Cycle of Millennia 2021 Session 25: A Whole Lot of Trickery
Here is week 25 of my 2021 Dungeons and Dragons Campaign Cycle of Millennia. Lets go over session 25: A Whole Lot of Trickery.
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!!!
Grez returned to Mongress to check up on Tine the shopkeeper. He wanted his artificial moon artifact and was willing to put up with stupidity even to get it. Or so he thought.
Instead, he haggled Tine who asked him to figure out what the Dark Elves and Orcs needed. The Monk groaned since he had more important things to take care of. But he needed that artifact. So this was his only choice of action.
The Orcs and Dark Elves didn’t trust this turn of events. When Grez told them about Tine and how she wanted to help them, both groups showed suspicion. They had not come up to the surface in a while. Tine must have used Magic to find them. And since Grez decided for some reason not to tell them how Tine was a self taught Witch, they assumed that she worked for one of their mutual enemies.
Threats:
Grez threatened them as he tended to when he didn’t get his way. The Monk even went so far as to imply he would slaughter everyone in this cave himself if they didn’t give in to his demands. Rengar the Orc commented that if Tine ended up being an enemy they would all die. Begging Grez to see their point of view ended up being pointless.
Grez somehow got what he wanted and returned to Tine and gave her list of needs. She expressed surprise that he had succeeded. After all, she was a Mage and had scryed the Orcs and Dark Elves to learn more about them. Her very existence screamed suspicious.
Still, as a reward for his work, she gave him list of what she needed and offered 25 % discount as thanks. Grez felt pleased with his form of “diplomacy” and continued on his way.
Questions:
Grez returned to Lord Death with his list. The rest of the group awaited him there. They had spent that same time arguing amongst themselves. Notably asking why Caic had moved to kill the Blind Seer.
Lord Death gave an answer to that riddle. Turned out that even though the Wereboar curse was gone, Kranaak still had a hold of his mind. As the group deliberated how this could be, Velkora revealed the answer. Her alchemist stone had been corrupted. And while the item had been reduced to a chunk of iron now, at one point she had used it to heal each member of their group.
The Death Knights returned to the Necropolis soon after Grez. And they brought troubling news. They informed the party that the Matron had reported them for the Blind Seer’s murder. Paladins and the Charice Faithful were coming to Mongress at this very moment.
Blind Fury:
Grez rushed back to Mongress in haste to find and confront the Matron. He attempted to leave the rest of the group, but they followed him anyway.
The party chased after him as he barged into everywhere in the city. He broke down doors at the inn, ran around the colosseum, and even charged into Tine’s shop once more. Hadron continuously reminded him that there was no point in smashing up a city that they had spent so much time rebuilding.
Despite their best efforts, the Matron was not found anywhere. None of the Orcs, Dark Elves, or Tine knew where she was. None had seen her or the children. Considering how few Humans there were in Mongress, they would have stood out.
Grez finally thought to ask Artin. She was separate from the rest of the city due to tending the farm and fields on the outer perimeter of the city. As luck would have it, she had seen the kids and Matron.
Furious Chase:
They had left north away from Mongress according to the Druid. So the Monk only had one course of action. Not one the rest of his companions agreed with. Especially since they couldn’t keep up with his speed.
Grez chased after them and followed the trail for three days towards Innovia City. By this point he was almost an entire day ahead of the rest of the group. Not that he cared.
In an event that seemed almost completely contrived, he found the Matron and the kids right in front of the cities main gate. Despite the fact that he was being watched by countless mercenaries and troops loyal to Moshe, he rushed towards her. The kids huddled behind her in fear.
Being as fast as he was, Grez grabbed the Matron and flew with her into the air. He tried to threaten her and make her explain why she had summoned multiple enemies to Mongress. Rather than give in like most people in her situation, she laughed at him and used Charice Gas.
Grez passed out. Even he was powerless against the enchantment of an actual God. Hadron had also managed to catch up at the wrong time. He had used magic to run ahead of the party and try and stop Grez from doing something foolish. As a reward for his hard work, he also passed out, being just as powerless as his companion against this magic.
Tricks:
Caic and Velkora reached the city a day later and found the two unconscious. The Matron was gone, as were the kids. Grez was furious, but the others convinced him to return to Lord Death. His revenge would need to wait.
They returned to the necropolis. They didn’t expect what happened next.
Rose was there. I turned out all that they had just been dealt with was a trick orchestrated by Orabaras. Rose had created an illusion of Death Knights to trick the party into going to Mongress. The Goddess had hoped they would get arrested and be out of the way for a while.
The Party tried to get information out of Rose, but she was compelled to not reveal. Even with such compulsion she let them know a few important tidbits. Velkora felt guilt at putting her at times friend in such a horrible position. Every time the woman said things against Orabaras’ wishes, she screamed in immense pain.
Rose left, leaving the party frustrated and confused. Lord Death then explained how soon after the group had left, he unmasked the plot. A shame that the group had wasted multiple days on a chase that almost proved fatal, or at least deadly. Orarbaras did not appear to want them dead.
One Ally:
Wondering what they should do next, Lord Death recommended that they seek out Antoinette. Given that she was also enemies with most of the Gods, and technically Hadron’s boss, it was the most logical thing to do. She managed to sense that they needed her. She telepathically relayed her location. The group found themselves at the altar where a Cultist they had killed prior had sacrificed babies right from their mother’s wombs.
She revealed that the Matron had been the one who had kidnapped people from Mongress. Not only did this bode ill for the group, but Hadron especially wondered what would happen to those kids. The group didn’t even know who or what was real. Orabaras and Kranaak were both masters of confusion and discord. Were they even talking to the Vampire right now? Was this another trick?
Confrontation:
Before she could divulge more, Shalandra and Doreena appeared. This was not good obviously. The entire reason that the party sought to kill Nihilinn Cultists was due to the magic barrier their lives maintained. Barriers that made the two Rogue Death Knights standing before them invincible. Declaring that killing these minions would no longer be tolerated, the two intended to use their unfair advantage to kill the party.
The party alongside Antoinette fought them both. Grez talked a big game but feared that his attacks wouldn’t work. Too late for regrets he moved to fend Doreena off. Both realized that she was vulnerable. The Death Knight freaked out and tried to flee.
This wasn’t the first time that the group had fought invisible foes. It didn’t take long to find the fleeing Doreena. However, Shalandra had other plans. And her barrier was completely intact. She used her unique weapon to steal one of Hadron’s spells. Specifically his polymorph spell. Transforming into a massive Black Dragon, she attacked the group in hopes of protecting her ally.
A Death Knight Falls:
But the group outmaneuvered the invulnerable Dragon and brought Doreena to the brink of death. That left Shalandra with one option. Rather than let the party do the deed, she struck a fatal blow. Doreena fell by her companion’s hand. But there was a reason that this happened. By killing her, Shalandra now possessed her rune. Even Grez stopping time couldn’t prevent this.
Armed with her friends abilities, and the body of a massive Dragon, the group would be in danger if they fought. Shalandra still was invincible, and that was without all the abilities she currently possessed. Antoinette saw no alternatives and teleported the party to safety. Finding themselves before Lord Death once more, they reported what had happened.
More Questions:
The group returned to Mongress. They didn’t need to wait long for the armies that Rose had warned about. Calni led a contingent of Paladins. She demanded to know what Caic had done. She had heard horrible rumors and wanted the truth from his mouth.
After he explained himself truthfully, Calni got interrupted by Grez who had some things to share. Informing her that the Matron was affiliated with Nihilinn he let her know that they had no choice in killing the Blind Seer. Calni reminded them that she was an Inquisitor and that she really had no issue with them killing a servant of an evil God.
But she and the Paladins were not the problem. The Charice Faithful and Innovia itself were the issue. So she offered to put Caic on trial. Even if it was a farce, it was what needed to be done for the sake of the group walking free.
Unfortunately, before they could make anything happen, a second group appeared. The Charice Faithful had arrived. Their leader happened to be named Vinetta. Strange considering one of the orphans shared that name. After all the weird happenings recently, the group was on even greater guard than normal.
Foolish Choices:
Everyone except a certain Dwarf that was. Caic dug himself a hole and got arrested when he should have remained silent. He continued running his mouth to the Charice Faithful. They were not as forgiving of his behavior as his fellow Paladins.
The party discussed their options with Calni. She claimed that the Matron and the orphans realy were in Innovia City. Though it wasn’t clear who Grez had encountered at the capital gates earlier. Whoever that had been had used Magic.
Next the group sought out Lord Death once again. This time the actual Death Knights appeared warning that Kranaak was attacking Innovia City. This all seemed too convenient. After Lord Death confirmed that the knights were real, and not another trick, the group deliberated what their options were.
The party was left now wondering if Vineta the priestess of Charice was also the orphan Vineta. This idea was of course insane. But the three were going against multiple reality warping Gods. They couldn’t ignore any possibility.
More Truths:
Lord Death also revealed another drastic thing to the already convoluted chain of events The Revenants that had hounded the party were his servants in a way. The gauntlet they had held possessed no powers. When Velkora demanded to know why he hadn’t told them, Lord Death admitted that he was amused by the entire situation. Though he reminded them that even a gang of them posed no threat to this group.
Why had he chosen to reveal such information? One of the items needed for Grez’s moon item is Revenant flesh. He also needed Banshee flesh, and Demon bones. Awfully convenient that all of those things were in easy reach right now.
With all the gaslighting and trickery, the party doesn’t know whom to trust and what is truth. Things are only getting more dire as they learn that more and more of their allies have been enemies all along.
Wrap Up:
They decided to go to Innovia City. Falling to Kranaak only benefits the Demon God as well as Nihilinn, the God of Death. The group will have to risk getting arrested. Caic for the time being is on his own.