Cycle of Millennia 2021 Session 33: Lost in Paradise
Here is week 33 of my 2021 Dungeons and Dragons Campaign Cycle of Millennia. The party is lost in Paradise and will soon have to make a terrible choice.
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!!!
Grez awoke in a field filled with other people like him. He was naturally confused. How had he come back to his planet? When had he found his spaceship?
The people around him all had the same tails dangling behind their legs. Naturally in this place none of them needed to hide that. So he sat back in a bed of flowers surrounded by even more flowers. Grez was prince and his people were overjoyed that he had returned.
But something tugged it him even as content as he was. Why was he here. Before he had been trying to save some planet he wanted off of. Yet he had returned. When had he gotten back on his spaceship? Suspicious, he moved away from the party hosted in his honor and went to find out what he was missing.
Caic awoke in the Dwarven City with all of his friends celebrating his ascension as king. But some of his enemies were here too. But the question he wanted to know was how he had made it back. Innias was there and presented him the armor that he had fought halfway across Innovia to reclaim.
Antoinette/Hespith was in chains and Caic couldn’t help but gloat. This creature had doomed his people for the sake of power. And no matter how much she had helped him in the past, she needed to atone for her crimes. As a Paladin, and now King of the Dwarves he was more than happy to make that happen.
Breaking Free:
Velkora awoke into a massive library. She knew this place well. Thia made this her base. But the Witch was nowhere to be found. Instead, countless women came to attend to her needs. Something wasn’t right here.
Immediately realized that she was in some sort of illusion. This place had tried to make her happy, but had messed up on one key detail. She didn’t wish to rule over everyone including Thia. She had always wanted to be an equal to the wise witch. Whoever had crafted this didn’t know what she wanted as well as they thought.
She needed to get out of here. And she knew how. Velkora asked for one of the nearby witches to get her a specific book. Even in an illusion, that one needed to be here. It would help her escape this trap.
Hadron awoke with the orphans. And even though being in Mongress made little sense at the moment, he felt relief and decided to talk to the kids.
Unfortunately, in his state of mind he accepted the reality in front of him for what it was. Even though the Matron shouldn’t have been there, he listened to her counsel. Though he couldn’t read, the Barbarian asked the kids to pick a book and read it to him. The three even offered to teach him to read so that they could listen to some of his stories.
This was where he belonged. Why would he want to be anywhere else?
Denying Happiness:
Grez realized he was in an illusion and tried to break free. But how could he? Was there any way to escape? If not what was he to do? And then a plan unfolded in his sneaky head. He could play along and finally take care of unfinished business.
It was time to kill all the Dwarves. Armed with superior technology and an entire army at his command with similar (but inferior) powers, it would be a simple matter. He demanded they get to the ships and prepare to invade the world he had ventured to. There was just one problem. They didn’t want to.
Naturally as their prince he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. But his happiness was replaced by rage as they told him it wasn’t possible to leave this world. His fury broke the illusion. The plants withered away and the sky grew dark. All his loyal subjects vanished until Grez was all alone.
He didn’t remain alone for long. A voice called out to him from the growing darkness. Demanding why he was so willing to throw away a perfect life, a figured formed before him. A second version of himself!
Naturally Grez intended to fight off and kill this doppelganger. It claimed to posses the happiness that the Monk lacked. But nothing gave the real him more joy than killing what he perceived as a weaker him. And this opponent wasn’t capable of putting up a fight in any capacity. It asked one final time why Grez would deny being happy before the world shattered and took him away from this place.
Accepting Reality:
Meanwhile Caic starting worrying that something was off. Everything was too perfect. He couldn’t be the king! It went against Dwarven custom. He was a well known Trollbreaker after all.
Things only became more obviously wrong with Hespith’s actions. After being defiant that she would die with dignity, Caic decided to deny her execution a little longer to show her the kingdom he intended to build. Antoinette was of course having none of that.
Between her two persona’s she declared that she had fought tooth and nail through multiple lifetimes and refused to have her destiny denied by another. Instead she summoned one of her spears and sliced her own neck. No matter what might have happened here, she would never do that.
There was a second problem. Oswald was dead. Caic had watched Luna slaughter him before bathing in his blood. Yet here he was alive. And when the Dwarf demanded to know how his Human friend had survived, he only got confused answers. Demanding to know the truth, the Paladin grew furious as none would answer his simple question.
Facing Himself:
The world flickered and all the Dwarves and Paladins faded away. The entire Dwarven City turned to dust as all the buildings and pathways crumbled. But there was more. A voice called out to Caic. And this wasn’t the first time such a thing had happened. Recently the Paladin had fought off another him.
This alternate Caic was not a Wereboar though. Instead it demanded to know why he would deny happiness. The Dwarf explained that after everything he had been through, there was no happiness for him. He had killed innocent people, been driven mad by Kranaak and had almost broken is Paladin Oath. He would spend the next part of his life atoning. Then he could be happy.
The Paladin killed his clone. Being an opposite to him meant that this weaker copy didn’t know how to fight very well. A problem that Caic corrected quickly. Once he dealt with this illusion, the other him asked one final time why he denied happiness. The Paladin remained silent. There was no use arguing with a dying phantom.
Losing Heart:
Velkora burned the library down. She was no stranger to illusions like this one. She pitied the Charice Faithful who had created such a place. They would never know true happiness while lost in paradise. This complete and utter opposition to the world around her created an immediate reaction. The books and walls of the library melted to ash. And a voice called out to her.
This other her asked why this realm did not make her happy. Velkora explained that this illusion would not make her happy. But getting to see what her own heart looked like was another story. She grabbed her knife eager to see what she would find once she cut that clone open.
She was disappointed when nothing appeared. The other Velkora laughed at her and said that she had casted her heart aside a long time ago. No wonder it was empty. And no wonder she refused to be happy. The former cultist was incapable of it according to her other self. The illusion shattered, but the former Witch’s mental state broke far more.
Giving in to Despair:
Hadron felt content as the three orphans cuddled up against him and read him their favorite stories. Still, something nagged at him. Why was he worried for their safety? And more importantly why was he scared of the Matron? Hadn’t she taken care of all three of them?
Eventually though he noticed inconsistences. Most notably the fact that the Matron was dead. Caic had killed her. An action that he still hadn’t forgiven the Dwarf for. So why was she here? Asking how she was still alive caused the entire room to flicker and things only grew worse from there.
The three kids screamed and vanished without leaving a trace. The Matron however was different. Hadron watched her turn into a skeleton. Despite her skin rotting off and flesh fading, she continued talking like nothing was wrong. By this point there was only wrong in the room.
A voice called out to Hadron. One he knew better than all others. But this clone demanded to know why he rejected happiness. The Barbarian was enraged that someone had used those orphans against him to create such a trap. He attacked this other self and quickly destroyed it. But the other Hadron had the last laugh. He pointed out that by rejecting happiness, the Barbarian would only find despair.
Wandering Paradise:
Free of the illusions that trapped them, the party reunited in a green field. Before them stood countless Charice Faithful. And right alongside them, a great number of Angels patrolled the world. Now they remembered. the leaders of the Charice Faithful had sent them here so they wouldn’t interfere with the ritual.
Unfortunately, the party needed to stop it. Otherwise Nihilinn would slaughter everyone in Innovia City. They needed to break out of this place. They had no time to wander lost in paradise. But they needed to find a way out of here.
As they made their way through this world created by the Charice Faithful, they dared ask some of the angels how to get out of this place. Naturally those they asked said that there was no way out. But when they started asking why anyone would want to leave, the party quickly got away. They didn’t have time to fight.
Velkora dared ask a more dangerous question: What was powering this place. And the Angels gave the worst answer possible. The dreams of children kept this place innocent and pure. Even Hadron knew which children they referred too. And to make matters even worse, one of the Charice Faithful even mused that without those kids powering it, this world would fade and all the happiness with it.
Core of the World:
Naturally as they entered the very center of this world, they found the three kids all in opposite corners. They weren’t just supporting the world. They were literal pillars holding it up. The group chose to go to Aliza first. She made eye contact with them first and asked them to come over.
While she was excited to see them, the Angels guarding her were not. They realized that since the group was here, that they had denied their personal happiness. And that by being here, they intended to kill the three kids.
The party had no choice to but to fight four powerful Angels who defended Aliza to their last breath. But thanks to Hadron being a Demon Slayer and Angel Killer, the winged defenders fell to the group. Grez even transformed into an Ape to help clean up quicker.
Cruel Choice:
Hadron and Caic went towards the other kids. The two were desperate to save all three kids. But the other two thought differently and realized the truth of this place. There was only one way to escape. And someone had no choice but to commit an unspeakable sin.
Grez and Velkora stayed behind. The Monk used his current size to hide what the former Cultist had planned. But even he averted his eyes. Not even he was cool this this violence. Necessary evil as it was.
Though she had lost most of her items and enchantments, Velkora still had one key item. A shame it had to be administered through direct contact. She coated her blade with a special and rare poison. This was it. There was no turning back from what she was about to do. Velkora proved her other self right as she gave Aliza a painless death. Though she cried out before her demise.
Hadron and Caic ran back. They feared the worst as they heard the child scream. But even their worst fears didn’t compare to the truth. An orphan was now dead by Velkora’s hand. And Hadron grabbed her by her shirt while contemplating whether to crush her throat.
Wrap Up:
Any trust between Hadron and Velkora has been shattered. The party is even more fragmented than before. And for them to escape, they will have to kill two more innocent children. One of which happens to be Hadron’s only remaining blood relative.