Centrum Glacies Session 64: The Vampire and the Tiefling
Week 64 Dungeons and Dragons Campaign in Centrum Glacies continues as the party is reunited with a Vampire and meets a Tiefling.
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 search of the Witch Engelique, the party figures out the location of the Zrin Guild Hall. Or rather, Obrom who had operated out of the city for a while now, directed them to it.
Teztcal fired random magic into the sky for no reason. At least none that were logical to anyone else. Possibly it was just the mad Dragon feeling the need to be a chaos gremlin.
Wurthu
Before they could enter, and possibly drawn by Teztcal’s most recent chaotic behavior, an Orc appeared. Given what the party knew about Orcs now, they gave all their attention his way. He named himself Wurthu and said he was the leader of Zrin. A point that Obrom echoed. Though he had never met the Orc personally.
Teztcal was skeptical of him. But the Orc for his credit, played into the Dragon’s delusion. This only indicated to the others that Wurthu was an exceptionally intelligent person. Not to mention he must have been watching the group this entire time.
He was using an illusion to speak to the group since he needed to be in separate places simultaneously. The Orc apologized for such a delayed greeting but wanted to personally welcome the two Platinum Adventurers to the City. He asked that they all come to the upper city when it would be convenient as he had a matter to discuss with them.
After Wurthu’s image vanished, Teztcal still called out to him as if that would accomplish anything. The rest of the group argued with him too. It was clear that antagonizing the leader of the main city of the Abyssal Continent was high up on the list of dumbest things possible.
Teztcal was also stopped at the entrance of the Guild Hall since he was not a member of the Adventurer’s guild. The others were initially hesitant to even let him in. And the nearby guards were not happy to see the Dragon either. They threatened to arrest him for his kidnapping crimes unless the rest of the party were willing to keep a close watch. A task they only took on reluctantly.
The Guild Hall
With that out of the way, the party entered the Guild Hall. They immediately overheard an exchange between Adrienne and an elf. The Vampire warned him that she was on to him and his “allies”. Vowing to hunt them down.
He is not pleased by her accusations and huffs off. The Elf didn’t even regard the party as they entered the building. And Adrenne did not quickly tell them what the two had discussed.
Teztcal approached Adrenne with one of the weirdest propositions to ever exist. He asked her to be a co-parent to the white dragon whelpling he intended to hatch. She had several questions for him. Not limited to how, where, and why he had a White Dragon Egg.
While he had initially used his inside voice while talking to the Vampire, Teztcal raised his voice too loud out of excitement. Any secrets about this egg were now common knowledge for everyone in the hall. Three other pairs of eyes had noticed the Dragon. One of those pairs belonged to the very Witch they were searching for. Two strangers had been quiet at the bar, but they looked Teztcal’s way too.
A Conversation with a Witch
Unlike Teztcal, Trent had no intention of wasting any time. Even though he feared what might happen, he walked right over the Engelique intent on figuring out how to deal with the Hags and the Mermaids they had cursed. She didn’t seem surprised to see them.
Obrom was intimidated by the Witch as Engelique was known as the “Fifth Mithril Adventurer” given her closeness to Persephine. He couldn’t believe how easily Trent walked up to her and initiated conversation.
Trent didn’t waste time with small talk. He immediately asked her about the Merfolk in Lightsong Lake and what she knew about them.
To Trent’s surprise, the Witch didn’t know there were any Merfolk in Lightsong Lake. The fact that the curse she helped create had spread there without her knowledge was concerning. But she figured out the probable cause quickly.
Rebel Hags
As Engelique explained her theories, Jyona listened in from a distance. And although she was the most versed in listening to nuance, she didn’t feel like the Witch was lying. Her explanation made a lot of sense too.
A rogue coven was casting the curse against Engelique’s wishes. Apparently they were runaways who had left the Witch Coven to do things on their own. They didn’t know about Persephine’s cure otherwise they wouldn’t be using such magic at all.
Given the nature of this problem, Engelique assured the party that she would go find Persephine so that they could deal with this problem. She appreciated that the party had found these deserters and did not want anything in return for dealing with them. Finding them was worth a lot on its own.
Engelique told the party that she had to take care of something first and advised the group to cmplete a Guild Commission while they waited. As she left, Obrom looked towards the other two people in the room.
Gold Adventurers
A Halfling and a Tiefling sat at the bar and thus far seemed to have ignored the conversation with Engelique. And while the former was more than happy to talk, the latter kept to herself.
Trent sensed a familiar smell from tiefling but couldn’t quite place where. She was not willing to speak to him, so the former Druid focused on the far more talkative Halfling. He asked her where she is from.
While she dodged the question, she did give her name. Naming herself Elanth, Trent asked why she didn’t have a last name. The Halfling laughed and remarked that he was right that she was from the Abyssal Continent but was wrong about her name. Only the Humans living here followed that cultural norm.
The Tiefling laughed smugly and ridiculed Trent when he tried to get to know her better. She reminded him that as a Platinum Adventurer she had no interest in being friends with him.
Jyona joined the conversation and was confused at the Tiefling’s mistrust. She pointed out that since they were in the Guild, they should all be allies.
The Tiefling emanated trauma. Even Jyona was able to pick up on that. But she refused to tell them what was on her mind. In fact she turned away and asked the nearby bartender for another drink.
Meditation
Meanwhile, Gor-Venal was meditating off to the side. He was so quiet, that the party didn’t notice him at first. But he had tried to kill them in their prior encounter. Trent deemed it best to figure out his intentions so that they wouldn’t clash again.
Trent sat down near him to try and get his attention. But Gor-Venal was so deep in mentally that nothing he tried worked. But the Monk did look like he was in a place of peace. Trent hadn’t felt that way in a while and so tried to follow the Platinum Adventurer’s example. Soon enough he was in a mental space of peace all his own.
Jyona saw the two and decided she wanted to try meditating too. Not an easy task since her mind was constantly jumping from topic to topic. Yet something about this now circle was calming. Her emotions and thoughts faded away and Jyona also managed to meditate her way to inner peace.
The Vampire and the Bard
Away from the meditation circle, Obrom headed over to Adrenne and Teztcal. He hadn’t met the woman before, and was worried about approaching Gor-Venal for the same reasons as Engelique. By the time he saw her badge, it was too late and he had gained the attention of another Platinum Rank.
She bared her fangs at him. The bard hadn’t counted on her being a Vampire too. Obrom tried cracking a flirtatious joke. He was completely unnerved at this point and was trying his best to regain composure. For his efforts he earned a smile from Adrenne. But that wasn’t comforting to him.
Teztcal was a slight bit jealous. As he felt he had claimed her as the mother of the white whelping-to-be. Obrom remained ignorant of why he was upset. The Bard didn’t even try to understand the mad Dragon’s mind.
That aside, she introduced herself to him and informed Obrom that she is a vampire that hunts other vampires. This did a relieve his anxiety a little. At least she hunted other monsters. She then asked Teztcal to retrieve his companions as she wished to talk to them. And said it was important.
However, such matters were beneath him. In his faux Godlike pride, he believed that such things should be delegated to his servants. Servants which included the Bard apparently.
When Obrom refused to do as he asked, the Dragon stared at him as if that would change things. It didn’t of course. The Bard had little patience for Teztcal’s delusions.
Adrenne caved instead. She almost begged Obrom to just do it. She was tired of the Dragon’s antics as well. But she had a very different way of dealing with them.
Dragon’s Bidding
As soon as the Bard had turned around, the Vampire telepathically assured him that she was only doing as the Dragon asked so that he would stop being a nuisance. She agreed that his very presence caused problems for them all.
Notably, the Adventurer’s Guild had almost put out a bounty on Teztcal’s head. There was a high likelihood that his attempted murder of Zrin Citizens had something to do with that.
When the Bard reached the rest of the party, they were all still hype focused on meditating with Gor-Venal. But to do the Dragon’s “bidding” he would need the rest of the group to come with him. So he started performing a song to wake them up and draw their attention back to this room.
He performed so well, it instead soothed their minds and sent them into a deeper meditation. But as he was playing such an incredible performance, that the Bard didn’t stop. He focused on the music as he further perfected his craft.
Forming an Alliance
At long last, Gor-Venal completed his meditation and awoke. This action brought everyone else out of their own heads. Trent used this chance to ask Gor’Venal why he tried to kill the party earlier.
He stated he wasn’t trying to kill them. Rather, He just wanted to make sure they weren’t weak. With a Mythril Adventurer among them at that moment, he had wanted to make sure that one of the more dangerous Platinum Ranks wouldn’t be able to take their title and cause greater havoc in the world.
He promised not to cross the party as they had proven themselves to him. And now that Malcolm was elsewhere, most of the threat had left with it.
Trent asked about his purpose for joining the Guild. He didn’t seem like most of the other Platinum Ranked who either were committing serious crimes, or running from their pasts. Sure enough, the Monk gave him an unexpected answer.
Gor’Venal wished to achieve Nirvana. The Guild’s protection would prevent outside sources from intervening or get in his way of enlightenment. A noble pursuit as it turned out.
Trent asked for Gor’Venal to accompany the party. Realizing that this would make a potentially powerful ally, the former Druid decided to see if they could further prove themselves to him.
He stated that he preferred solitude and working alone. But he does offer to accompany them on their next mission as an apology for their earlier clash.
Questions about the Curse
Realizing that Gor-Venal is acting friendly towards his companions, Obrom decided to ask the Monk about his cursed mark. Unfortunately he didn’t not know much about it. Pointing out that Engelique would know a lot more, Obrom silently cursed that he hadn’t been courageous enough to ask the Witch moments earlier.
Adrenne grew impatient and came over on her own. She informed the party that there were vampires in Zrin and that she intended to hunt them all. Naturally the party has no issue with this.
She informed them that the elf she was talking to when the party entered is connected to these Vampires. Once more she tells them to be careful. A reminder that as Platinum Adventurers, they are being watched by lots of unsavory and dangerous people.
She also introduced herself officially to Gor-Venal. The interaction was peaceful with no ill will between them. Seemed that the Monk didn’t have open hostility towards Vampires.
Obrom asked Adrenne about his cursed hand. She stated there might be a book in the Southern Continent libraries on curses of undeath. This seemed reasonable considering the Vampire problem there. Naturally, she also suggested talking to Engelique. The Witch had cast many curses after all.
Hatred
Obrom, needed more than to ask someone who was no longer here. He dropped a name that no one liked hearing: Jak-Rath. He mentioned that the Cult of Obsidian had told him that the Dark Elf Scientist had created the Curse.
Everyone present wanted to know what he had to do with Obrom’s curse. The Cult of Obsidian was bad enough, but their Mad Scientist lieutenant made everything worse.
Gor-Venal stated that Obrom is in grave danger if Jak-Rath is involved. He explained to Obrom the depths of Jak-Rath’s depravity. A point that the rest of the party, Teztcal included echoed.
Gor-Venal was more than happy to help the party take him down. He stated other Platinum Adventurers would absolutely be willing to help take him down. The only reason he was still alive was because of how much danger he posed in the first place.
Gor-Venal advised that the party take on a Guild Commission or two. Prompting the group to look at the bounty board to see how they could make some money. One commission jumped out at the group immediately, especially Obrom who knew something he wasn’t telling the rest.
Vitality
Trent mentioned the underground lava passages, which the Deep Mine Commission listed on the board reminded him of. A good thing that another Adventurer was already on that one. As he finished talking, the Tiefling rushed over and asked how the group knew about the Volcano Caves.
She was not thrilled after hearing their answers. Specifically how the party planned to go down there again. Something that Obrom did not realize he was signing up for. He shared a bit of the Tiefling’s sentiment.
She stated Obsidian Cult is the reason she transformed into a Tiefling. And that she had joined in the first place to get revenge. Yet something about her words didn’t ring true.
Obrom realized she wasn’t telling the whole truth. Trent deduced her reason for joining the guild was something else entirely. Especially once she claimed that the very Dark Elf they had discussed earlier, Jak-Rath was at the center of her revenge.
Trent attempted to press the Tiefling given that it was clear that she was hiding things. But she refused to give any information. Citing correctly that as two Platinum Adventurer’s were in their group, she had more reason to be suspicious of them.
She reveals her name after even more prodding. Though Jyona thought the name “Vitality” was odd, even for a Tiefling, a creature that had half transformed into a Demon. An opinion she voiced without thinking.
Crisis of Belief
Adrenne took her leave, letting the party know the Tigers were safe at the inn waiting for Trent. On her way out, she quipped to Trent :”Still hate vampires?” She asked Trent why she sensed his magic missing.
He told her part of the truth but not all of course. He had lost his powers fighting a group that had shared his beliefs after all. Adrenne then asked if he was rethinking those beliefs. Why else had he attacked an Arch Druid? He didn’t tell her about the transformation though, so the Vampire was missing an important piece of information.
Trent didn’t answer that question though. The events and what led up to them were not something he was willing to share. His silence seemed to be answer enough for her though and she finally left.
After looking at the commissions again, the party decided to take one of the easier sounding ones. A farm outside Zrin was getting attacked by creatures that were stealing the food. Given that this farm helped feed Zrin, the group saw the value in helping out.
Teztcal decided to keep following the party. At least a few of the party members wished he would go elsewhere. Gor-Venal also tagged along. With an extra Platinum Adventurer, it was clear that this mission would be completed fast.
Wrap Up
As they headed to the farms, Trent noticed that Engelique herself had taken on the Commission in the mines. What does this mean for them? Obrom seems to know something about those mines too. And will they be able to save the Mermaids in time if the Witch gets caught up in something else?