OK, here's the situation. I have an npc that has lost it, is insane to the point where she can not, for the most part, be communicated with, and I want my players to have to find a way to 'bring her back.' Ideally this would be like solving a puzzle. There will be clues for them to piece together, and once they figure it out, then they should be able to bring her back to the real world. Now, I just need a puzzle!
Here's the back story, in a nut shell. A few months back the PCs were witnesses to a druidic ritual that went badly, and a major devil was accidentally released. Later, do to circumstances not directly related, the PCs fled the area. Now they've come back, and all hell's broken loose. They've found an old ritual that can imprison the devil, but none of them are powerful enough to lead the ritual.
Ciona, the highest spell caster in the area, one of the druids in the aforementioned ritual, has "never been the same" since the devil was released. The one time the PCs went to visit Ciona (last session) she was being taken care of by her granddaughter. She was in her nightgown, in the middle of the day, her hair unkept, eyes all crazy, was eating her food with her hands, and only half the food was actually getting in her mouth. One of the PCs (who was a bit more involved in the ritual than the others) was trying to talk to her, and she ignored him. When he tried to get her attention, her eyes came into focus and she looked at him. It appeared she was really seeing him and trying to remember something for a few seconds, and then she just flipped out: crying, tossing her bowl of food, cowering from him. The PC decided it was time to leave.
That's pretty much it. Please help me brainstorm! Any good ideas for how the party can get her to snap out of it? I'm drawing blanks here!
Thanks in advance,
Cstyle
Here's the back story, in a nut shell. A few months back the PCs were witnesses to a druidic ritual that went badly, and a major devil was accidentally released. Later, do to circumstances not directly related, the PCs fled the area. Now they've come back, and all hell's broken loose. They've found an old ritual that can imprison the devil, but none of them are powerful enough to lead the ritual.
Ciona, the highest spell caster in the area, one of the druids in the aforementioned ritual, has "never been the same" since the devil was released. The one time the PCs went to visit Ciona (last session) she was being taken care of by her granddaughter. She was in her nightgown, in the middle of the day, her hair unkept, eyes all crazy, was eating her food with her hands, and only half the food was actually getting in her mouth. One of the PCs (who was a bit more involved in the ritual than the others) was trying to talk to her, and she ignored him. When he tried to get her attention, her eyes came into focus and she looked at him. It appeared she was really seeing him and trying to remember something for a few seconds, and then she just flipped out: crying, tossing her bowl of food, cowering from him. The PC decided it was time to leave.
That's pretty much it. Please help me brainstorm! Any good ideas for how the party can get her to snap out of it? I'm drawing blanks here!
Thanks in advance,
Cstyle