Cycle of Millennia 2021 Session 5: Back to the Elves
Here is week 5 of my 2021 Dungeons and Dragons Campaign Cycle of Millennia. Lets go over session 5: Back to the Elves.
Don’t forget that this campaign has been ongoing for over three years. There is a lot of story to cover and I’m writing a book series to document it all. I am adapting this adventure into a book series. The first three are on Amazon.
!!!Trigger Warnings Abound!!!
This campaign takes place in an incredibly unpleasant setting. The party has dealt with Human Traffickers, Sex Slavery, Child Sacrifice, The Apocalypse, Genocide, Wicked Cults, and other related topics.
There is a God of Madness that is fond of causing auditory and visual hallucinations, makes use of psychic gaslighting, commands the literal legions of hell, and all around causes untold suffering in the setting.
Essentially, nothing is off the table in this campaign. If the above ideas are not ones you want to think about, I do not think this blog series is for you. That is not a problem and does not indicate any failings on your part. I am a storyteller that does not shy away from the darkest topics. It would be horrible for me to not warn my audiences of this in advance.
!!!Final Trigger Warning. Past this point there be dark topics!!!
After their most recent horrifying encounter with madness itself, the party consisting of Grez the Monk, Hadron the Barbarian/Warlock, Caic the Paladin, and Velkora the Artificer planned their next move. The ruined land where Mongress once stood had been left desolate and barren. If the group wanted to restore the city, the first needed to heal the land around it.
Knowing that Druidic Magic would be needed, the party remembered an old friend who lived in the Northwestern Elven Swamp, Artin. It didn’t take long for all four with Rose the Sorceress as a fifth ally to deem that their next destination
Before the group headed to the Elves, Hadron asked Lord Death about Matron’s loyalty. Considering one of the orphans in her care is his only living relative, he has a lot vested in her safety. He didn’t forget that sleeper agents serving the God of Death had kidnapped pregnant women and ripped their babies from them in cruel rituals. If the Matron was connected to this, he considered striking her down.
However, Lord Death did not detect the scent of death on her at all. Her loyalty was to the children in her care and only them. Trusting his words, the Barbarian held no other fears and resolved to talk to Artin.
Talk with Thea:
The group returned to the Elves. Grez continued to show hostility towards them since they refused to make an artifact for him in the past. He refused to acknowledge that they refused since making a mini moon was considered one of the most sacrilegious things any Elf could possibly commit.
The group didn’t get much time to wander the Elven village before they happened to get snatched to another realm. Since this happened so frequently to this group of demigods, instead of surprise, they simply waited to see who summoned them this time. It turned out to be Thea high Priestess of Orabaras Goddess of Domination and Knowledge as well as the technical boss of both Velkora and Rose.
She demanded to know why they the group had traveled back to Spatia when Innovia was the center of a world spanning conflict. When the group mentioned their intent to use Druidic Magic to restore Mongress, the powerful Wizard scoffed and reminded them that her Goddess’s power would be more than enough to accomplish the task.
Caic had no interest in working with her. Considering that he served the God in direct opposition to hers, this didn’t surprise anyone. But the rest of the party did not see things quite in the black and white way that their Paladin ally did. Instead they asked if she would oppose them.
She claimed she would not, but randomly reminded them of a certain Stone Giant who had once annoyed her, and his fate. The group shared a few laughs over this conversation. That is until they realized she described this in the present tense. Apparently Sneak Peak was still alive and once again transformed into a chicken.
Talk with the Elder:
Content that the powerful woman would not interfere with their goals, the group left Thea and returned to Elves. Immediately, Hadron shouted loud enough for the entire swamp to hear him. Demanding Artin to appear the party got summoned to Elf Elder. Most likely the other Elves wanted some peace and quiet.
After speaking to the Elder, the group found out that Artin was currently away, but would be back soon. This annoyed them and the pushed to Elder to tell them where to find her. They did not have time to wait. There was a Tarrasque killing innocent people. Not to mention three evil Gods were having their way with the world.
But the Elf Elder did not change his mind. He repeated that she was away and would return soon. Instead, he urged the group to go wait in the village to pass time. Finally, he also reminded the group not to make sacrilegious demands of his craftsman.
Unexpected Enemies:
With no other options, the group decided to go outside and wander the village. However, things turned violent quickly. The group carried that artifact after all and the Revenants appeared to attack the party once more. The Elven guards drew their weapons as well, refusing to allow Undead to wander near their homes.
Soon after battle began, something quite unexpected happened. The party was pulled into another pocket dimension. Faravel appeared and was ready to fight again. Apparently Caethia’s warning rang true, as her dangerous companion and major servant of the God of Madness Kranaak informed them that he wouldn’t let them flee this time until he found himself enjoying their fight.
Faravel was a deadly foe and the party had faced him before. But he brought out even more tricks than before. For one, he was capable of swinging multiple weapons in the blink of an eye and almost decimated the party in short order.
Only through Hadron transforming into an Ancient Black Dragon, and Grez making use of his most potent power transformation did the group entertain the fallen Berserk Knight long enough for him to let them go. But they still had another fight happening when they returned.
Cleaning Up:
When they returned to the Elf village, it was if no time had passed. Though the appearance of a Black Dragon caused all Elven bows to train on Hadron. He quickly explained who he was. Good thing the Elves believed him.
Rose however was baffled by the sudden changes. Velkora and Caic were near death, Grez was overflowing with power and literally was glowing with it. Meanwhile, Hadron was a Black Dragon. Time had not moved at all for her and she was unaware of the other fight that had just transpired.
Hadron, using his Dragon form finished off the Revenants before they could steal Velkora away. She had the artifact and couldn’t fight back. A good thing Hadron still cared enough about her to save the mostly Human woman.
Wrap Up:
Once again the group has overcome insane odds. But things will only increase in danger. Faruval is the weakest of the three Fallen Berserk Knights. It is likely the other two will want a round with this group as well.