Centrum Glacies Session 50: The Circle of Cleansing
Week 50 in 2022 of this Dungeons and Dragons Campaign in Centrum Glacies continues with introducing the Circle of Cleansing.
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 recently was incinerated in lava. But rather than die, they have been transformed into Demons. And every moment they have to resist a bloodlust that is trying to take hold.
!!!Final Trigger Warning!!!
In a city where Demons were the residents and an army of Druids hell bent on slaughtering them all had come to town, the party had no choice but to fight against potential allies. They needed the citizens help to potentially turn back to normal.
Trent especially had reservations against fighting his own allies. He was a Druid after all. But the Circle of Cleansing saw him as a Demon too. And that meant he was marked for death.
After fighting through several Circle of Cleansing Druids, the party encountered Natu, a powerful Demon who told them he was one of the leaders of the town. He was weakened though as he had almost singlehandedly kept the Druids at bay until the group of Adventurers had arrived.
But the Circle of Cleansing Druids knew where Natu was hiding. Though there was magical darkness obstructing the place, it didn’t hinder the Druids at all. And so the party fought through more of them while doing what they could to protect the townsfolk.
Unfortunately the Druids did not care which Demons they killed as long as the number decreased. As Jyona followed her companions, she watched several innocent Demons get killed. Given that she was doing everything in her power to never kill an innocent person, she grew enraged and ran towards the closest Druid.
Fighting the Circle
This was not wise as in her current form, she was not a strong combatant. Not to mention her opponent was a Druid who vowed to kill any and all Demons with tools to do just that. The Circle of Cleansing Druid transformed into an Earth Elemental and made quick work of Jyona.
Since the party had helped Natu, he in turn rushed to Jyona’s aid and saved her from certain death. Unlike many of their foes, these Druids did not leave people alone while they were bleeding to death. They tended to finish off struggling enemies.
But even in his weakened state, Natu was a Pit Fiend. One of the most powerful of all Fiends. Even a Druids transformed into an elemental was no match for him.
Cleansing the Circle
Once more Malcom tried to use logic to talk to the Druids. But the Circle of Cleansing existed to kill Demons. And even if they appeared innocent, the Druids saw everything here as nothing more than monsters. And given that they blew themselves up if defeated, it was clear that getting through to these fanatics would be impossible.
But the fact that the Druids refused to surrender was only a speedbump. The party had fought all sort of nasty enemies both on and off the Abyssal Continent. And with Natu’s help, the group thinned the Druid’s numbers and saved most of the townsfolk. But only most. There were plenty of Demon corpses still rotting in the streets.
Due to the combination of Druid magic nearby, and some policy of the Light of Abyss Soldiers above, the dead could not be brought back. It might have been a logistical issue, but the party didn’t have time to try and figure out the cause.
What this impacted immediately was that for the second time recently, Jyona was close to death. Her sanity was being tested, and it might not be long before he Demon Transformation reached dangerous levels at this rate. This among other reasons was why they needed to figure out how to change back. And their answers were in this town. Nearby.
The Arch Druid
After the group took a moment to breathe, they proceeded towards the temple on the east side of town. Natu said he would stay with the townsfolk in case a few Druids had hidden themselves nearby. And he warned them that a powerful Arch Druid was in the temple with the other leaders of the town.
Once they entered the temple, the party saw that the Arch Druid and several more Circle of Cleansing Druids had shackled the remaining leaders of the Demon Town and several others which were trapped to the walls.
The Archdruid introduced himself as Cirdore and reminded Trent that by attacking his own, he was showing himself a traitor and unworthy of redemption. Trent for his part remained silent. But Malcolm and Teztcal did not.
The Frozen Flame
But the Arch Druid ignored them. Instead he looked at an item that he had apparently taken from the Demons. He called it a “Frozen Flame” and scoffed at the idea that such an item could turn a Demon back to a humanoid form.
Claiming that such an item was too dangerous to remain here, he did what the Circle of Cleansing rarely did and left. But not before telling his minions to kill the party or not return at all. Malcolm reminded them that since they had already slaughtered several other members of their order, they should flee while the party was still generous. Naturally, they refused.
Wrap Up
But before the group could take on the rest of the Druids, Malcom vanished, leaving them down a Mythril Adventurer. How this will effect everything has yet to be seen.