Corina & the Glabrezu

Celestial

The party interrupts a sacrifice and faces demonic consequences.

The party travels another day along the High Road. As the sun sets, they see 3 young women playing near the road. They seem to be celebrating something...   The party approach the young women and find out that they are celebrating a ceremony that will take place this evening. After hearing there is a feast, Garret boldly asks if the party may join them in this celebration, to which the women accept. After a short journey down a path to the woods, the party arrive at a small campsite. The party is skeptical but accepting of the hospitality. It doesn't take long for Garret to notice the camp is comprised solely of women varying in race. Through various conversations, the party discovers that all of the women in the camp were saved by the matron leader, Corina, and that this celebration is to honor her as well as welcome their newest member, Tara.   After the feast, the women gathered around a large fire pit. Corina brought Tara to the pit and the ceremony began. Tara walked into the flames. She was unharmed as the flames swirled around her and burned the clothes from her body. The fire grew and engulfed all of the women around the pit, burning their clothes from their bodies as they sat in a trance-like state. Moments later, the flames fell and Tara's body exploded, revealing a hideous demon. The sight of its crimson skin and black horns shook Marri'Elle to her core as it brought back buried memories. The demon reached out to another young girl, Abagail, and began to strangle her with its claws.   Upon seeing this, the party leapt in to action to save her and stop the demon. In a rage, it began summoning other demons and killing the women in their trances. Reginald fought valiantly but was overcome by the demon and knocked unconscious. Inches from death, he was saved at the last moment with a potion by Garret. Marri'Elle steeled her resolve and engaged the beasts with the rest of the party and they were ultimately victorious. When the demon was slain, they saw an unconscious and unharmed Tara laying in the pit. Five women, including Corina, were killed. Two escaped after regaining consciousness and fled the camp.   After the battle, Reginald resurrects Selene, a woman he believes to be innocent in all this. Meanwhile, Marri'Elle and Valamin investigate the main tent to find the other two women who ran. Inside, they find Corina's spell book and evidence that the women escaped out the back. They step out and tell Trinn and Reginald. Trinn offers to stay and comfort the surviving girls with Garret while Reginald offers to help them track down the other two.   The trio sprint off in to the woods. After about an hour, they catch up to the exhausted women leaning against some trees. The women are skeptical at first of the trio, but after some convincing, the party escorts them back to camp. Once they arrive, the party tries to piece together everything that has happened and make some sense of it all. One of the women who fled, Kella, turned out to be close to Corina. She tells the party what and why Corina was doing.   Corina rescued people in the region out of a sense of guilt for dooming it. When the cataclysm opened in Neverwinter, smaller ones appeared in the nearby regions. Most were dealt with by Waterdeep, but a small opening appeared near Corina's home. She made a deal with a demon to seal it shut in exchange for her soul and a sacrifice every decade. Corina started this small tribe of women after saving a number of them from various perils. She convinced them that it was an honor to be part of the ceremony and that it was what gave her the power to save other women. Kella explains that the seal has broken with the deal and that they are in danger.   Furious with this manipulation, Trinn casts Magic Missile point blank to Kella's face and kills her before anyone can stop him. Stunned, the rest of the party looks at him with shock and mild horror. They decide to table it for now and care for the remaining women, who are fast asleep after a trying evening.   The party decides to take Corina's body, cast gentle repose, and stuff it in the Bag of Holding.