Centrum Glacies Session 83: The Lich
Week 83 Dungeons and Dragons Campaign in Centrum Glacies continues with the party trapped in a dangerous jungle. They come face to face with a Lich.
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!!!
Teztcal found himself surrounded by Undead on all sides. But he was capable of flight. He flew above the monsters, carefully avoiding their claws and positioned himself perfectly. Perfectly to obliterate them with his breath weapon that was. Unfortunately Jyona’s animated armor was caught in the blast. And for the second time the armor was obliterated by the attack.
As the party hunted the last of the Zombies lurking in the swamps, they had another more dangerous surprise in store. One final Cultist had remained hidden until an opportune moment.
It turned out that the Cultist had remained hidden because he had been ritual casting a spell. And the group was just in time to witness its casting. Whatever was about to happen involved the Cultist stabbing himself with a knife. Not normally a sign of goodwill.
Heart of the Jungle
The world around the party went even darker than the Cursed Jungle. they got transported away from the swamp and to a place unknown. When the darkness faded, the party found themselves underground in a cavern with no visible lights. And something powerful was watching them.
As the group looked around the cave, cautiously, they were met with more enemies. Zombies emerged from the ground in alarming numbers. And the way they behaved proved even more that something was guiding them. And that horrible presence hadn’t faded. There was a good chance that said force was what was controlling the Undead.
An eerie shriek shook the cave. The hair stood on every member in the group, save Teztcal who not only was a Dragon, but too deluded to be worried about enemies. But the shriek carried a spell on the wind. And it formed a tether of negative energy on Teztca. In one of his rare moments of intelligence he realized that the tether binded him to their enemies. He decided not to use his breath weapon while it was active.
Instead, he snatched Obrom and Jyona and placed them on his back. The two become living shoulder cannons for Teztcal. This had been a recent dream and it excited him immensely that he finally made them comply.
The Lich
But as they as a group continued to destroy the Undead, more rose from the ground to replace them. And that horrible presence was coming closer. Its dark energy felt stronger.
Then the horrible creature made itself known. The party realized they were fighting a Blighted Lich. And the party realized just how deep in shit they were. This was a monster far beyond their ability to defeat.
Worse, the Lich wore a face that Trent recognized. It was the missing Archdruid. And a Lich made from his corpse was a clear affront to all Druids. But something strange stuck out. Trent couldn’t remember the fallen Archdruid’s name. This despite the fact that Trent had learned the name of every Archdruid during his schooling.
Teztcal’s wisdom for early had been exhausted. And so he foolishly claimed that in the face of a God, a Lich was only a minor creature. In turn, the Lich revealed it was capable of speech. And pointed out that it was the forest. Every tree, rock, and even particle in the air was under its control.
Wrap Up
The party is in trouble. A Lich is a being far too powerful for them to defeat. And if the creature is telling the truth, even fleeing won’t protect them from it.