Centrum Glacies Session 107: Monster from the Stars
Week 107 of the Dungeons and Dragons Campaign in Centrum Glacies continues as the party is at long last reunited. Unfortunately, they are forced to battle a Monster from the Stars.
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, and 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!!!
The party didn’t have time to talk about their shared trauma. Their Demon Forms had wrought a tragedy in the Feywild. Minus the few Archfey nearby, it was possible not a single soul had survived. And the Feywild itself was gone. Only an abyss filled with stars remained.
The reason they didn’t have time to talk was because a horror unlike anything they had faced was now staring them down. This Monster from the Stars attacked with energy beams, gravity like spells, claws and tail that reached large distances courtesy of its gargantuan size.
The three remaining Archfey did what they could to assist the party. But near the Demon forms, not to mention the Monster from the Stars itself, they were severely weakened. And the Feywild itself was destroyed. Their pocket dimensions alongside it.
Jyona begged Midnight to help Obrom. The Bard unlike the other three did not have a Demon form. And he was against a monster that was far beyond what his Guild Rank normally would pit him against. Truly he should not have been anywhere near this situation at all.
Help from Archfey
But even in her weakened state Midnight was still an Archfey. And so she transformed Obrom from a simple Human Bard into a much greater creature: A Gold Dragon. In this form, he could use the same attacks as Teztcal. And as he was distracted by the Monster from the Stars, the true Dragon didn’t even notice.
Violet was not idle either. Her combat prowess was not as great as Midnight or Pucks. But she was a powerful healer. And it was through no small effort that she helped keep the party alive.
Puck meanwhile was the most combat oriented of the Archfey. Unlike before though, he was only capable of summoning One Dragon. Still the added attacks helped to weaken the Monster from the Stars.
The party continued clashing with the Monster from the Stars. And even though things liked dire, they slowly weakened it with the Archfey’s help. That was until the creature teleported away from them and changed tactics. The sky darkened even more than before. Several stars around them winked out of existence. The group figured out why moments later. The creature had called forth objects all around the cosmos to use as projectiles.
Another Monster from the Stars
Many of the comets struck home and did serious damage as anything falling from space would. But one such attack missed by a large stretch. And yet it was this specific attack that proved to be the most dangerous. Soon one enemy became two. A smaller version of the same creature appeared and looked no less hostile than the first.
The larger Monster from the Stars grabbed Trent. And despite being some bizarre creature with biology that didn’t make sense, it seemed more than capable of using what seemed to be a mouth to try eating the Druid. His Demon form was plenty small to fit between jaws as it started biting him repeatedly.
Meanwhile, the smaller Monster from the Stars demonstrated that it also could manipulate gravity. It lifted Jyona into the air and left her suspended. She couldn’t move. Or really do anything as she awaited what terrible fate might await her.
But whatever the creature had in store for her was left unrevealed. Gor-Venal finished off the monster. His blows caused the creature to disintegrate to dust that was blown away by cosmic wind. Upon its death, Jyona fell to the ground. And even though she took falling damage, it was likely not as bad as what would have happened otherwise.
The Battle’s End
Teztcal called Obrom a fake dragon. It had taken him until that moment to notice that there was a second one. And it took him several moments more to realize that it was Obrom and not some random creature.
Unfortunately, the Bard was not accustomed to using this form. His swings went wide and he instead hit Trent. Making it even easier for the creature to devour the Druid.
Teztcal ignored the other Dragon long enough to kill the Monster from the Stars. Or whatever such a creature experienced when killed.
Returning Home
As the remnants of the Feywild vanished, the party show up in Ratha’s house. The surviving Archfey appeared in their own world again. Ratha was surprised to see them all. And she saw concern on their faces. Which in turn prompted her to ask what happened.
Teztcal was eager to answer. “We killed the giant bee with our overwhelming powers!”
Ratha looked at the rest of the party trying to figure out what Teztcal was talking about. When none of them answered her, she turned to Jyona. She asked the Half Elf if she still had the Unicorn. She did of course as no one had taken it from her.
But after that, Ratha read the room and realized that they needed rest. The Elf Elder told them all to get rest. And as she looked at all the Archfey, she didn’t even ask who they were.
At the Inn
When they made it to the inn, Trent went off on his own. Now that the battle was over, he had a lot to think about. Puck tried to follow him. Yet in his despair he pushed
Puck tried to reassured him that it wasn’t his fault. In fact he pointed out that the one who was truly responsible was Klevor. And speaking of that violent creature, Puck warned that he was certain that Klevor was alive. Worse, he was most likely in this world and nearby.
Midnight tapped Jyona’s forehead to give her restful sleep. The poor Half Elf was not able to talk and stared at nothing, traumatized beyond belief. Midnight wanted to say some encouraging words but knew those words would reach Jyona right now.
Obrom meanwhile tried to find peace at the bottom of a bottle. He went on a drunk rant about supernatural events, citing nonsense about how until recently he hadn’t dealt with such things. Perhaps this was his way of admitting that he was in way over his head.
Joining Forces
Midnight asked Obrom if the three Archfey could join the party. She wanted revenge against Klevor, blaming him for her mother’s death as well as the destruction of the entire Feywild. Though she admitted that the three of them had lost almost all their power and would only be able to follow around and talk to them.
Teztcal was the first to welcome them to the group. He agreed that they needed to kill Klevor, although he boasted that the Renegade Archfey would die by his hand.
Jyona had words to add to the conversation, but they were bitter and filled with feelings of futility. She had wanted to badly for the Fey to be different than the denizens of her world. She was filled with despair wondering if all races in all worlds were simply driving by violence. Jyona couldn’t understand why people were not capable of being better.
An Unbreakable Bond
Obrom though drunk, tried to steel Jyona’s resolve. He said how not all people were violent. And it was the duty of those like themselves who understood this fact to protect others from those who wished to continue what they had witnessed.
Puck in his own way also encouraged the group. Though he was still a Fey and his reasoning was not quite what a person from their world would come to. He still made a better attempt than most Fey would have though.
Trent got over his own distress for a moment and did his best to comfort Jyona. The two shared a platonic hug. It was the least he could do after the horrors they had faced. Not to mention the awful end of their actions.
Midnight broke the silence and pulled out a strange looking flower. She explained to Jyona that when she had gone through her memories, she had seen that the Half Elf was searching for this specific flower. It was the Dreamflower that the party needed to help with the well in Zrin.
As the night continued, Jyona and Trent joined Obrom as they drank to help reduce the amount of sorrow in their hearts. But even a good nights sleep would do little to ease their consciences. Whatever they felt in the morning, it wouldn’t be enough to change the fact that the party had destroyed an entire planet and almost every single living creature that had called it home.
Wrap Up
The party is reunited physically but mentally their minds are back in the Feywild and caught up in the atrocities that committed, however accidental. They will have no choice but to move past their feelings quickly though as the world will not wait for them to recover.