Cycle of Millennia 2021 Session 26: Chaos
Here is week 26 of my 2021 Dungeons and Dragons Campaign Cycle of Millennia. Lets go over session 26: Chaos
Don’t forget that this campaign has been ongoing for over three years. There is a lot of story to cover and I’m writing a book series to document it all. I am adapting this adventure into a book series. The first three are on Amazon.
!!!Trigger Warnings Abound!!!
This campaign takes place in an incredibly unpleasant setting. The party has dealt with Human Traffickers, Sex Slavery, Child Sacrifice, The Apocalypse, Genocide, Wicked Cults, and other related topics.
There is a God of Madness that is fond of causing auditory and visual hallucinations, makes use of psychic gaslighting, commands the literal legions of hell, and all around causes untold suffering in the setting.
Essentially, nothing is off the table in this campaign. If the above ideas are not ones you want to think about, I do not think this blog series is for you. That is not a problem and does not indicate any failings on your part. I am a storyteller that does not shy away from the darkest topics. It would be horrible for me to not warn my audiences of this in advance.
!!!Final Trigger Warning. Past this point there be dark topics!!!
With Caic captured, the rest party tried to figure out their next move. They needed to rescue him of course. But different members of the group felt different amounts of effort were worth exerting to save him.
Lord Death made their next choice for them. Kranaak had made his move, which in turn made Charice’s Faithful react in kind. While Innovia City itself was secure for the moment, a new battlefield had formed just outside the range of the Charice Gas.
Through some sort of trickery that had Caethia’s scent all over it, several different factions were now scattered all over a vast brown field. Berserker Knights, and Exscutchon Paladins fought against Kranaak’s Demons and Nihilinn’s Undead. Orabaras’ adherents and some of her Infernal Forces made up another group. The party watched this all unfold through Lord Death’s scrying orb.
Battle is Joined:
However, they saw something at the center of this battlefield that required their attention. Antionette, Oswald, and Thia sat in the middle of it all. The three were trying to fight their way out of this bloodbath. Hadron wanted to go there immediately. Velkora saw a way to keep Orabaras from bothering them for a bit. Grez however was not interesting in being part of this fight.
The rest of the party fought their way towards Antionette, Oswald and Thea. They didn’t have many issues. Their allies were all trained soldiers who had spent their lives preparing to fight evil creatures. It helped that Orabara’s minions sided with them. It was clear that their hatred for Kranaak and Nihilinn trumped the Goddess’ current feelings towards the party.
Grez however wandered the battlefield harvesting ingredients. Killing Banshee’s and Demons to harvest the best of their rotting flesh, he didn’t discriminate. Even though the Banshee wails almost killed his allies. Nothing would get in the way of his artificial moon. He had waited far too long already.
Uninvited Enemies:
Unfortunately Faruval showed up and cleared a bloody path straight towards the Monk. As one of the most powerful Demons serving Kranaak none could face him outside of the most powerful in the world. And the Berserker Knights even were powerless to oppose him since he had helped found their order. Other than Caethia herself appearing, this was one of the worst possible situations.
The two fought for a bit. Grez continued talking shit to Furavel accusing him of constantly fleeing from their fights. The Fallen Berserker Knight retorted that there was a difference between cowardice and not seeing their enemies as worth time. This of course enraged Grez who considered pride one of his key character traits.
Unfortunately thins only went from bad to worse when Caethia did appear. While she demanded everyone’s attention under normal circumstances, what she did next was insane in just about any way. She brought a friend. But only in the loosest of terms. A certain angel that had apparently been banished to space appeared alongside her.
Had Caic been there to witness Innias’ arrival who knows what might have happened next. Luckily he was not there, to charge blindly into not one but two Arch Demons far beyond his skill to best. But Caethia was not in a fighting mood. Instead she mentioned that everyone was behaving exactly how she needed them to, and cast a mass teleport spell on the entire battlefield.
Revelations:
The party got sent back to Lord Death. How Caethia was even able to do such a thing was anyone’s guess. Being able to warp reality in intelligent ways has perks it seems. If they were stunned by this turn of events, Lord Death and the Death Knights only expressed greater surprise with the group’s return.
After reporting how the battle had played out, Grez presented Banshee essence and Demon bones to the master of the Necropolis. It didn’t take much more persuasion for Lord Death to grant him the one ingredient he lacked for his much sought artifact. Lord Death didn’t even make the party fight the Revenants. He simply summoned some flesh from one of the creatures.
With all three ingredients in hand, Grez returned to Mongress. The Velkora and Hadron followed him this time. They worried that in his furious state, he might decide to test his new toy on some innocents. He rushed right Tine’s shop.
More Revelations:
While Tine was conveniently in her shop when the group arrived, she wasn’t alone. Anotinette Thia, and Moshe were there. The first two claimed that Caethia had sent them there. The third, Moshe claimed that he had decided to come here on his own. The party didn’t like that.
Speaking of things the party didn’t like, Thia had a certain chicken with her. And she made sure that the group knew that she intended to set the Giant that was currently stuck in this form free.
Antoinette sat down nearby and observed. Thia made a deal with the party. Reminding them that Orabaras let her act on her own, it wasn’t enough to get in the good graces of just one of them. She basically told them in extra words that she intended to let the chicken go because he proved tiresome.
She also let them know that she had no hand in what happened to Rose. In fact she regretted how it had played out. Still, she reminded Velkora about her hand in leading to the current events. An event that the former high ranking member was ashamed of.
Final Deals:
Tine bartered with Grez and eventually made him pay up and get his item. He continued to refuse at first, but eventually Velkora intervened. On one hand she was tired of the bickering, but on the other, she feared violence. Especially considering who else was nearby, it seemed prudent to avoid that at all costs.
Grez finally gained his artificial moon, and even learned that Tine never needed the necessary items. She just told him to get them in case he actually could. She still intended to use them for some other spell or item.
He set off to an isolated area in Mongress and tested his new toy. He transformed immediately. It took him longer to figure out how to turn it off. Hopefully he can maintain control of his mind the next time he gives the item a go.
By the time Grez returned, the rest of the group had long talked with Moshe about his plans and why he had come here. He wanted to help the party free Caic from the Charice Faithful. But to do that, he needed a couple Humans who happened to still be in Mongress.
Wrap Up:
The party now must convince Henrick and Mariette to return with them to the capital so that Moshe will give them legal immunity. With all the plots and plans piling up around Innovia City, the group is unsure whether they should go along with any of this. But time is of the essence. Caic is slated to be executed.