Session 10 - The Woes of Flames and Riddles

The party’s descent into the depths of the ruined wizard’s tower was marked by tension and peril, their torches throwing flickering shadows across ancient stone. Below the tower’s dusty circular staircase, they encountered an eerie stillness, suggesting the depths had remained undisturbed for generations, perhaps even before the age of the Blood Mist.

The Workshop and the Key

After descending, the adventurers found themselves in a dry, circular chamber with doorways to the left and right. Choosing the left door first, they pushed it open into a workshop filled with ancient alchemical equipment—vials, jars, and broken instruments. Dust and decay covered everything, and the air was thick with the scent of musty chemicals.

The right-hand door revealed a puzzling scene: a room with checkerboard-patterned flagstones and a single, slightly discolored tile near the center. On this tile rested a small, innocuous key. Suspicious of traps, Aran cautiously prodded the floor with his staff and gingerly advanced to the edge of the discolored tile. With a deft swing of his staff, he sent the key skittering across the room toward the others. Just as he looked triumphant, disaster struck. When he retrieved the key, it burned his hand with magical flames, immolating him and dropping him to the ground in agony. His companions doused the flames with a blanket, saving his life, but not before Aran’s strength was nearly drained.

The party decided the key was crucial despite its danger. Galivan picked it up next, managing to avoid the magical backlash, and used it to unlock the robust door back in the central chamber. This door led to the next stage of their exploration: another mirror of the prior chamber, but this time featuring a statue of the wizard in a self-aggrandising pose.

Statues and Corpses

The new chamber mirrored the layout of the previous one, with two doors on either side of the statue. The adventurers first explored the left door, leading to a room that contained two decayed corpses locked in what seemed to have been a mortal struggle. One held a short sword, while the other gripped a pike. Torvin approached cautiously, only to discover that the corpses were not entirely lifeless. They rose, animated by some dark force, and attacked. Torvin fought valiantly, sustaining injuries, until Hyrne dispatched the final ghoul with an arrow.

The adventurers looted the corpses, salvaging damaged weapons and armor. Hyrne took a studded leather cap, while Aran claimed a spear. A piece of amber and a small amount of copper were also recovered, though the chainmail and short sword would require repairs. Exhausted but undeterred, the party returned to the central room to investigate the second door.

The Riddles and the Throne Room

Beyond the second door lay an opulent chamber, dominated by a large, throne-like chair and three pillars, each topped with a tarnished silver bowl. The walls bore decayed tapestries, their imagery largely lost to time. Investigating the bowls, the party found slips of parchment inside each one, each bearing a riddle:

1. “I sprout from roots above the ground. In every town I can be found. The more I die, the more I grow. You lose me when you start to slow.”

2. “I have no legs or arms or torso, no head or neck or feet below. Yet I stand straight and tall in youth, getting shorter when I’m long in the tooth.”

3. “Sometimes I am yellow, but I start my days in white. My allies are often aligned, although we tend to bite.”

The adventurers quickly identified the answers: hair, a candle, and teeth. Torvin retrieved a tooth from the defeated ghouls and dropped it into the appropriate bowl, which triggered a blue fizz of light. For the riddle about hair, Aran pulled strands from his head and deposited them into the second bowl, producing the same effect. Finally, Hyrne placed a candle fragment into the third bowl, which ignited with a blue shimmer.

As the last bowl activated, the pillars began to sink into the ground. From somewhere deeper within the tower, the sound of chains rattling and mechanisms shifting echoed ominously.

The Portcullis and the Treasure

The group returned to the previously impassable portcullis to find it now raised. Beyond lay an altar-like plinth, upon which rested a large chest. With wary anticipation, the party opened the chest, finding a trove of riches: a gaming board with ivory pieces worth 21 copper, a golden diadem valued at 13 gold, and 18 silver coins. Most valuable of all, however, were two books:

• “Treading Lightly in the Presence of Dragons” – a skill grimoire that offered a permanent increase in agility when studied.

• “Pyroclastic Insights” – an elemental magic grimoire, granting a rank in elemental magic to a druid or sorcerer.

Aran claimed the first book, hoping to enhance his agility, while Galivan, as a sorcerer, eagerly took possession of the second.

Licking Wounds and Plotting Futures

Weary but victorious, the group emerged from the tower into the cool night air. They returned to the abandoned minotaur camp to rest, recounting their successes and patching their wounds. With limited food supplies, they realized hunting or foraging would soon become essential. The gear they had recovered needed repairs, but it was salvageable, and their spirits were bolstered by the treasure they had secured.

Questions still lingered: What secrets of the wizard’s tower had they not uncovered? What dangers still lurked above ground? And who or what was pursuing Torvin? These were matters for another day, as the party enjoyed a rare and well-earned reprieve under the stars, their camaraderie strengthened by shared hardship.