Cycle of Millennia 2022 Session 54: Below the Bridge
Here is week 54 of my 2022 Dungeons and Dragons Campaign Cycle of Millennia, Below the Bridge. Several Gods want them dead, and the party doesn’t know what fate has in store.
Don’t forget that this campaign has been ongoing for over four 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!!!
Rather than fall forever into the dark abyss, the party landed in a cave far below the bridge. The only light was granted by giant mushrooms. What was this place? Did it matter? Reality was crumbling and right now they needed to escape the massive armies above.
The group plus Belwyn was not alone in this place for long. Turned out that mysterious woman who knew Grez had been waiting for them. And for a long time apparently. She started to guide them deeper into the valley, but the enemies above did not wait to see if they had died.
Witches and Pit Fiends had come after the party. And they intended to stop the group despite the entire world crumbling. Why Orabaras wanted to destroy the party now was anyone’s guess. Nihilinn was the God of death and it didn’t take long to figure out what its goal was.
But the main host of enemies was above. Now that their numbers were reduced, the party had no issue taking on even several of them. The strange features of this valley assisted the group in slaughtering the Pit Fiends. The Witches were more frail but could not be killed with gravity since they existed outside of reality and in constant flux. But bashing enemies until they stopped moving was the groups main talent at this point.
After the battle, the party followed the Woman deeper into the place beneath the bridge. She explained that this was a sanctuary. The God of Freedom, Wylf had established this place as a refuge for those who wanted to escape the cruel conditions above. Unfortunately, the current cycle few knew that this place existed. There were not even whispers of it in either Spatia or Innovia.
Towards the Bottom:
At the bottom of this canyon, below the mushrooms, was Wylf’s City. According to their guide, only the God of Freedom’s servants lived down there now. At least the party wouldn’t find enemies there.
Still, Velkora and Hadron both felt uneasy. Orabaras and Nihilinn had attacked the party, but Kranaak had not made a move. With every other “good” God, their counterpart had appeared. Yet the God of Madness as far as the party knew had left them alone. And given that Kranaak never left them alone, something wasn’t right with all this.
But the group had to forget about Kranaak for a moment. More Pit Fiends and Witches continued dropping from above. And as their numbers swelled, the party realized that they would soon be unable to fight back. Even with all their powers and magical items, there were just too many opponents for them to reasonably deal with.
Their guide also warned them that the way to the city would be blocked until the enemies were dealt with. They were in a bind and running out of time, assuming time itself didn’t break given what was happening above. Not knowing what else to do, Velkoara begged Entropy for assistance. And assistance she granted.
Eldritch Aid:
Entropy summoned creatures outside reality to destroy the army. And even with their vast power, the Pit Fiends and Witches were powerless against the Eldritch Horrors the Goddess of Chaos unleashed. But the group feared getting too close. A chaotic neutral God had a tendency to not care who they might hurt.
Their guide was more rattled than anything, but once the enemies vanished, with screams that froze the parties blood, she led them to the bottom. At long last she introduced herself. Her name was Lone, and just like Grez she didn’t waste time with words or her name.
At the bottom of the spiraling path of mushrooms and bridges, the party found an odd device. Lone said it was called an elevator. Grez knew what she meant immediately. The rest did not, and freaked out when the elevator moved at high speed.
Village of Wylf:
When they reached the bottom, the mushroom light from above was no more. Not only was there no light, the citizens of the town acted like living dolls. Grez grew annoyed and demanded to know why they were unresponsive. Lone explained that during the dark God cycles, Wylf’s servants would go into a state of hibernation to preserve strength in case they were needed.
After they had looked around a bit, the party stayed at the inn. Lone apologized for how things were here. Most of the time, this village didn’t have visitors. But the group didn’t complain. After everything that had happened, it was just a relief to be able to rest without enemies trying to kill them, or worse.
The group including Belwyn drank in Rose’s honor. Velkoara quietly mused how the only way Belwyn was still alive was that Rose had used her final moments to cast wish and save another. The two had not always gotten along when they both served Orabaras, but her selfless sacrifice showed Velkoara that in the end, her former ally had a good heart.
Lone came back with Jay, Wylf’s High Priest. He also was to the point with both name and tact. Something Grez seemed to appreciate.
The party had tons of questions. But Jay told they would all be answered when they entered the Temple of Wylf. That would be their next destination.
Wrap Up:
What will the party find in the Temple of Wylf? And how does Grez factor in to all this?