Centrum Glacies 2023 Session 46: The Light of the Abyss
Week 46 in 2022 of this Dungeons and Dragons Campaign in Centrum Glacies continues with the party meeting the Light of the Abyss
Like my other campaign, I’m turning this one into a book series. You can check out the first one here.
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 in the book series.
!!!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!!!
The party had a tough choice to make as they emerged from the Cult of Obsidian Base. Did they try and flee past the soldiers? Or did they try to talk to them? Obviously they couldn’t remain where they were.
Trent was having an inner battle as the others tried to figure out what to do next. His whole life as a Druid had been dedicated to destroying things that were not meant to exist. Demons and Vampires being the prime examples. But right now, he was a Demon. And his reflection in the water below only served as a constant reminder.
The Druid had suicidal thoughts dancing around. And he kept fighting the urge to drown himself in the river. There was something unique about that water, and he was confident that it could finish him off.
But he never did carry out that deadly plan. Malcolm and Jyona moved away to try and negotiate with the soldiers. Their first attempts failed when it turned out that the tower blocked telepathic conversations. But Malcolm had a tool that in this setting many viewed as the ultimate I win button. He held up his Mythril Adventurer Badge.
Meeting the Commander:
The rest of the exchange went amazingly well. Turned out the people living on the Abyssal Continent had the utmost respect for Mythril Rank. Or at least were terrified into respect. Malcolm didn’t know which.
He was asked to be escorted to speak to their nearby commander. The rest of the party was asked to stay behind but only temporarily. Malcolm spoke to Janshai “Dretch”, commander of this garrison. And he told Malcolm an important truth. The other Mythrils and even Platinum Ranked Adventurers were aware of these Demon Transformations. As in several others had experienced what was happening to him now.
During their conversation, Malcolm promised that the group meant them no harm. But while a Mythril Adventurer was to be trusted at their word, Janshai revealed that Platinum Ranks were viewed with much more suspicion. This seemed logical given what had happened when the group had run into other Platinum Ranked Members.
Luckily, the two came to an agreement. If the group would take on a commission for the garrison, they would be allowed to go on their way. This didn’t seem so bad, and so Malcolm returned to the bridge to grab the rest of the party.
Party followed Malcolm to met with Janshai. Teztcal was surprisingly well behaved which made the rest of the group on edge. What was the deluded Dragon plotting? And was he a Cult Spy?
Light of the Abyss:
Janshai told them about the Light of the Abyss and its importance in keeping the roads safe. This militia was made up of Humans, Dwarves, and High Elves. When asked about Dark Elves though, the commander stared across the river and reminded them where one would find people of that species.
Next he told them a sad story about the town just behind him. It had been destroyed by the Cult of Obsidian years ago with Alin, the recently deceased Platinum Adventurer being one of the only survivors. The party decided against telling him about her current fate. Hopefully word of her death had not traveled too far just yet.
Now that the bleaker talk was over, the group got their commission. And they would be paid when they were done. Obviously one did not enlist Mythril and Platinum Ranked for free around here. And it was simple too. Monster slaying and not anything dangerous from what he described. Simply less enemies behind so that the Light of the Abyss could focus on the much more dangerous enemy in front.
On the way out Teztcal started causing dissent among the soldiers. Turned out he had been waiting for this moment. The deluded Dragon influenced by his Demonic Transformation started reaching out to random soldiers randomly and planted ideas that other nearby troops meant to harm them. What he intended to do later was only something he could know.
Monster Hunting:
The rest of the party remained ignorant to this little move and as a group, they headed into the jungle, and almost immediately, the undergrowth was all around them. Sound was blocked so intensely here that if they ran into trouble, it was unlikely that the nearby garrison would even hear them.
While in the jungle, the party was attacked by animated trees and shrubs. While not what they had expected to encounter, if they needed to destroy some moving plants, they would. Even Trent who was a Druid and had reservations, understood the importance of removing something that served as a danger to the ecosystem.
Naturally Teztcal took things too far and started setting all the trees on fire. Which drew all the attention to himself. Bad luck for the trees though. The Dragon could fly in his Demon form. And the branches, as high as they were, could not reach him. He freely burned these plants, and took far too much enjoyment for Trent, Jyona, and Malcolm to ignore.
Ethereal Attack:
But more trouble appeared just as things looked to be wrapping up. Malcolm could see into the Ethereal Realm in his Demon form. And though he had not thought about the implications that much, creatures that realized he could see them reacted. And with violence. Turned out ethereal creatures didn’t like to be seen.
At least it was only giant spiders and not something worse. Malcolm had no idea what sort of monsters lived in this dimension that sat atop their own. He knew only that it existed. Still, after fighting Demons, Fire Elementals, and the members of an evil Cult, spiders were the least of his worries.
After monsters were slain, the party heard howling. They still were not done. And it became ever clearer why this commission existed in the first place. It shouldn’t have been a surprise that countless monsters existed in a jungle on the Abyssal Continent.
Wrap Up:
Unlike the cold wastes to the south, there is a lot going on in the jungle. What will the party discover around the next bend? And more importantly, how do they change back?