Centrum Glacies Session 58: Ice Cave
Week 58 Dungeons and Dragons Campaign in Centrum Glacies continues as the party enters an ice cave to finally undo their Demonic Transformations.
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!!!
Mortina, most dangerous of all Mythril Adventurers came to the party’s aid when they found themselves overwhelmed by the Plague. But why did she want to help them? Were they not on enemy sides? Whatever the case, she showed them just how dangerous she truly was when she assumed her own Demon form.
Energy crackled through the air and the world grew dark as she shifted. The party felt the immense energy this form gave off and had to hold steady to not flee from her in fear. A good thing they remained still. The Plague was still after them.
But not for long. With a single attack, Mortina dispelled and dispersed the plague clouds. It was clear the difference in power between the party and herself. A good thing she had not come here to kill them.
After group caught their breath, Mortina shifted back out of her Demon form. And as she did, the group sensed the temperature in her body drop drastically. She had a Frozen Flame inside her. At least this confirmed that they were doing the right thing.
She had few words to say. It seemed she was the quiet type. Besides reminding them how dangerous the Plague was, she pointed out that they should be careful who they trust. She vanished without answering why she had came to their aid at all. Leaving the party even more confused than before.
Into the Ice Cave
After that encounter, the party used their Frozen Flames to try and locate the coldest spot in the frozen wastes. Their journey took them towards the Orc city, and they were all relieved when they located the cave entrance before getting too close. Trent pointed out that the Orcs were likely to be hostile towards the group in their current forms.
The group deliberated on how to enter the cave. More like a hole in the canyon floor actually. Teztcal took it upon himself to solve the issue. And by himself, that meant shoving Trent into the hole. He immediately remembered that the man turned Demon could not fly, and rushed after him to stop him from going splat at the bottom.
The three safely reached the bottom with Jyona bringing up the rear. And as they got their bearings, extreme cold gripped their skin. If not for the current forms, they likely would have frozen to death in minutes. One feature stuck out as strange though. Despite the extreme cold, the ice was still slippery. Despite the fact that at this temperature, ice wouldn’t have that property.
Jyona guessed that a thermal vent ran below the cavern. That would have explained the slippery nature. And it also went a long way towards explaining why this cave was filled with a thick fog. The party could only see maybe 20 feet in front. Anything else was an unknown.
Ambushed
Of course, as a bringer of chaos Teztcal rushed forward. And although the party didn’t perceive anything nearby in the fog, the same did not go in reverse. They attracted the attention of several Kobolds, Icy Hell Hounds, and most importantly, a Young White Dragon.
The Icy Hounds darted to Jyona and unleashed their frigid breath upon her. Her magic immunity did not apply to such an attack and it took her down. Down one person, Teztcal and Trent now had to deal with the hounds, the swarm of Kobolds and a White Dragon by themselves.
Naturally Teztcal turned a bad situation into a worse one by provoking the White Dragon. He claimed that he was the superior Dragon. Naturally this angered the White Dragon who focused its efforts into murdering Teztcal.
Every so often, Teztcal would find a break in the fighting to summon the three crows again. They did not like this place, nor did they like appearing in the middle of battle. The crows had choice words for Teztcal as he continued to waste their time. They could leave whenever they wanted. A shame that they had to appear whenever he wished.
Trent was unable to magically heal Jyona, but he did successfully stop her bleeding. At least she wouldn’t die. Not this time at least. And he didn’t want to deal with that again.
Meanwhile, Teztcal took on the Icy Hounds and even scared the White Dragon away. He couldn’t pursue the monster since there were plenty of other creatures in the way. Unfortunately, Teztcal was taken down by a stray attack even as he finished off all the Hounds.
Near Death Experiences
Seeing another problem bleeding out, Trent quickly killed all the Kobolds. They posed little threat to him since he basically ignored their attacks due to his Demonic Form. He managed to stabilize Teztcal as well, though reluctantly. He still wondered if the Dragon was an Obsidian Spy.
Knowing that there were more monsters in this icy cave, including the Dragon who had likely alerted the other denizens, Trent opted to grab his companions and flee from here. Unlike with the Druids, there was no potential time limit. All that they missed out on by leaving was how soon they could turn back to normal.
Rest and Return
Once they had escaped, the three took some time to rest and refresh. Though they did not camp for the night, they found a safe place in the frozen wastes away from conflict. With some rest, Teztcal and Jyona were ready to fight and travel again. They were battle hardened warriors after all.
Feeling refreshed, and ready foe more violence, the party once more descended into the ice cave. As they made their way through the fog, the Young White Dragon was nowhere to be found. This did not bode well for them. It was likely that there were more enemies ahead. And they would be aware of the intruders.
So the group was not surprised that they got jumped again. The fog made it difficult for them to notice nearby enemies. And it was clear that this was a magical effect since their foes were not limited in the same way.
This encounter involved a Yeti and the already mentioned White Dragon. With one little twist. The Yeti was on a turret that fired sonic attacks. As it turned out, this made the Yeti weaker. The group had no issue dodging the mounted attacks. And the monster was a sitting duck.
The Dragon was still a Dragon though. And although they had already bested this monster once, it was more aware of their capabilities this time around.
But the group was determined to free themselves from their cursed states. And there were only two enemies in their way in this fight. It didn’t take long for them to take care of both enemies. Especially since the Dragon had nowhere to flee this time.
Rest and Loot
The group took a moment to catch their breath once more. But the extreme cold in this icy place reminded them that their breath might catch them instead if they stayed too long.
Teztcal saw the nearby turret and started playing around with it. And this gave the other two an idea. Even better, it distracted the deluded Dragon long enough for Trent and Jyona to see what else was hidden nearby.
Trent found a chest hidden behind the turret and cave segment that housed it. And treasure in a place like this was probably guarded by something. Not wanting to be on the receiving end of it, he called a waterspout using his Demonic powers to see if he triggered anything. And a rune appeared around the chest confirming his suspicions.
Unfortunately for the trap, Jyona realized what the spell did. More importantly, she was immune to said spell. And now she learned a new rune spell. Considering that this one could turn people to stone, it was a useful one to have. She casually set off the trap, ignoring its effect and removing what was inside.
Wrap Up
The chest contained a ton of gold and plenty of treasure to go along with it. Given the weather inside this cave, and how well guarded that loot was, the chances that something dangerous lives here has increased tenfold.