Centrum Glacies 2022 Session 27 Cut Out
Week 27 in 2022 of this Dungeons and Dragons Campaign in Centrum Glacies continues as the party still diminished with Jyona Cut out.
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!!!
A Red Dragon stood between the party and clearing out the Cult base. And that same Dragon had just slaughtered a ton of children. There was no remorse or pity for this creature. The three Adventurers plus Vampire killed it cruelly.
As many Dragons tend to, this one was guarding treasure. The party finally was gaining riches after living in near poverty for most of their adventuring careers.
On the opposite side from the treasure room, the party found a hallway filled with spike traps. They only discovered said traps because Trent remained in Water Elemental form. After dodging the first trap, the Druid spread water around the room setting off the rest. But someone had activated the traps in this room. There were more Cultists nearby.
Trent defeated all the traps and dodged the ice that was supposed to slow him down. At this point it was clear that the Cult of Obsidian was trying to stop them and had observed their tricks.
No More Mercy:
While other initiates had come off more sympathetic and appearing hesitant to kill, the group near the spike traps had employed multiple kill methods and got no mercy. Only one survived. And that one initiate almost fell into their own spike traps. They lived because Malcolm showed them mercy. The grumpy Dwarf made sure to impress this upon the young Dark Elf.
Besides the one room that Adrenne had warned them to avoid, the Group had cleared out a large section of the Obsidian base. But they intended to clear out the rest of this place and so returned to that first area where they felt an ambush nearby.
Intimidation:
Sure enough as soon as the Water Elemental and Vampire snuck under the door, they found several of the enemy in wait. A shame none of them possessed weapons that could attack water or mist. Within moments, the Druid and his not really friend had nullified the threat. Faustus and Malcolm entered the room after missing the action.
Faustus moved on to his favorite part of dealing with enemies: Intimidation. However, the Cultists dug in their heels. Not very wise considering that the Warlock was running out of patience.
Faustus blew up one of their heads using a well placed spell. This changed their minds fairly quick. Turned out they were not willing to die just to prove a point.
The group reconsidered letting this last group live. Turned out that the final section of the dungeon was filled with torture and murder devices. And it wasn’t Cultist corpses littering the ground. Nor was it their blood all over the floor.
Before they could return to the entrance, the entire labyrinth grew quiet. Worse, as the party tried to find an exit, all routes started getting blocked by barriers. They had dealt with plenty of enemies that liked doing this. But given where they were headed, it was obvious that the person or thing responsible was dangerous.
The Clown:
After being herded towards that final room, the party came face to face with a creepy person dressed like a clown. Marking the second time they had met someone dressed like this, they were all on guard, especially Adrenne.
This second clown introduced himself as Farceur. And he mocked entire group for their foolishness. Asking them why they hesitated to kill members of a dangerous Cult just because they had the faces of children. After all they had killed far more people than the ones they had slaughtered. He laughed at Faustus most of all. Pointing out that hiding his emotions did not make him strong. Rather it weakened his resolve and harmed him for no reason.
At the end of his rambling, he dropped one final piece of advice. To not ignore an ally and let the villain monologue. Farceur warned that Jyona was in danger and they needed to get to her side quickly. The Clown faded away with one last laugh.
Wrap Up:
The base is cleared out. But the party is fracturing at the seams. Jyona has been cut out of several important conversations now. What happens if she has been harmed because she ran off?