Daveth Varinius

**Daveth** is a Human Paladin and the Prince of Zephyrus. He assumed the name and identity of Nicolas Blueriver, a soldier who died during the war, and joined the Godslayer expedition.

## Background

Daveth Varinius is the second son and third child of Domitius Varinius. During the war, he defended the city of Zephyrus from the Auhrean invaders, making him a hero among the local people.

After the war, Daveth believed that the way to bring the Kingdom of Zephyrus to its former glory is to find and retrieve the missing artifact, Sword of the Godslayer. With the help of his teacher Minos, he gathered adventurers willing to take up an expedition. He then assumed the identity of a fallen soldier, Nicolas Blueriver, and joined the expedition himself.

## Character Information

### Appearance

Nicolas is a male Human Paladin. He stands tall at six foot, two inches and has brown hair.

### Goals

Nicolas aims to continue serving the Kingdom of Zephyrus and its crown, even outside the military.

## The Campaign

Nicolas immediately answered the Prince of Zephyrus' call for an expedition. He returned to the military base where he grew up and met the other adventurers Azula, Lira and Robrecht who would become his travel companions.

### Into the Wolfswood

*Main Article: Into the Wolfswood*
With horses and equipment borrowed from the prince, Nicolas and the rest of the adventurers travelled through the Wolfswood. They camped near the road at nightfall, and agreed to take turns on watch.

A few hours before dawn, Nicolas was awoken by Lira and Azula, who told him about another suspicious looking camp nearby. Nicolas agreed to join the two to check the place further, while Rob agreed to watch over the camp.

Getting near the other camp, they found it abandoned, though they heard a voice calling them to turn back and leave immediately. Nicolas ignored the voice and continued his approach. An arrow burst through the trees ahead, but he was able to block it with his shield. Lira immediately returned fire, and was able to hit a bandit.

They were flanked by two more individuals, a giant thug carrying a club and an acolyte. As Nicolas tried to talk to them, Azula noticed that they are simply stalling. Just then, two more bandits appeared behind them. Nicolas immediately went for one of the bandit archers and killed him with his lance.

Nicolas was wounded by the giant thug, but he killed him as well, with the help of Rob who arrived later. After the fight, Minos revealed himself and explained that the ambush had been a test to see if they could defend themselves from danger.

### Arrival at the Village

*Main Article: Arrival at the Village*
Nicolas and the rest followed Minos to his camp, and there they found a prisoner: a merchant who was accused of selling fake artifacts to the city's nobles. Nicolas interrogated the man, asking about his source of the artifacts. After some persuasion, the merchant told of a Felwyr hiding at an inn in the Village by the Mountain.

Azula and Nicolas returned to their camp to fetch their things. After meeting back on the road, Minos, Lira and Rob are now accompanied by a Half-Elven foreign monk Nong-Poi, whom they saved from being poisoned.

On their way to the village, they met a woodcutter named Ashvell, who agreed to lead them to the village inn. They arrived at noon and Minos rented two rooms for the group. Lira and Rob started investigating the information they got from the merchant while Minos and Nicolas stayed in the inn.

After the night fell, Nicolas found the village under attack from a pack of werewolves. Nicolas joined his companions while Minos stayed behind to guard Cassana. They all fought the werewolves and managed to kill one. However, two of them got inside the inn. The battle was interrupted by an explosion coming from inside the building, and Nicolas saw one werewolf carrying Cassana into the dark.

### Abandoned Mines

*Main Article: Abandoned Mines*
Nicolas awoke the next day recovering from his injuries. Cassana's uncle pleaded with the group if they could help in rescuing Cassana. The adventurers went to a nearby cave, which used to be a mine. They were joined by Ashvell, three other villagers, and Marley, a Half-Orc who had robbed Rob of his gold.

As they entered the cave, the villagers were suddenly turned to stone. The group quickly realized that they were under attack by a basilisk.

The adventurers managed to kill the beast while averting their gaze. Azula extracted the stomach of the basilisk to cure the petrified victims, but before she could use it, the floor they were standing on collapsed. They all fell down into a pool of water except for Lira.

As they explored the cave, they found a chasm where a group of kobolds were digging. The creatures were guarded by a duergar and a drow scout. The group sneaked towards the creatures, passing through an empty room. Rob and Lira prepared to attack from above the chasm, while Nicolas and the others all fought at the bottom.

Nicolas was assaulted by numerous kobolds, but he managed to fend them off unharmed. Three other kobolds released a giant spider to attack them but they also managed to kill it effortlessly.

### The Ritual

*Main Article: The Ritual*
The group decided to take a short rest inside the kobold's sleeping area. After an hour, they continued exploring the caverns and they found a prisoner inside a dungeon. Ashvell recognized the prisoner as Otheric, a drow warlock who was infatuated with Cassana. The prisoner explained that Cassana had been abducted by his fellow cult-members, worshippers of Maev, to be used as the new body for the dead Fey Queen.

The group continued on and eventually reached the grand hall, where they saw three dark-elf warlocks guarded by the drows and duergars. The ritual to resurrect Maev was already underway. Otheric told them that to save Cassana, they needed to bring the bow as far as they could from her.

Both Marley and Lira immediately entered into the room to interrupt the ritual. Marley sneaked behind the pillars to kill one of the cultists while Lira's animal companion, Scout, dashed to grab the bow. However, it got knocked off by an arcane shield.

Everyone joined in for the fight. Otheric rushed for Cassana, while Nicolas fought the drow and duergar guards. Two of the dark-elf warlocks transformed into werewolves, and one of them almost killed Marley. Nicolas managed to fatally wound the third dark-elf warlock before Nong-Poi finished it off.

In turn, Marley, Rob and Azula picked up the magic bow, but were unable to hold it for long due to its enchantment. Despite the weapon cracking ominously each time they held it, they successfully halted the ritual and kept it from the cultists.

When the fight ended with the bow still safely intact, Otheric revealed that the weapon had belonged to Maev and contained her spirit. Since the queen had been against all non-elven races, it kept all except elves from holding it. Coincidentally, Lira and Nong-Poi, the only two capable of handling it safely, had not touched it before then. Ashvell lifted Cassana and the group left the cave through a staircase at the back of the hall.

Before they returned to the inn, Azula used the basilisk's stomach acid to restore the petrified villagers.

Back at the village, Cassana thanked them and allowed them into her father's library. As the three who could read Elven, Lira, Azula and Nong-Poi spent a day going through the hundreds of journals. Nicolas and the others brought them food as they worked. Eventually, they learned about the temple-island where Tullius and his fellow Felwyrs hid the Godslayer.

The next day, as Nicolas talked to the villagers, he came upon a merchant who would be traveling to Soliton, the port city up north, to deliver his wares. Nicolas talked to the group and they all agreed to join the merchant in his journey, since the only way to get to the temple island was by riding a boat from the port city.