Centrum Glacies Session 90: To Save a Unicorn Horn
Week 90 Dungeons and Dragons Campaign in Centrum Glacies continues with the party working towards saving a Unicorn Horn.
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, who was able to fly, patiently waited for an elevator to travel to the upper part of the city. Unfortunately he went towards the Golden Hands base rather than the Underwheel.
When he reached the top, he immediately went on a rant about avenging a unicorn. Naturally, the Golden Hands, who had nothing to do with the entire situation, had no idea what the Dragon was ranting about. Instead they asked him to leave.
Teztcal heard a voice in his head telling him to attack the Orc guards. A voice that sounded like his own. Luckily he decided to ignore the voice. A skill he had mastered over his life of ignoring lots of other demands of him.
The Dragon instead left the Golden Hands and flew up to the other tower where the Underwheel. He didn’t wait for the elevator this time. Instead, he and Mini-me flew up the tower and landed on one of the buildings.
Antagonizing the Underwheel
Like the Golden Hands, the Underwheel thugs immediately asked him what he was doing on top of the tower. “YOU KILLED NUMBER 0!” Teztcal shouted. Naturally none of them had no idea what he was talking about.
But, since Teztcal was a Dragon, shouting and making threats, the thieves were sent into a panic. Many of them ran around seemingly at random as they grew more afraid of the creature who had landed on their base.
Teztcal threatened to eat one of them alive unless they take him to their leader. As thieves, even as a group that massively outnumbered the Dragon, they were reluctant to reject his demands.
That was till their leader actually showed up. The Underwheel’s leader demonstrated that he was a powerful Mage when he trapped Teztcal and Mini-Me in a force cage. Even with all his Draconic power, Teztcal was unable to escape.
Teztcal continued to rant about the Underwheel “killing the unicorn”. Something that obviously didn’t happen. In addition he screamed as loud as he could to make sure he was heard outside his prison about the Hydra.
The leader of the Underwheel grew more confused as Teztcal continued rambling. But eventually he grew tired of the Dragon’s antics. He walked away, but left the force cage intact.
How to Protect a Unicorn Horn
Back at the Guild Hall, the rest of the party was told that to receive the reward, they would need to turn the commission into the Adriel. Specifically they would need to give her the Unicorn Horn.
They discussed al length whether or not to give over the Unicorn Horn. Trent especially was not a fan of the Spore Druids. He was reluctant to give such a rare and powerful item to a Circle run by Zinbella. The reward was far less important than this potentially dangerous fact.
Obrom pointed out that it wouldn’t hurt to go to Adriel and find out what her motives were. Trent still had doubts. Adriel being a leader of a criminal organization did not give her more credibility. In fact there was the risk that the party would be attacked if they refused to give her the Unicorn Horn.
With those doubts and worries on their minds, the party headed towards the Underwheel’s base of operations. Guided by Obrom who knew the city well, the Bard warned them of the dangers in the slums. It was far filthier and dangerous than the Lower City filled with refugees.
Meeting the Underwheel
As they approached the high rise where the Underwheel held sway, the group heard Teztcal’s voice screaming about some nonsense or whatever. At least initially, because soon after, his voice quieted. They would have all feared the worst if not for the fact that there were not so intrusive thoughts within all three wondering if the Dragon going silent forever was a good thing.
As the party rode the elevator up to the Underwheel, the group had no idea that Teztcal and Mini-Me were locked in an invisible barrier nearby. This was because both Dragons had gone invisible as well. They currently perfectly matched up with the force cage that still trapped them.
Trent wanted to get this over with. He approached the closest thug and asked to speak to Adriel immediately. The group was expected it turned out. And Adriel would come to meet them shortly according to the thug’s words.
While they waited, the Underwheel thugs collectively asked the group if their Dragon friend would be dealt with. The group was told about how Teztcal had come here threatening them to the point of being locked up for their safety. None of them were surprised.
Negotiations
The group didn’t get a chance to answer the questions. Adriel arrived and was ready to negotiate with them to get the Unicorn Horn.
She started going on a fanatical rant about how Druids should have the same power to revive as clerics. Adriel begged them to give her the Unicorn Horn. That for the sake of protecting countless people, Druids needed to have the ability to bring the recently killed back to life.
After some back and forth, where Trent pointed out that bringing back the dead was against what it meant to be a Druid, Jyona had her own thoughts on the subject. Jyona refused to give the Unicorn Horn to Adriel. Not only because the Unicorn had entrusted the item to her specifically, but because the way that Adriel spoke terrified her.
The thugs all started to draw their weapons, angered by the party’s defiance. Yet Adriel told them to stop. Whether it was an act of manipulation. or genuine reasons, the Spore Druid respected Jyona’s decision.
Adriel did have one thing to say though, before the party left. She pointed out that while she was one of the leaders of the Underwheel, she was not at the very top. The Thieves Guild did not take kindly to those who rejected their demands. She couldn’t guarantee that her boss wouldn’t send the Underwheel after the party later.
But she had a solution. She needed a vow from the group that they would ally with the Underhweel against the Golden Hands in the coming war between the two factions. If they di this, she could assure their safety.
Second Thoughts
Jyona asked Trent if she’s doing the right thing. Clearly they had several choices before them. And the group did not want to get pulled into a gang war considering what Wurthu had told them.
Instead, Jyona changed her mind and decided to trust Adriel. She had helped them against the Doppelganger on a prior mission after all.
But before she gave Adriel the Unicorn Horn, she asked if the Magic that the Druids intended to created were capable of reversing specific horrific experiments. Namely the ones being committed by Jak-Rath mad scientist of the Cult of Obsidian.
Unfortunately Adriel, who was quite familiar with his works against all life shook her head. What Jak-Rath was doing was breaking life apart and rebuilding new life forms. Healing would only break the organisms apart and cause the original people composed of those pieces to suffer a horrible and painful death. Yet there was a lot of good that could be done. And if they wanted to give her the Unicorn Horn, she would gladly meet them at the Spore Druid Circle.
As the party contemplated the Dark Elf and the sheer amount of harm he was causing, their conversation with Adriel was cut short. Another leader of the Underwheel emerged from one of the nearby buildings and informed Adriel that there was a meeting underway that she needed to attend. Right then. And whatever this involved was so urgent that she left without even saying goodbye.
Leaving with the Dragon
The Underwheel once again asked the party to take the dragon away. They clearly wanted the group gone now that Adriel had left. But they had one condition if the party didn’t want future trouble. They wanted Teztcal gone. And would only drop the magic around him if the Dragon and his child were asleep.
The party saw no issue with this, and Obrom contemplated getting a few doses of whatever the Underwheel used. Namely because it put the two Dragons to sleep. Even as they were invisible, near instant snoring indicated that it had worked.
Obrom picked up the baby dragon. Meanwhile, Trent summoned two bears to tie to Teztcal to. Once both Dragons were situated, made a little more tense by the fact that both were invisible, the group took their large and potentially dangerous cargo away from the Underwheel.
Once the party returned to the Guild Hall, Teztcal and Mini-me woke up. The older Dragon did not realize he was still invisible, so Jyona helped them. Namely by dispelling the ring’s magic on both of them.
Teztcal asked Obrom why Mini-me smells like human garbage. Specifically the human garbage he was currently addressing. The Dragon had an extremely serious moment. “You touch mini-me again, I’ll kill you”. Given the sheer intensity of this statement, Obrom knew he meant every word.
A New Direction
Teztcal proclaimed to Jyona that she could not give over the horn. As Teztcal continued to be unlike himself he gave a reason why. His reasoning of course was that the Underwheel had tried to kill the hydra. While his reason was a little nonsensical his fears made a lot more sense than normal.
Obrom checked the bounty board. He needed to get his mind off of Teztcals very serious threat. Other than a Gold Adventurer’s Seal he didn’t recognize accepting a mission to investigate the missing people who had gone to the downs in the Jungle of Giants, no other quests had been undertaken.
Jyona asked Trent if the Archdruid from the Circle of Cleansing might know if handing over the horn to Adriel was a bad idea. Trent didn’t know, and thought it best to ask him directly. As the group had no way to directly reach him, Jyona casted a ritual of sending to telepathically ask. It was a one way communication though. To figure out his answer, Jyona asked that he come find them with an answer as soon as possible.
A Meeting with Tim
As the group started planning their next move, a prominent Adventurer entered the Guild Hall. Tim had returned. And Jyona’s Golem bowed towards him of its own accord. But the Half Elf did not notice this unusual gesture.
Obrom rushed up to greet a truly remarkable living legend. But Tim walked right past the Bard and addressed Jyona directly. Specifically he asked about the work they collaborated on the night prior. Tim wanted permission to reverse engineer a couple of her ideas. He thought that there were even more practical applications of some of her inventions.
It was Jyona’s turn to be honored. She saw no issue with her ideas being recreated several times if they would help even more people. Not to mention she considered Tim a friend. The Platinum Adventurer thanked her and left just as quickly as he had appeared. And once more he walked right past Obrom.
Once they knew he was gone, The party discussed their thoughts on Tim. Obrom reminded them that he had once been a Mythril Adventurer. No one had ever reached that rank in the Guild without doing at least some shady stuff.
And it only was more suspicious how his image made it easy for people to like him. Still, the man had been nothing but helpful towards Trent and Jyona from their very first day as official Adventurers. Those two at least intended to keep trusting him.
A New Plan
Jyona decided to distract Teztcal from his desire to encounter the hydra. The Dragon kept asking about when they were returning to the Jungle of Giants to find it. Instead, she redirected his attention by showing him her progress on his claw weapon and the blueprints involved.
Trent suggested they find Zinbella’s sisters to gain entry to the Elven Village. It was their only lead towards cleansing the well. And while they took care of that issue, they could wait for the Archdruid’s reply.
Teztcal grew very excited when he heard Trent mention Yinbella, the Magician who had captivated the Dragon amongst others when they had first met her. Uncharacteristically excited in fact.
He left the Guild Hall without waiting for the rest of the group to catch up. And he spoke to as many soldiers as he could to try and track the Magician down.
Unfortunately he had forgotten the woman’s name. And so his query regarding a Magician traveling Zrin’s streets didn’t help much. There were far too many people who fit that description to narrow it down.
Searching for Yinbella
Luckily, the rest of the party caught up to Teztcal. And unlike him, they knew the Elf’s name. Trent told the guards that they were looking for Yinbella. At long last the soldiers understood Teztcal’s questions. Unfortunately, they did not know her whereabouts.
But there was one person in the city who would probably know. Wurthu seemed to know lots of things. Teztcal couldn’t remember who that was and made guesses. Guesses that made the rest of the party sigh in disbelief.
Wurthu himself appeared to have been listening in to this conversation. He projected an image to talk to the group. And this hadn’t been the first time he had used such an ability. Teztcal recognized him but used a much more derogatory name: “Green Man”. The rest of the group feared reprisal for the insult. But the powerful Orc took it all in stride.
He stated that Yinbella had already left Zrin. If the party needed her for whatever reason, they would have better luck asking one of her sisters.
Searching for Xilbella
Much to Trent’s relief, Wurthu noted that Zinbella was also not in the city. Their remaining sister was in the city somewhere. But even the Orc didn’t know where. Yet, the group did know of one person, two in fact that would know. They thanked the Orc leader of Zrin and went on their way.
The party headed over to the lower city Demon Orphanage run by Maerwynn. The shadow Demon who might not have been had been an accomplice to Xilbella when they had tried to rebel against Persophine and Engelique.
Maerwynn initially didn’t want to help them. But after a lot of pestering, she lets out a sigh. Making them promise not to harm her, the former Hag told them that Xilbella was at Trinoa’s Clinic buying some items for spellcasting.
Asking a Witch for Help
The group found Xilbella at the clinic as promised. Teztcal ever bad at remembering names, asked if she was a chameleon. Once more the party groaned at his stupidity. But if Xilbella was upset, she didn’t show it. Instead, she seemed indifferent to his antics, remarking that such a name was “A new one.”
Trent told her why they had sought her out. They needed to go to the Elven Village and ask about the rare plant Dream Bloom. A question that she returned with one of her own. Specifically, she asked if Wurthu was aware that the party’s actions along with her sister Zinbella’s own were the cause of the well’s corruption.
Trent was torn on whether or not to tell Wurthu. He was weighing his options and realizing that there were pros on cons no matter which way he decided. But Jyona had ideas of her own on this subject. She reminded him that “We don’t lie to good people.” And Trent agreed that the Orc had been nothing but helpful to them. Even as they caused chaos in his city.
Teztcal hadn’t paid attention to the conversation. Instead, he declared “Yeah, she’s a lizard!” Referring to Xilbella. This time she showed annoyance. Only for a wicked grin to cross her face.
Turned into a Chicken
Xilbella was a powerful Wizard, and immediately cast a non offensive spell at the Dragon. Instead, she temporarily turned the Dragon into a chicken. Teztcal did not like this one bit and squawked angrily.
She promised to release the spell if he stopped talking over everyone. Teztcal, learning nothing from this situation as a chicken, pulled out a crow feather and tried to speak chicken to them. As the crows could not understand him, they immediately vanished.
Xilbella was confused as to why the party would let him use such powerful Druidic Artifact. Especially when Trent an actual Druid was in the same group. They didn’t have an answer for her.
Teztcal grew increasingly more embarrassed as he was unable to do much in his current state as a chicken. Not for lack of trying though. Rather than listen to Xilbella’s instructions, he tried to interrupt the conversation in his new form. But his squawks were easy to ignore. As usual, Mini-Me remained quiet.
Planning for Travel
Able to ignore the Dragon, the rest of the party return to the subject at hand. They needed Dream Bloom to purify the well. And if Xilbella knew where to find it, they begged her to take them to where it grew.
Unfortunately, despite being a Wizard of no small renown and having traveled around the world, she had never seen the plant. In fact she was certain only the Elf Elder would know where to find it. But she had no issue taking them to see the Elves. She was planning to head home anyway and wouldn’t mind the company.
Xilbella let them know that weird things occurring around the Jungle of Giants and beyond. At least one Platinum Adventurer had visited the Elven Village recently. Not to mention that people were vanishing in the nearby downs.
Wrap Up
The party rested up for the night. They would depart in the morning. It was clear that something important was happening in the background, but they would need to go into the Elven Village blind to potential dangers.