knocked Marley down, but Rob, with the help of Nong-Poi, managed to kill it with his magic missiles. Nicolas stabbed one of the drow in its chest with his lance and Nong-Poi landed a killing blow by grabbing inside the drow's open wounds. Nong-Poi and Rob helped up Marley and healed him with a potion. Afterwards, they tried to grab the Bow; they each both managed to hold it but they couldn't withstand the immense arcane energy that covers the weapon.

Meanwhile, the remaining drow also transformed into a werewolf, and tried to resume the interrupted ritual. It reached out for the Bow, held by Rob, and they struggled to pull the the weapon towards each other. Rob dropped the weapon from the scramble, causing those attuned to magic to feel a pulse emanate from it. After Azula's prompting, Otheric warned them about damaging the weapon, explaining that it is a vestige, an object where Maev's spirit is trapped. If the weapon is destroyed, her spirit gets loose and it might mean danger for the adventurers. Azula and Nong-Poi stood guard for the weapon, but the werewolf easily pushed them away.

The werewolf reached for the weapon lying on the floor, just as it is about to stomp it with its feet to release Maev's spirit, Nicolas pushed his lance to the creature's back and it falls down dead.

With all their enemies dead, Ashvell helped regain Cassana to health. Otheric let Lira grab a hold of the Bow, explaining that only an Elf can hold it safely, it being cursed by the human-hating Fey Queen. He warned her however that the Fey Queen's spirit could still set free if the Bow gets broken, and even she is in spirit form, she is still a danger to the group. They escaped the cavern through a hidden exit that led to the haunted manor. Cassana thanked the group for saving her, and Otheric walked away, having betrayed his patron and his cult.

The adventurers went to the abandoned cave and healed the petrified villagers with the basilisk gut they recovered. They returned to the Inn afterwards.

Tullius' Journals
The next morning, Cassana called over the adventurers to thank them one more time. As a gesture of goodwill, she allowed the group to enter her father's hidden library by the cellar. She accompanied them downstairs and opened the room through a secret door by the shelf. They all beheld a large chamber filled with books. Cassana told them that her father lived for 700 years and that these books are his journals he wrote during his lifetime.

Lira, Azula and Nong-Poi spent the whole afternoon researching inside the library. They discovered that Tullius was a respected high-elf who was bestowed the title "Diviner". He became a diplomat for the humans of Zephyrus, and that's when he became a Felwyr. He was among the warrior-monks who escaped with the sword during the barbarian invasion. Finally, the journal documents how the Felwyr hid the Godslayer inside their ancient temple on an island along Leona's Bay.

The adventurers decided to wait for another day before heading off to the island, and Minos agrees after Nicolas convinces him. Lira set off to concentrate attuning her new weapon, Bow of the Fey Queen; while Rob spent time with the children of the village telling them stories from the children's book he borrowed from Cassana. Azula spent her time inside the library, reading what she could from Tullius' Journals when she was not looking out for Lira. Marley tried selling the loots he got from the cavern, to no avail. Nicolas met with some of the villagers, and that's where he was told of a merchant named Brad that routinely travels to Soliton who can help them get a boat to the temple-island. The group agreed to depart the day after.

The next morning, Nicolas and the rest visited the merchant, and told them that they'll be travelling to the city of Soliton to find a ship that can bring them to an island along Leona's Bay. Brad delightfully agrees to help the group, and Rob recognizes the merchant's daughter, Lisa, among the children who grew fond of him. Lisa asks her father if she could come, but he refused. She also asked Rob and the rest, but they all disagreed. The girl started crying until Nicolas gave her a silver coin and the child ran off to the market.

The group departed the village, tagging behind the merchant and his wagon of goods.

Godslayer Expedition

 * Azula
 * Lira
 * Marley
 * Minos
 * Nong-Poi
 * Nicolas
 * Rob

Villagers

 * Ashvell
 * Brad
 * Cassana
 * Castor (Cassana's uncle)
 * Lisa
 * Otheric
 * Tullius (mentioned)

Next Episode
This episode is followed by "Journey North" where the group travels to Free City of Soliton.