Centrum Glacies Session 122: To Grant a Lair
Week 122 of the Dungeons and Dragons Campaign in Centrum Glacies continues as the party makes another set of deals with Wurthu that will grant them a lair.
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.
Most recently, the party helped cause a complete planetary genocide. Save a few survivors, no one remains from that world. They are still grappling with this unfathomable loss of life and their role in making it happen. It is clear that their suffering is far from over. They can only hope they don’t cause untold pain to an even more untold more.
!!!Final Trigger Warning!!!
The party woke up from their very comfortable slumber aside from Trent who had slept restlessly. They had awakened due to noise from the entrance. They heard some shouting from that direction and before thinking about whether it had anything to do with them, they headed towards the commotion.
There they found Siobhan and Yotul having an argument. Specifically, Siobhan had taken issue about using the party, who were her friends as bait. Trent smiled knowing they still had the Dwarf as an ally. Even after all this time.
An excited Jyona flew towards the Dwarf. And tackle hugged her inn excitement. At long last and after so long apart, she was extremely happy to see her again.
Teztcal meanwhile scolded both Yotul and Siobhan due to being so loud. He accused them of waking his daughter. The dwarf was confused asking “Daughter, how?” The Dragon naturally was confused how she didn’t know what a daughter is. He had once more missed the point of her questions.
Seeing her as a fool, Teztcal called her a midget. She retorted by calling him a squirt. And in turn mocked his intelligence.
Catching Up and Leaving
Siobhan decided to ignore the Dragon’s further quips and approached Trent to find out what they had been up to. As they exchanged stories, Jyona finally showed Kisara how the animated armor is taken apart and put together again.
Before the party left the inn, Jyona remembered to greet Siobhan properly. She stripped her armor down to her normal clothes and flexed her cleavage at the Dwarf. The Dwarf responded in turn. She remembered this greeting. Siobhan removed her own armor and flexed back.
Nothing had changed since they had been together before. The Half-elf stood no chance against the busty dwarf. It didn’t help she was down an arm weakening her muscles further.. Either way, both had a shit-eating grin on their faces the whole time. There was something goofy about reenacting their first greeting.
Faxina’s Background
Yotul snapped the party’s attention to her and informed them that Faxina needs to be contained. But they should not engage her themselves. She informed the party just how dangerous she really was. The Orc mentioned that there was a task force trained specifically for dealing with that Demon. She seemed to be hiding something about that. Why did there need to be trained soldiers to deal with one specific monster?
Obrom convinced her to speak about Faxina’s clan. The Demon had the ability to take control of people’s minds. It was considered a dark and powerful art. Yotul mentioned that the Orcs had a device specially crafted to counteract this magic.
But she was unwilling to give it to the party. No matter how many times they asked. She pointed out that they tend to find themselves in trouble frequently. Each time of trouble was another chance where a rare device like that could fall into the wrong hands.
She ended the conversation abruptly by asking them to return to Wurthu and report everything to him. Teztcal finally piped up, “Ah yes, my reward.” He was excited to leave at least.
Leaving Zerruz
As the party prepared to leave, Jyona told Siobhan to give “Big Green” her best. The Dwarf gave a friendly farewell in return and stated that she hoped to see them soon in the Dwarven Lands.
As the party left the inn, they ran into Dalan and Marq. Jyona went to check on Dalan to make sure she was doing alright after everything. She asks what the portal was and where it would take her. Teztcal for whatever reason, thought she was referring to his daughter.
The two dragons surrounded Obrom once they realized their mistake. They asked Dalan if she wanted to see how the portal worked firsthand. They failed miserably in their attempts to grab the Bard. In fact, Kisara slipped on nothing and fell on her butt in defeat.
Teztcal tried to cast Hold Person on Obrom. But his actions had consequences. Jyona had had enough at this point and counterspelled it. She raised her voice in a stern tone, very unlike her, and a very subtle hint of nobility behind it. Teztcal backed down and went through the portal. Kisara traveled with him.
Forgetting Key Instructions
Dolan wanted to know how to use the portal. Marq went through to show her. He explained that he had been taught by his former teachers how such an artifact worked. Jyona got excited having a chance to explain how it works. But she made a mistake and accidentally left out one key detail. The place you’re thinking of going is how you chose where to go. And that place had to also have a teleporter there connected to the same network.
Dalan went through. Unfortunately she had not been told that vital piece of information before she vanished and so none of the party knew where she had gone. They all looked at each other worried upon Jyona realizing what she had just done.
Before Trent, Obrom and Jyona went through, the Half-Elf pulled the Bard aside and asked him if he wanted to commission anything from her. She needed a new project in her down time or she would go nuts.
An Encounter with Jarar
Jyona and Trent went into the portal and returned to Zrin. They were eager to talk to Wurthu and figure out what had happened in that prison. Not to mention what he had intended for them.
But before Obrom could go into the portal he heard a voice call out: “wait”. Jarar appeared before him. The Drow once again repeated his earlier question: “Why are you traveling with them?”
Obrom answered with the truth. He had nothing to hide from Jarrar. He explained his brand and the Jak-Rath ordeal. Jarar seemed to have little interest in being caught up in what Obrom told him. He bid the Bard good luck and told him to prepare for death if he was marked by that mad biologist. He didn’t say another word and disappeared into the portal.
The Bard had no reason to remain in Zerruz and so he too stepped into the portal. He knew his party was waiting for him in Zrin and focused on that location so that he could quickly meet up with them.
A Talk with Wurthu
The party gathered in the center of Zrin. But they didn’t have much choice as that was where the portal was. Not more than a few feet away Wurthu stood waiting for them. He welcomed them back and offered an immediate apology for what he had put them through as he debriefed them.
Teztcal didn’t care about that. His mind was focused on another matter. “You’re missing something.” He wanted his lair. The Orc promised that his reward was coming.
Trent wanted to apologize for the well, but Wurthu waved him off. He didn’t seem concerned by that threat at all. He even pointed out that sometimes accidents happen. Especially when using magic to defeat dangerous adversaries.
The Hydra Head
Wurthu next turned back to the Dragon about his reward. Teztcal really wanted a hydra guard. Despite what everyone else assumed of him, he managed to show just how much that mattered to him. Specifically by showing that he had kept one of the heads from the last one they had slain.
Wurthu sighed and accepted the head. It would be possible to grow it for him for his “guard”. But warned it would take several years for this to become a full fledged Hydra. He pointed out that there was one person in the world who could likely get him a Hydra much faster. The problem was that person happened to be Jak-Rarth.
No one liked that. Except Teztcal. Probably. He at least seemed the least averse to asking for help from such an immoral and wicked person.
Trent tried to discount his intelligence. As a Druid he hated that Drow above basically every other member of the Cult of Obsidian. Wurthu warned the Druid that believing such things about Jak-Rath would put them in danger. His intelligence was what made him dangerous.
The Dragon ignored these warnings. He wanted a Hydra now. And if Jak-Rath could get him one fastest, then the party would need to seek him out. Thanks to Zinbella’s ritual, they knew he was in the mountains and so Teztcal asked how they would get there. Wurthu mentioned that some problems had come up preventing them from going there at the moment.
Dalan’s Secret
Wurthu took the conversation in a different direction and brought up Dalan. He asked what she told the party and that they should have asked her why she was in that prison specifically. When they realized that not asking her that question had been a major misstep, Wurthu filled in the gaps. He stated that she was an assassin. But not a killer. She assassinated character. A honey pot so to speak.
The Orc added that if she showed up here Dalan would need to go right back into that prison. With the crimes she had committed, such a person was too dangerous to let walk around despite the fact that she was a victim. She had blackmailed too many nobles in the city and Wurthu would have had to imprison her again to appease them.
Trent brought up that he was “surprised they’re not all vampires at this point.” Referring to those same nobles. Wurthu signaled him to stop talking immediately. Before anyone could say anything in protest, the Orc put up another sound bubble. Their conversation would not be overheard.
The Vampire Threat
He mentioned that the Vampires were up to something. And that Trent might actually have the right idea. Wurthu brought up the child with no tongue. Soldiers had checked the kid’s memories and found that his mind was wiped blank. He couldn’t speak despite having regeneration as a Spawn. His tongue had been maimed in such a way that it healed wrong. It was clear that this was a smart Vampire and operating with a very organized group.
Even worse, the Orc had reason to suspect that the Cult of Obsidian was dealing with both the nobles and these Vampires. Just how many schemes were they involved in? And given that children were involved, there was quite a large chance that Jak-Rath was involved.
Wurthu asked Trent to warn Adrienne to be careful. The Orc feared that her actions were too reckless and risked forcing the Vampires into hiding.
To Claim a Lair
The Orc then turned to Teztcal and told him the first step in claiming a lair. If he wanted his lair he needed to clear the clown empowered dragon from it. Teztcal needed no more convincing to go on that adventure.
The party agreed that having a base of operations would be nice. Jyona also whispered to Trent and Obrom that appeasing Teztcal had paid off before. And helping him secure a lair would likely pay vast dividends in fact.
Trent whispered back that he hopes the dragons all kill each other. She shot him a VERY dirty look. She was growing increasingly tired of the party’s petty squabbles. Jyona just wanted them all to get along.
As they left the city and headed towards the lair, Obrom’s brand began to burn again.The Revenant Knight appeared from the darkness and once more made demands. “Give me the ring.”
Teztcal realized that he wasn’t the target. “Oh, you’re only after him.” And points at Obrom.
The party prepared to fight, and the so a second Revenant was summoned by the first. Teztcal left the party to fight on their own, but ran into an invisible barrier. He wasn’t getting away.
Wrap Up
The group has trouble in the form of Revenants, but this is just warmup compared to what they will encounter when they face the Dragon.