Letter to Hayley V

Dear sister,
 
I have gotten in over my head and I need your help. I am in need of some kind of banishment ritual. I don’t suppose you have a collection of spell scrolls in your tiny village?
 
It all started when I promised a poor farmer to find his missing son. I used my divination magic to track him to a strange ruin on the edge of the Bogrun river. It seemed like it was an old keep, perhaps dating from before the time of the Tree, that had sunken in the ground. The only entrance being a window of the top tower that now barely cleared the forest floor.
 
I climbed in and started to descend into darkness. It was immediately clear that the ruin wwasn’t entirely deserted as dust had been cleared and signs of inhabitation were obvious. It didn’t take long before I found out who was living there. I turned a corner and pretty much ran into one of the cultists.
 
I got lucky and reacted just a second quicker, and managed to blow him up. But the explosion did rock the entire keep. I heard shouts so it was clear that there were several cultists in the ruin. They also seemed to have some defense system in place, and the main entrance collapsed, trapping me in with the cultists.
 
Now as you are reading this letter, you have guessed correctly that I survived and managed to make my way out of the ruins. Although, I have to admit it was very much touch-and-go. The cultists had access to powerful necromancy magic, and I had to use all my wits to take out the remaining two without getting killed myself.
 
With the cultists gone, I was able to look around. I found notes that they were devil worshippers, seeking to boost their magic through infernal means. I also found plenty of beds, indicating that there were many more of them, but they just weren’t around. What’s worse, their leader was a man called Hector, a powerful dark wizard that I had heard rumors about. Eventually I found the dungeon, and unfortunately the remains of the son I had been sent to find, as well as several other children that had been sacrificed by the cult. I kept checking all of the cells, hoping for the best, and did manage to find a survivor at last.
 
At first, I thought the survivor was a human girl about our age, but when I got closer, I realized that there was something very wrong with her. Her eyes were black, she had tiny horns and her nails were almost claws. Her skin was pale and she looked very sickly as she was chained to the wall. Whereas all other prisoners had been held captive with a single chain, she had several, limiting her movement.
 
She was clearly some kind of fiend (and not the ordinary tiefling kind). The cultists had been using her for rituals as she was surrounded by magical runes. When she noticed me and saw I was not a cultist, she begged me to help her.
 
I knew I should kill her then and there, and send her back to the Hell from where she came. But I was somewhat distracted as I heard several other cultists return to the ruin, startled to find their defenses triggered. The fiend called out that she could help me escape the cultists if I freed her from her restraints.
 
In normal circumstances, I would have never considered the offer. But I was in no shape to take on a cultist army, and it seemed like a worse idea to leave her there for the cult. Honestly, I also couldn’t stomach killing her in cold blood as I should have. I had just seen a bunch of kids strung up and she looked far too human.
 
So I freed her, shattering the chains that held her back. I prepared to defend myself, but she was still very weak so I actually had to help her up. She thanked me and said her name was Seraphine. Together we limped deeper into the ruins, towards a secret path that she knew about. We hoped to get away before the cult could clear the entrance again. As we journeyed deeper and deeper, I discovered just how large the ruins were. The structure where the cult had their main base and kept their prisoners was just a small section of a much larger underground keep. Several parts had collapsed over the ages, and we were forced to make our way through.
 
Alas we soon ran into a cultist that, I assume had been sent around to find an alternative entrance. This time I was too slow, and the cultist got the upperhand. But Seraphine saved me, throwing her weight into the cultist just before he could launch a killing spell at me. I was surprised to witness her strength, as I keep forgetting that she isn’t a human girl. Her attack on the cultist was vicious, clawing at his face. The cultist didn’t survive, as he was beaten into a bloody pulp.
 
Seraphine was kneeling over the body, covered in blood, and started to shiver and cry. I pulled her away, and used my magic to clean her up. We left the body and continued further down the passage. It took us a few hours, but eventually the ruins gave way to a cave, which emerged in a small forest.
 
I set up a small camp, and Seraphine told me her story, or what she remembered from it. She had been summoned by the cult several months ago. They had performed some kind of ritual to steal her power and give it to their leader Hector. Seraphine described the horrible acts of the cult that she was forced to undergo. In the end, she was very weakened and had lost most of her memories. She only knew bits and pieces, but she did know that as long as Hector holds her essence, she is bound to this plane. Killing her or banishing her, would likely rip her apart. In any case, she was bound to serve, and returning to the Pit after her capture by the cultists would meet severe punishment.
 
I was taken back by how much her story reminded me of Liliana. I never got the impression that Seraphine chose her fate, or that she had any say in who her master was. I know that fiends are dangerous creatures that play on your emotions, and I’ve dealt with my share of skilled manipulators over the years. But I really couldn’t bring myself to kill her or turn her over to whatever priesthood would deal with devils, like any rational person would do. Besides there is still a dangerous cult out there, and the enemy of my enemy is my friend, I think?
 
So I said that I would help her take down Hector and get her power back. Once she was whole again, I would send her back to Hell. Seraphine told me that she understood, and could agree to those terms.
 
Now two issues with my impromptu promise.
 
Firstly, by allying myself with a fiend, there is no way that I can call on any knights or guards to help. There is no one that I trust enough to not attack Seraphine on sight, neither do I fully trust Seraphine with anyone else. This was my decision so I don’t want to put anyone else in danger (that includes you, sis). So it is Seraphine and I against the cult.
 
Secondly, I don’t really have a way to banish anything. Even if we are able to defeat Hector, I cannot on my own send Seraphine back. Hence my earlier request for anything that I could use to banish a fiend. I have attached what little gold I have saved to this letter to cover your expenses.
 
I am sure that you don’t agree with my decision to help Seraphine. And honestly there is a better chance than not that this will get me killed. Although, don’t count me out just yet, I have learned more than my fair share of tricks to hunt down bad guys these past few years. But after everything that has happened, I need to do this. I have to put a stop to this cult, and maybe just once save the girl.
 
Your brother,
 
Luke