Centrum Glacies 2021 Session 4: Deadliest Ideals Clash
Week four in 2021 of this Dungeons and Dragons Campaign in Centrum Glacies seems to be reaching a head as the deadliest ideals clash. The big players manipulating everything from all sides finally started appearing.
Like my other campaign, I’m turning this one into a book series. However I’m still working on that project. Give it some time.
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 once the book series starts hitting virtual and real shelves.
!!!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.
Most recently 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 at large is currently succumbing to magical wounds that appear to be turning them into Demons.
!!!Final Trigger Warning!!!
The party including Faustus the Half Demon Warlock, Trent Westwood the Human Druid, Jyona Thornwreath the Half Elf Artificer and poor Malcolm the Dwarf Paladin who still doesn’t know how his simple assignment escalated to such an insane degree had no choice but to fight alongside a coven of Witches and their potent leaders.
Persephine a Mythril Adventurer and above the law in every meaning of the phrase continued to force her will on them. Her closest confidant, Engelique known as the unofficial fifth member of this elite group had even more power over the party than her best friend.
The Southern Army was essentially wiped out in this area, and the party felt renewed hope that they only had one more army and a band of dangerous Cultists between them and the Peacemakers. Of course this group happened to be the Cult of Obsidian. Considered by most rational and some irrational ones to be the most dangerous organization on the planet, the Coven tried to remove them from this battle.
Dragon Bandits:
But another group joined this conflict seeing an opportunity. Bronze Dragons, with scales reflecting the moonlight attacked the Imperial Army from above. But their behavior was unusual for Dragons. They started pillaging and looting as bodies fell around them.
Trent continued in rat form towards his controlled allies. They might have be under the Peacemaker’s powerful mind control spell, but the Druid wanted to try and save them before it was too late.
Faustus having a meltdown begged Persehpine for guidance and she told him to charge towards the wall. She reminded him that ending this conflict quickly would minimize life lost. The Warlock felt that far too many had already died and listened to her cold words.
Calming Faustus:
Adrine watched her work as the vampire spawn destroyed the imperial army. Realizing that Faustus was panicking and that Persephine probably did not have his best interests at heart, she called out to him telepathically.
When he reached the Vampire, she did something reminiscent of the very Peacemakers he had fled from. She dominated his shattered mind. Not to control and cause harm though, unlike the many others who had done so to him over his toxic life. Instead she commanded him to calm down and control his breathing.
Though she considered it a cruel and underhanded tactic, Faustus was approaching a dangerous state of mind. One that the woman recognized and knew far too well after dealing with her own ordeals.
However, Apephe, the young and brash Blue Dragon decided that she had other methods to help Faustus. She flew towards the Warlock eager to administer her own methods of support.
Mortina:
Jai-Hin’s transformation into a flaming monstrosity only intensified and was encouraged by Perspehine and the Witch Coven who fed her more fire rather than give it to the Cult of Obsidian. She charged the Imperial City wall and even breached it within a short matter.
But no matter what had happened up until now, the worst was yet to come. As the Cult of Obsidian continued to be erased by the sheer number of Naga Warriors, a young woman appeared in an explosion removing quite a few of the serpents from the world. The party didn’t recognize her, but Engelique and Persephine did.
Perspehine called to the party to run as far away from this newcomer and head for the Imperial Capital’s walls. Calling on her friend to use her most potent tool to stop whoever this was, The other witch called out and named this person as Mortina, the most powerful of the Mythril Adventurers.
To prevent her from causing havoc across this battlefield with whatever power had the two powerful Witches terrified, Engelique didn’t even give Mortina time to speak before she froze her in time. But to do so required her full concentration.
The elementals and cultists had been lifted into the air with a gravity spell. The magic ended and they plummeted to earth. A good thing that gravity finished these dangerous foes off.
Flow of Battle:
Meanwhile, back in the Imperal Camp on the other side of the wall, Ratha dispelled darkness spell. Revealing that Adrene’s attack had been hugely successful, Trent, still in rat form witnessed the carnage. All the soldiers minus their former allies had been cruelly killed. Cropese were being burned even now, lest they get back up and try to spread the curse of Vampirism.
Unfortunately, even controlled by the Peacemakers, Cia, a soldier who long ago had pretended to be a man so that she would not be judged for enlisting in close combat infantry realized that rats were spies for Vampires. She just happened to be wrong in this case, and Trent reverted back to his true form after a single strike.
Ratha was furious as she realized who he was working with. Demanding to know why he and his allies served the very witches who had ruined their lives, the Druid unfortunately had no answer. Her anger only intensified as she decided she had enough of this battle. Grabbing the Wizard Li-Ang and demonstrating that for whatever reason, she was not under Peacemaker control, she teleported away.
Jayde rallied the troops and killed the remaining Dragons. As she was on the other side of the Imperial Camp, she didn’t witness Trent appear. And so she didn’t think his actions to be betrayal.
Race Against Time:
Perspheine and her witch coven flew at a rapid speed towards the Imperial City racing against time until Mortina broke free. Engelique warned telepathically that she couldn’t hold her much longer and was under intense strain.
With the Dragons eliminated, the Imperial Army turned their attention towards Jai-Hin or at least the monster that was in her place. Once again, Jayde demonstrated fantastic leadership. This time though, the former bandit leaders screams shook the entire battlefield and startled Faustus out of his stupor.
Apephe used this moment to deliver words of encouragement to the Warlock. The young Dragon demanded that he not die. She finally showed that Perspehine’s slaughter of her Dragon family had shaken her after all. Claiming that Faustus and his merry band were her new family.
The Warlock was touched by this unexpected show of emotion and said he would accept her request. She in turn offered to carry him over the wall to help end this conflict quickly. She muttered that enough Dragons had already died in this conflict too.
Trent shifted into a new form and using the shape of a great eagle managed to get the dwarf pirate Addek and Cia outside the city. However, unlike Ratha, the Peacemakers still controlled them. They struggled to break from from his grip. This only managed to force them to fall and succumb to gravity. Luckily their falls were not fatal. Not yet at least.
Begging for Mercy:
The Druid begged Persephine to save these two. She scoffed at his attempts to save former friends, reminding him that such friendship only would slow him down. And if that wasn’t enough, she properly pointed out that if they got back on their feet, the two would be enemies.
Still he said he would not return to the battle until he knew their safety was ensured. Eventually she grumbled that she would have a few of the witches stabilize them but wouldn’t promise anything else. Content with that, the Druid returned to the wall. Along the way, he grabbed Malcolm the Dwarf who tried desperately to be wherever the fighting was.
A good thing that the party was at the wall in the next moments, for Mortina broke free. Before focusing on Engelique, she stated that outsiders didn’t need to be here. She warped to Szukli and her army and horrifical slaughtered them all in moments. The Priestess didn’t even get a chance to beg for her life. Mortina simply blew her body to bits. Blood and guts carried by the wind spread all across the battlefield.
Desperate to end this fight before Mortina ended all them, Perspehine empowered Jai-Hin further, causing the transformed Bandit Leader to run towards Jayde and the Imperial Army. Whatever energy she made use of finally expired in a massive explosion.
Vim-Kios Appears:
Jayde was caught in the blast and it was likely that she and all of her troops met a terrible end. Trent and Malcolm came in hot pursuit, the eagle shifted druid airdropping the dwarf to see if there were any survivors.
Jayde likely would have perished, by another untimely arrival saved her. But this figure spelled danger for Persephine and the party. Vim-Kios, the first Mythril Adventurer the party had met joined the battle. He healed the Imperial Army Commander and quickly shoved her aside.
He demanded to know why Malcolm who he had tasked with spying on the witches had joined them instead. Tounge tied as he was, the Dwarf could not answer. Another deadly side effect of the geas that was still controlling his actions.
Perspehine had no choice but to confront him. The party didn’t know what Vim-Kios was capable of. The Mythril Adventurer put those questions to rest summoned a powerful creature using specialized magic to combat her. She had no choice but to use her own artifact over magic to save herself. The artifact that had started this very conflict: The Law of Silencing Magic.
Round Up:
Three of the Mythril Adventurers have joined this conflict with the fourth working with the Peacemakers. It is likely Volun who the party met prior is even their leader. What this means for the group might soon be revealed. Assuming they can get passed Mortina and Vim-Kios that is.