Centrum Glacies Session 56: Arch Druid Cirdore
Week 56 Dungeons and Dragons Campaign in Centrum Glacies continues as the group confronts Arch Druid Cirdore.
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!!!
Still fighting for their lives inside the Circle of Cleansing Enclave, the party looked close to being brought to their knees once more. Even with extra powers, the Druids of Cleansing had trained for years if not decades to slay Demons. Forms that the party was trapped in. And only by slaughtering any in their way could they escape this fate.
Seeing that Teztcal was in danger of dying, Jyona used the staff that Zinbella gave her to heal the deluded Dragon turned Demon. She was tired of watching everything and everyone she cared about die around her. And at that moment, something snapped inside of her. Restraints faded, and Jyona did something she would have considered unthinkable.
Jyona was done simply supporting her allies. Instead she took the next step and killed one of the Druids. Up to this point in the adventure, she had never killed a person she considered a sentient being. And moments after such an act, her brain froze. She disassociated and became completely oblivious to the fighting around her.
But she didn’t stay in that state for long. There were lots of Druids to kill. And Teztcal was more than happy in his inflated ego to take on tons of them all by himself. He once more looked to be in a horribly wounded state. And rage brought Jyona back to reality. She healed him with the staff once more so that he could continue his rampage.
Running out of Options
Meanwhile Trent was having better luck. He was well versed in Druid Magic, being one himself. But even he was getting overwhelmed. Teztcal however continued to fall back into deaths door even while taking several enemies out.
But the Druids of the Circle of Cleansing were a stubborn lot. They fought to the death in all cases and right now the party was fighting against them in their own base. Even Trent couldn’t fight off their spells and transformations forever.
Jyona began to panic watching her allies grow weak. As traumatic as killing a person was in those moments, watching her one remaining friend as well as a person who was at least minimally useful as an ally drove her rage deeper and into wrath. No more spacing out as she threw herself into the fight with the intent to kill as many Druids as possible.
Yet she was not the strongest combatant. Jyona’s Demon form was more adept at being manipulative outside of combat. Or at least that is what Jyona thought. The woman didn’t have much experience with such things. And while her two allies were much better fighters, the Druids knew that and used everything they could to take them down.
Refusing Failure
But every time they looked to be on the verge of death, Jyona used the staff’s power to heal them up. The Druids lacked such healing, and even though the fight was grueling and cruel, especially as Teztcal and Trent took more punishment than their bodies should have been able to more than ten times over, the final Druid of Cleansing in this place died, leaving one room where Cirdore awaited them.
Arch Druid Cirdore reached out the the party with magic, his voice reverberating through the roots and walls. He asked them what drove them to come here and slaughter so many of his allies. Understanding their ferocity, but confused by their tenacity, he wanted to talk.
Taking a breather, thanks to this unusual break in conflict, the group prepared themselves physically and mentally for the powerful enemy they might have to fight to regain their former forms. Trent especially goes through his head, planning for what he might do should the Arch Druid revoke his powers.
After preparing themselves, the party made it to the final room and met with Cirdore as well as his honor guard of Druids. Trent and Jyona wanted the crystal and were willing to negotiate if it meant no bloodshed. But that would be tough given the Druid’s stance on Demons.
Persuasion
Still they tried. First, they tried to persuade him that the crystal could turn them back. He didn’t accept that. At least at face value that was. He told his guards to leave the room and not disturb them. They protested, but he sent them away to another Druid enclave. It was just the party with him.
Now that it was just him alone, he told the party his real thoughts. If the crystal was capable of such a feat, he and the Druids of Cleansing had been slaughtering innocent people. He asked the group to imagine what such a shock might cause. Jyona understood that on a personal level. She had just experienced that after all.
The other two members did not care as much. Trent wanted the crystal to turn back. And he was desperate to be away from this place. While Jyona continued talking, he watched to make sure that the Druid was focused on her. He tried to casually take the item while Cirdore wasn’t looking. Which of course failed.
But Teztcal continued to claim that he was a Dragon not Demon. And Jyona’s more reasonable ideas slowly swayed his opinion. It really did look like thing might resolve peacefully. And done right, perhaps this conversation might lead to a reform within the Druid Circle.
Sinister Intervention
But while they wanted to avoid a battle, it turned out their benefactor did not. Zinbella revealed that it was her power within the staff that was protecting Jyona, and she managed to overpower the woman’s will and take control of her body. Not full on possession, but the Psychic Vampire was there long enough to cast a spell of her own.
She summoned several Treants made from rotting green and fungal spores. These creatures then went right for the Druid who had some scathing words for Zinbella before he fought back.
Power of the Sun
Cirdore turned into a Radiant Elemental drawing his power from the sun itself. This awsome power was stronger even than Zinbella’s protection and everyone present, from the Treants, to Trent, Teztcal, and even Jyona were slowly burned in this cleansing fire.
But that wasn’t enough. He viewed the talks prior as a trick to lower his guard. So this time, he fought completely and ready to kill them all. Meanwhile he used the magical darkness of this space to keep his enemies chasing him while blasting them away.
Pointing out how dire this situation was, Zinbella offered to completely take control of Jyona’s mind. But she refused. The woman couldn’t believe that the Psychic Vampire had used them again in such a way. And there was no way she would accept more of this “help”. Luckily, Zinbella didn’t press the issue further.
The Treants chased Cirdore through his lair and lobbed rocks. The constant attacks from the creatures together with the party seemed to weaken the Elemental. But the entire room was burning with radiant energy. All the Arch Druid had to do was outlast them.
Turned out the rocks were more effective than it initially appeared. The repeated attacks managed to actually knock Cirdore out of his Radiant Form. But even no longer enhanced, he was still an Arch Druid. The fight was far from over.
Seeing a chance to kill Cirdore once and for all, Teztcal immediately rushed in to attack him. But the Druid was resilient. And it was clear it would take more than a few claws to the face for the Druid to perish.
Wrap Up
Unfortunately, the Arch Druid was not out of transformations. As if ignoring Teztcals attacks, he focused and transformed into a Radiant Elemental once more. The group has their work cut out for them if they wish to leave this place alive.