As the Yule parties settle and the heroes move onto their normal daily routine all seems well. 

That is until reports pour in about ice demons coming down from the Wolfskael Mountains. Normally this would not worry the Avalonian heroes as ice demons are very common during the Winter months, but some of these reports say that they are being led by a named Lord which is unheard of. Demons of any kind are creatures from Hell and not generally led by anyone, only controlled by the Hierarchs. So this news left Avalon a little weary. Soon after this news came in, reports about the Mistwood flooded in. The walls and gates were suddenly shut to the world, no one in or out. This did not bode well for the Elves of Avalon as rumors had already been circulating about the Handmaiden. 

The Handmaiden is a Fae of equal power to say the Dragons of the High Lord and the Hierarchs of the Dark Lord. The Handmaiden is said to be the mother of the Elves. It is said that if an Elf were to willingly surrender their free will to her then she would gain dominating control over them and their entire bloodline no matter where they are in the world. Rightfully so the Elves in Avalon grow concerned for the wellbeing of their families and the Queen. 

Needless to say, there was a lot going on for the Avalonian Heroes to deal with. With the Elven matter being discussed and dealt with by the higher nobles the ice demons and Redaps were left to the host to deal with. 

The Redcaps were holding what they called a “Bloody Bout”. It was nothing more than a tournament that they held for their entertainment. Part of said entertainment was holding hostage a piece of land from Ugnet, a city of The Dale, within the Fae realm and they had a hostage that they had taken prior to Yule, the father of Squire Wolfclaw. 

The heroes that had participated in the “Bloody Bout” were victorious over the Fae, and each other. The Redcaps thought it amusing to have the heroes fight one another, even the spectators. The squire was able to rescue her father and Captain Rae of The Dale was able to save Ugnet and have it transported back along with all of its inhabitants. 

Soon after their return, reports came in about a contingent of ice demons making their way closer to Avalon. By order of Warlord Dris, Squire Wolfclaw led the host to battle the icy hell spawn.

During the encounters the demons had drawn triangles in the snow and dirt in an effort to create rituals of some sort but Avalon managed to save the innocents that the demons were trying to sacrifice. The rituals, if they were that, were successfully interrupted. 

The fight was long but not as tough as anticipated. It didn’t go unnoticed that there was no leader among the ice demons that was supposedly a Lord of some sort. This left Avalon a little uneasy, not knowing what was going to happen next. 

But tragedy never seems to end.

A group of younger adventurers had gone to investigate a known Suarien warlock named Hiss. It did not end well, at least not for one of them. A young man named Cloth, had been taken from the group by this Saurian. He stood at the mouth of a rather large Hell Gate, surrounded by twenty plus ice demons. Hiss had given the young ones a choice, either stand strong to fight and all die, or he could take Cloth and the rest could live. Cloth willingly went with the Saurian to save his friends. A noble sacrifice indeed. The group returned to the Host with the bad news and almost immediately plans were starting to form on how to get Cloth back. Getting someone back from Hell was no easy task for sure. It would take a lot of planning and speaking with certain Dragons to ask for aid. Lady Annabelle took on the task to have a vigil and reach out to the Dragon Mardux, The Warden of Souls, for guidance and help. 

Sunday of the gathering, the heroes dealt with some lingering ice demons that still plagued the surrounding area and those younger adventurers were still trying to figure out how to save their dear friend. They finally came to the conclusions that they needed to possibly get a ritual done that would help them get into Hell itself. Not an easy thing to do, let alone how crazy dangerous it would be. 

Suddenly, a divine light filled the Five Lions Inn and there Cloth was on a bench, in pain and agony. The followers of Light gathered around him quickly to use their divine skill to help heal his broken body. Nothing could mend his spirit. That was left for him and his friends to heal. A trip to Hell, willingly or unwillingly, will leave its mark. 

With a breath of relief for the returned young adventurer, Avalon waits to see what will happen next about the ice demons, and possibly this Handmaiden.