Centrum Glacies Session 78: Deep Unease
Week 78 Dungeons and Dragons Campaign in Centrum Glacies continues with the party trapped in a dangerous jungle. A deep unease starts settling in as they see just what they are up against.
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, psychological warfare, child abuse, slavery.
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 was incinerated in lava. But rather than die, they were transformed into Demons. They might be free from these transformations for now, but only time will tell what this means for them.
!!!Final Trigger Warning!!!
After clearing out all the Shambling Mounds attacking them, the party entered the Druid of Cleansing camp. The group was ready to fight the Circle again given their antagonistic history. But even though Trent was in a Demon form, they left the group alone. He bore Zinbella’s mark and that offered protection.
But the Druids of Cleansing had an ultimatum if this peace between the two groups was to continue. They tasked the party with venturing deeper into the cursed jungle and clearing a path to where the rest of the Druids were located. Second the party had to cease all hostility towards the Druids immediately.
Obrom interrupted the conversation with the Druids. Now that they had a moment of calm, he wanted answers. The Bard knew that people could transform into Demons, but he had never heard of anyone turning back Human after the fact.
There was no point in hiding the truth from their companion, or the Druids for that matter, so Trent told Obrom about how they were turned into demons. He described in detail their fight with Jarrar and how the Dark Elf had doused the room they battle in lava. The Obsidian Leader had transformed into a Demon himself, but hadn’t expected the party to transform as well.
Hidden Truths
The Druids of Cleansing listened to this story eagerly as well. And they quickly asked about how they had changed back. Given that the Frozen Flame itself didn’t need to be kept a secret, the group told them about their adventure into the icy cave, their encounter with the White Dragon, as well as the painful process to change back. Obrom was shocked to hear that all three of them had swallowed an object colder than anything he had ever seen in his life.
The Druids turned to a question that Obrom himself also wanted to know. They wanted to know where exactly the group had gotten a Frozen Flame, much less three of them. And they also wanted to know how they learned about how to use them.
Teztcal almost blurted out the truth. But Jyona made it clear for him to stop. They didn’t know if it was wise to tell a group of Demon Hunters where an entire town of Demons peacefully lived. Especially given what had happened with the other Circle of Cleansing members who had entered.
Lying to Tell the Truth
He told a lie instead. One that was quickly glossed over as Jyona asked the Druids for something else. She wanted a sending stone. The Druids told her that it wouldn’t work in here. Apparently the Jungle’s magic prohibited sending stones from functioning.
She was adamant about wanting it though. And it was clear she had some sort of plan involving using one. So, the Druids agreed to grant her one if she and the rest of the party could successfully clear the way.
With a plan set, the group rested. They knew that the Druids would protect this camp and they did not fear for their safety in the meantime. The next day arrived or at least it felt like the next day. It was impossible to tell in the supernatural darkness. Properly rested and not weighed down by the dark power of the Wraiths that had weakened them the prior day, they moved into the next section of the jungle.
Silence and Unease
An eerie silence meet the party in the next stretch. Their sense of unease only grew as it was clearer with each step that they were being watched by something. Yet nothing appeared. And no sounds save their own granted any hints of what enemy might be about.
Their footsteps echoed with each step. But even more so than in the Jungle of Giants, the sounds were muted and smothered. It was almost like their noises were an insult to the Jungle itself.
And nothing appeared to interrupt their march of unease. No monsters, animals, or even sounds. No hint that anything was here at all. Well nothing but the toxic spores at least. And the group was sure that if they lit any torches, the moths would swarm them too.
The party’s unease only increased as they continued through the dark silence. And the deeper they traveled into the jungle, the less frequent the torches became. But the toxic spores in the air could not be fought.
Desperation
Jyona got antsy about nothing happening. And so decided to do something drastic to see if she could trigger any sort of reaction or response. Once everyone else was safe and far away from her, she extinguished one of the torches. And though the toxic spores attacked her hungry for her lungs, there were still no signs of enemies.
Teztcal meanwhile heard a voice in his head guiding him in the “right” direction. He didn’t share this information. In fact he didn’t think too much about it at all.
As the group slowly inched their way through toxic air towards the deepest part of this section of the jungle, they at long last heard signs of something else nearby. The trees rustled and ground crunched as something moved.
Teztcal offered Jyona a chance to ride on his back. And with it a fast way for her to escape one of the darkest sections of this part of the jungle. An offer she accepted instantly.
Obrom however declined the same offer. He didn’t fully trust Teztcal and the last thing he wanted was to put his life in the insane Dragon’s hand and wings.
At long last, Jyona and Teztcal reached a small clearing and triggered a response. Vines shot up from the ground and snatched Jyona off the Dragon. And as she fell down, her cries echoed around the Jungle. Which in turn prompted several enemies to appear from the darkness.
The Cult Appears
The Cult of Obsideon had been lurking in the woods. And it was a good guess that they were behind the corruption. The cultist closest to Jyona announced that the party would not be getting out of this place alive. But their next words held a worse sting: “Release Jak-Rath’s rejects!”
Trent turned into a Light Elemental with his staff. He charged at the first cultist he saw and unleashed pent up fury upon their soon corpse.
Jyona still did her best to refrain from killing anyone. Even if members of the Cult of Obsidian were seeking to slaughter countless innocent people, it was clear that many of the people that made up the cult were themselves victims.
Teztcal however had no qualms about attacking and killing the Cultists. In fact in his Dragon form, he ate the Cultist in front of her. Jyona internalized her dismay, knowing that Teztcal would only laugh at her misery.
Failed Experiments
It wasn’t long till Jak-Rath’s failed experiments showed up from the darkness. They wailed in agony begging the group to kill them as they attacked from several directions.
But Jak-Rath was clearly having fun terrorizing both his experiments and the group. They didn’t even get a chance to put the freakish mishmash of talking body parts out of their misery. The masses of flesh exploded into guts and gore when they got close enough to them. Trent grew furious at the obvious display of zero empathy and cruelty.
But the exploding flesh wasn’t the only problem the party had to contend with. The Cultists were doing whatever it took to kill the party. And that included getting possessed by the toxic spores and rising from the dead too. It was growing clearer as their unease escalated just what being a Platinum Adventurer entailed.
Jyona collapsed in despair when forced to kill the masses of flesh that had once been children. She had tried not to kill any sentient beings. And yet in self defense, had slaughtered several children multiple times over. She was not having a good time mentally.
Wrap Up
Things are only growing worse in the Cursed Jungle. And the Cult of Obsidian being here only means things are far more dire than the party thought.