Centrum Glacies 2021 Session 1: Prison Break
After starting write ups for my other Dungeons and Dragons Campaign, I decided to give this one some love too. While Centrum Glacies is not an endgame campaign like Cycle of Millennia, the party reached level 9 after this session. Most campaigns don’t last that long.
Like my other campaign, I’m turning this one into a book series. However I’m still working on that project. Give it some time.
Anyway, just like my other campaign, there is a whole lot going on and I don’t want to elaborate on every moving piece in the story. You can see the whole thing once the book series starts hitting virtual and real shelves.
!!!Trigger Warning!!!
This story deals with a cruel world with some horrific twists. So far, this campaign has featured: Animals getting killed, Genocide, lots of body horror, evil cults, brainwashing, torture.
Most recently one of the party members had an eye gouged out and lost an arm. Not exactly the way it happens in Berserk, but that might have been the inspiration for it. The group at large is currently succumbing to magical wounds that appear to be turning them into Demons.
!!!Final Trigger Warning!!!
Lets dive in. So this party had been trapped in a hellish prison for a month. They are psychologically broken, and physically exhausted. But under the worst possible conditions, they escaped. Unfortunately, they had no choice but to free some of the other prisoners.
Considering that this was a maximum security prison, they had discovered that those they freed included a psychotic cannibal, a person with multiple personalities one of which killed people with her bare hands. Worst though was the last of them. An old enemy of the party that they had no choice but to free.
But the party had been trapped in this hellhole for a crime they didn’t actually commit for a month. They wanted out and were willing to do whatever it took to make that happen.
So the party raced towards freedom. This group included: Faustus the mysterious warlock, Trent Westwood the Human Druid with a love for fire, Jyona Thornwreath the Half Elf Artificer who recently lost an eye and an arm causing her to go completely insane and catatonic, and Malcolm the Dwarf Paladin who doesn’t even know half of why bad things keep happening to the group he recently joined.
Not part of the actual party, but nonetheless others traveling with the group as they escape this horrible prison include: Chim an extremely dangerous insane cannibal and serial killer, Shelindris a Dark Elf whow appears to have multiple personalities one of which is a lunatic, Szukli a Naga High Priestess who had made enemies with the party before, and Jai-Hin a Bandit Queen who was actually traveling with the party after a couple bouts of conflict with them in the past.
Confrontation:
But now they were finally free. Or rather they had one obstacle between them and the exit. To escape this horrible prison, this band of accidental and willing criminals had to get passed the Warden and his guards.
The cruel man who had subjected the party to a lot of pain and misery called for more backup. But after none came, he prepared to fight the party himself. Faustus able to see magic, realized that this enemy had some, though he quickly ignored it to stare at the window.
Light from outside woke Jyona from her stupor and she saw the Warden. Ready to kill this monster, she prepared to charge. Though, showing he was a coward at best, this enemy kept his troops between himself and the criminals.
But before battle could start, something unexpected happened. Engelique, a powerful Witch, Platinum Ranked Adventurer, and also the reason the party had ended up in prison to begin with burst through a nearby door. And she wasn’t alone either.
Persephine, an even more powerful Witch, Mythril Ranked Adventurer (making her one of the most powerful people on the planet) and apparently close friend of the other Witch joined her.
They interrupted the fight and instantly killed the Warden and his guards leaving them as paste on the wall. But Persephine wasn’t done. She immobilized the criminals released by the party. Szukli flailed hopelessly in the air, furious that the women she wanted to kill above all others sat alive before her.
Out of Time:
The two witches discussed what to do with the party. Letting them live seemed pointless since they had gotten captured. But before the Mythril Adventurer simply erased the group from existence like she had done to others in their last meeting, the Platinum Adventurer asked for a turn with her unique item.
The group had dealt with both of these Witches before. Though they had many skills at their disposals involving soul draining magic, and insane damage spells, both had one more deadly tool to use.
Persephine possessed an artifact that was one of the essences of Magic itself. Her item let her dispel any and all Magic from any source without fail. The party had watched her slaughter an entire swarm of Dragons in moments by simply removing the magic from their bodies.
Meanwhile Engelique also possessed one of the aspects of Magic. Her item let her control the duration of any and all Magic. Unfortunately, Magic was ingrained into the world itself and the Witch had used this item in the past to freeze the party in time and even put life draining curses on them.
Knowing that they had to go through this deadly Witch who knew their every trick, the party braced for near doom. However, she quickly revealed that while she knew their every trick, they didn’t know most of hers.
Explaining that her mastery of Time started long before she had gained such a powerful artifact, she summoned a staff that appeared to have branching pieces like a clock. Holding this item caused the Witch to blur as if she was moving in and out of flux with reality.
Mastery of Time:
She revealed though that she was just moving insanely fast as she cast an explosion that engulfed the party in flame… twice that is. Explaining that moving double time meant she got double spells, the party almost got taken out at the word go.
The party fought hard against Engelique, trying to use the Witch’s arrogance against her. Jyona, knowing Magic far better than the others, used her own spells to try and slow their enemy down to normal speed. With the battle balanced back into their favor, Trent transformed into a giant scorpion and almost killed her outright.
Jai-Hin who had kept her rage in check, unleashed her increasingly Demonic form upon the Witch, warning the other one standing nearby that she was next. Persephine ignored her.
However, after the Mythril Adventurer teased her friend for holding back against the group, Engelique made use of her strongest item and looped time. For herself that is. Not everyone else. Instead of fire, she used Ice and managed to finish the group off. They all fell down unconscious and in defeat. Was this the end? Had the tale come to an end?
Still Alive:
The group awoke, still alive, but in a place they didn’t want to be. They had escaped the horrible prison, only to end up in Engelique’s lair. Szukli was nearby as was Jai-Hin. The other prisoners were nowhere to be seen.
Engelique and Persephine explained to the group that they had proven more useful than expected. And that meant it was time for the Witches to use the party for their original plan. To deal with the Peacemakers Cult and kill their leader. From their words, this was a Mythril Adventurer like one of the Witches themselves.
Before the two could elaborate, Engelique called out to an unseen observer and told them to make themselves known. Adrenne, a mysterious Vampire who had been the one to break the party out of prison appeared. And she wanted to kill a witch or two.
A point that seemed impossible when like so many others, Persephine used her Magic to pin her to a nearby wall. Asking if she would play nice, the Vampire continued thrashing about.
Discussions:
Faustus tried to throw some insults Engelique’s way. He had learned prior that the Witch got easily enraged when he called her an “old hag”. But his attempts failed this time. Persephine reminded her friend that she could simply silence the fool. And she did. By freezing him in time.
Those annoyances dealt with, the two Witches told the party about their next move. They would join forces with Szukli’s Naga and attack the Imperial Capital. The Serpentine Lady protested until she was reminded that she would never get revenge if she was killed right then and there.
The party wanted to object but realized that was impossible. Engelique had defeated them by herself. Persephine was stronger and as a Mythril Adventurer above the law too.
Though a chance to fight the Peacemakers attracted the groups attention. Faustus was unfrozen so he would understand. And though he protested, asking why the Witches couldn’t do this themselves, they gave him empty answers.
Jai-Hin remained in a fetal position. Her Demon transformation was accelerating and she freaked out when poor Malcolm who continued to wonder how he got drawn into all this got too close. The Dwarf asked how these two witches meant to take on an entire countries capital and the army defending it.
That was something he got an answer to. The City that the party had been blamed for slaughtering down to every man, woman, and child, had served as the fuel to create an entire army of Witches. the sorceresses warped in all around the group to showcase the sort of army Engelique and Persephine had been building.
For Next Time:
With no other choice, the party is teaming up with these deadly enemies who have stringed them along since basically the beginning. They have to join forces with a Naga Priestess who wants to kill everyone she is working with. Oh, and the party is not welcome in the city they will be besieging.
Looks like escaping the prison only made their lives worse. What will happen next?