Centrum Glacies Session 123: The Cursed Coin
Week 123 of the Dungeons and Dragons Campaign in Centrum Glacies continues as the party deals with Obrom’s Cursed Coin.
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!!!
Due to Obrom’s cursed coin, two Revenants appeared out of the darkness. And thanks to the Jungle of Giants suppressing sound, they would not be able to call for help. And they were targeting the Bard to the exclusion of all others.
Trent failed to convince the dragons to aid in the fight. They didn’t like the Bard and Kisara in particular found the idea of him being killed hilarious. Jyona took matters into her own hands. She threatened to not mentor the young Dragon if she didn’t assist in this clash. Begrudgingly Teztcal joined the fray and convinced his daughter to do the same.
Trent cast a wall of fire to try and separate the Revenants. But to little avail. They were single minded towards their mission. So single minded in fact, that they managed to beat Obrom to near death. And as he fell over bleeding, the coin vanished from his possession only to appear in the hands of the Golem.
Trent healed Obrom. Which didn’t seem to help the Bard much because the coin reappeared in his hands.
Jyona did her best to help her friends, while noting the odd nature of the coin. Unfortunately, while thinking about the cursed item, she was too distracted and she overstepped while trying to slash at one of the monsters. She fell into the flames and Trent considered dispelling the magic to avoid harming his friend further.
Breaking the Curse
The Revenants were defeated, and the darkness faded away. Unfortunately Obrom was horribly injured and the party didn’t want him to be like that when they were heading towards a dangerous confrontation with a Dragon. Luckily Jyona and Trent both were talented healers by now. They took some time tend to Obrom’s wounds. Much to Teztcal’s annoyance. He wanted them to hurry on towards the cave.
The Druid asked Obrom what the deal with the coin was. He had seen the Bard holding it, but Obrom had been rather secretive about it.
The bard answered truthfully how the shopkeeper in the Elven Village had given it to him. And that he would not be letting it go. It was his. His eyes told a different story. Clearly this coin was cursed to compel him to hold onto it.
Trent tried to knock it out of his hand. It was obvious that it would take force to separate the Bard from this cursed object.
Unfortunately, another force compelled Obrom to hold onto the coin. Likely an effect of the curse on the coin itself. Luckily Trent’s second attempt managed to separate him from the object. The druid then restrained him as he thrashed around. The Bard was using all his energy to try and get the coin.
Destroying the Curse
After dragging him away from the coin, Jyona tried to figure out what to do with it. She used her magical eye to scan the cursed object to figure out how it worked. She quickly came to the conclusion that it needed to be destroyed. but a curse like this coin was not easily destroyed. Her fire spell didn’t even scratch it.
Trent threw all caution to the winds and used one of the most powerful spells possible. He decided to flame strike it. Fire and Holy energy combined into one blast and even a powerful cursed relic could not hope to survive such.
The coin was incinerated and Obrom was freed from the compulsion. When the party asked him what he knew about how he had obtained it, he reminded them that the Elf Shopkeeper seemed enthusiastic to give it to him. They decided against heading there immediately. They were going to have to deal with the Dragon first to placate Teztcal and Kisara as well.
The Sphinx
Leaving the jungle and the cursed coins final resting place behind them, the group reached the Dragon’s cave. Jyona and Teztcal knew that they would need to deal with the Sphinx first.
Said Sphinx was not pleased to see Jyona and Teztcal brought more people. It warned them against challenging the Dragon. Calling Teztcal a fool and pointing out that the other’s greatly overestimated their power.
Trent who had not been here before, asked the Sphinx what it was guarding. It went on to explain the pocket dimension, the true location of the Dragon. In the past it had served to keep the Dragon safe from intruders. But now as a friend to the fallen master of the lair it was protecting intruders from it.
Before Trent could try and figure out if there was a way to convince it to help them against the Dragon, it further explained its relationship with the Copper Dragon that called this place home. When the Sphinx had been younger, it had been saved by this Dragon. And it owed its master a life debt.
Riddles
Yet Trent managed to convince the Sphinx to help them by pointing out that as the Dragon had been corrupted, it would be justice to put them out of its cursed state and misery. The Sphinx again pointed out that doing this would be impossible. But decided that it would humor them. If they could answer its three riddles, then it would let them through.
Teztcal and Jyona were not allowed to answer as they had already passed the trial and or befriended the sphinx. And so Trent decided he would be the one to go through the trial. Though Obrom agreed to help him.
For the first riddle, the Sphinx stated this:
Thunderous roar, and a rapid pace, Always running but yet stuck in place. Endless mouth that can not scream, Laid in bed, but can not dream.
Trent figured out quickly that the right answer immediately as he was a Druid. The answer was of course a River.
For the second riddle, the Sphinx stated this:
To be me you must not know me, But with me comes true bliss, To unlearn me is to learn another, And without me you will better know your place.
Trent answered close enough. The correct answer was Ignorance and he stated Stupidity.
The Sphinx decided it did not need to ask a third riddle. One last time it begged the party to reconsider. And once more they refused. They were confident that they could defeat even a Demon Dragon and so asked the Sphinx to phase shift them into the lair. As one final warning, the Sphinx let them know that they would not be able to leave the other plane unless the Dragon was dead.
The Dragon
As soon as the Sphinx shifted them into the pocket realm where the Dragon hid, the creature noticed them. It roared and shook the entire cave. And each party member felt afraid, even Teztcal and Kisara. For the monster before them was truly a monster that could only be called Dragon shaped. Because its skin and scales were wrong. Its horns were misshapen. All in all, this was a creature that shouldn’t exist and the party needed to destroy it to escape this place.
Teztcal transformed immediately into his demon form. He understood the danger this monster faced and was willing to use his full power to put it down.
Obrom who lacked a Demon form of his own tried to stall the Demon Dragon. He summoned a wall of force to box it in and let Teztcal poke at it from a small opening. Unfortunately the Demon Dragon’s breath weapon had changed post transformation. It disintegrated the wall of force and warned the party that they did not want to be hit by it.
Before anyone else could act, the Dragon’s lair reacted to its commands. Spikes formed from the ground posing a serious risk for any who moved along the ground. Everyone but Teztcal and Kisara stood in those spikes as they formed. And they would have to get impaled by many of them if they wished to either fight or flee from the Dragon.
Trent meanwhile flew up into the air and transformed into his Demon Form. Not only was he safe from the spikes now, but he was capable of hurting the Dragon. Something that Kisara discovered she could not do when she tried to use her own breath attack on their foe.
Wrap Up
The party has their work cut out for them. They are fighting a dangerous foe, empowered by dark magic. And the one behind it might be nearby. What will they do if such an opponent decides to cause trouble in an already dangerous situation?