Bryce

## Background

Bryce was protected by a minotaur, Remy, in his youth before meeting The Party. His birth was foretold in a Prophecy. A child would be born bathed in flames that would destroy the world as they know it. At a young age, Bryce's village was destroyed by a band of mercenary minotaurs and orcs.

## History

### 1370s

While The Party had been searching for clues to lead them to the source of child abductions, the party found Bryce sitting in a field by himself. Lucia snuck up behind him, grabbed him, and ran back towards the party. Bryce panicked and immediately burst into flames, badly burning Lucia. Lucia was then taken off-plane by a Balor.

Remy, enraged that Bryce was not where he was supposed to be, charges at the party, and engages in a small fight. Both he and Remy join the party in their cause to save Bryce and the world. During The Party's travels, Remy asks Jon to train young Bryce to knightly arms, to which request Jon agrees.

Throughout his time with the party, several small bands of creatures were dispatched to collect Bryce, all of which failed. Bryce remained with the party until the raising of the City of Hope when he was sent back to Archenbridge to live in the safety of the church of Lathander with Jon's foster mother, Stellaga Brightstar. Remy, of course, accompanied him.

The party learned, by missive, that they needed to return to Archenbridge immediately. When they arrived, they had learned that Bryce was missing. Remy, in his rage at losing his ward, destroyed the church and the courtyard. Attempts at scrying were showed them a tower room facing the sea and coastal birds. The Party, joined by Remy, journeyed to Cormyr along the Sea of Fallen Stars in an attempt to find the location seen in the scrying bowl.

In MR 37, after consulting with Silas, The Party is taken to the Anauroch desert, to a temple of Oghma. The Party goes through the temple into a tunnel that leads them into a deep crevasse. Inside this pit, there are 14 10' statues of various powers of the lower planes. From the players entrance and moving clockwise: Loviator, Umberlee, Bane, Talos, Shar, Malar, Velsharoon, Lloth, Vhaerun, Cyric, Gorgauth, Set, Asmodeus, and Talona.

A dais, ringed with braziers and topped with an alter, raises from the center. The Party arrives to see Bryce tied to the alter, sleeping. Jonoleth Palantas is stunned by the sheer magnitude of evil emanating from this place. From a hidden tunnel across from the party emerges Aritor Cain, dressed in full ceremonial robes. He utters a few words and Bryce begins to squirm as though trapped in a terrifying nightmare. He bursts into flames, lighting the trail of oil leading from him to the braziers. As the area is lit up, The Party is able to see, hidden in the shadows, minions of each power ring the pit.

A mighty battle rages on while The Party is tries to save Bryce, destroy Aritor, defeat the monsters, and survive themselves. Aritor Cain is able to get close enough Bryce and begins the final stage of the sacrifice. Aritor raises the Blade of Betrayal above his head. As he brings his hands down to plunge the dagger into Bryce's heart, Bryce opens his eye and, terrified by both the nightmare he woke from and the twisted visage of the man above him, shrieks in fear and flames explode from him with such force that his captor is thrown backwards into the wall and crumples into a heap. The statues nearby start to fall and one of them obliterates Aritor's body.

They recover the dagger and explore the hidden tunnel which leads them to a secret preparation chamber. Jon is stunned again by the sheer amount of evil emanating from this room. The chamber contains a summoning circle in which currently resides a Pit Fiend, Erasmus. The Pit Fiend offers them the deal of information about Lucia's current whereabouts for the dagger that killed Aritor. They agree and are given information about where to look for Lucia next.

Bryce and Remy remain with the party while the continue their search for Lucia.

### 1380s

Sometime after the start of The War, The Party found a soulgem containing Bryce's soul in a demilich skull in the Dead Nations of Sigil.