The Black Tower

Foreword
I admit surprise when the magistrate of the Adventurer’s Guild came to me, asking if I would be willing to put the tales of our heroes into writing. I am no bard, only sometimes a scholar and though my penmanship is fine, I’m more practiced as a baker of pies than spinner of tales these days. Still, I’ve many contacts among the old community, and have several rare volumes of collected information. The first in this series will be an examination of the tales of The Black Tower, as were first shared with me by Jaer, Sorcerer of the Dragonclaw and are expounded upon in interviews with Marian of Battles and Michael auf Derring. I will cross reference these with select texts from the imperial volume “The book of Prisons” and “Yrthrins Journals of the Mists”. I will be including complex diagrams, copied from these texts, to illustrate the fields created by the tower, but these are in no way essential to understanding the history of the events, or the processes that took place when the tower was activated

To those who can expound upon the theory behind stable mistgates, the creation of mistwards or the nature of extradimensional prisons, I encourage you to put your experiences and tales of contact with these things into writing, that our grasp of the lore of our natural world grows to match that of the Taldaran Empire. In gaining independence, we lost access to power and learning that should be brought back and expanded in the north.

Sincerely, R.H. III

Preface
Before we examine The Black Tower, and the journey to it, we first need to examine the events that led up to the exploration. In the early spring of 5214, as farmers prepared to plant and the fields were still frozen over, a viciously organized tribe of orcs began to strike at settlements near Hydra Head Pass. Notable for deep blue skin and a larger physique than the orcish tribesmen native to our lands, they also attacked with military precision and a decided lack of barbaric fervor. None were safe from their path of conquest, not even the tribal cousins native to the taiga.

It was here that Marian of Battles and Michael auf Derring first started working together.

"It was the cheapest job I'd ever done. A single piece of platinum for Michael and I to share, so we bet on it: Who ever did the most work got the reward. In this case the most work translated into the most dead orcs.” -Marian of Battles

In the mountain passes, the heroes of Blacksky Gap nearly met their end, surviving only when Vintermori calvalry on patrol responded to the sounds of battle and charged orcish archers who had the young adventurers pinned down.

The battles that followed led the two, joined by other stalwart mercenaries such as Ralzia Sea Eyes, Sascha Dzintar and the mage Ellis Keepson to an ancient fortress, built well beneath the ruined fortress of Hydra Mask. There they found a mistgate, a stable manifestation of the mists, bound in stone and runes by a lost, and ancient, people.

“Twere built so fer back that the place dinnae even have a fire pit for warmth. All of it was built around that gate, and was built with big ol windows an a open plaza. It’s where I got me stock of darkwood poles. They was piled up ready to build with, wrist thick and twenty foot long. Twas also where I got dead, and would speak to ye not a’tall but fer the fact that Marian and Ralzia hired a high priest of Evighet ta call me back from the soul measure.”

-Michael auf Derring

Following this battle, and a short sortie through the mistgate into the high plains of the Blue Orc Tribes, powerful spells were woven to submerge this temple in water and seal the entrance with large stones, keeping the warlike orcs from further invading Vintermor. <>

It was during this time that a vision came to Ralzia Sea Eyes, and she set those who would form the Dragonclaw Company on a mission of exploration and duty, far to the south where a great prison had once been built.

Chapter 1 : The Journey
Michael auf Derring, Marian of Battles, Flimblemax the Blue, Lorak the Evoker and Peorth the Dead set out upon a sea voyage south. In the mistwarded vessel, the companions fought off sea beasts and faced the dangers of the mists. The diary of one sailor involved speaks of the journey.

“I’ve sailed the mists a hundred times now, but never with such a feeling of danger. These people we carry, they have a curse upon their souls, and the sails are weighed down with the harsh destiny of this journey. We’ve already lost two young hands to the giant squid that attacked outside port, and I feel a doom over my own life. Whenever      –they- come on deck, hard faced judges in clothes like I’ve never seen stare at us out of the mists, watching from the edge of the wards, staring at us. I’ve seen nightmares, but they never stay. I’ll be glad to see them off our decks, no matter what the captain says about the bonus pay.”

And later :

“We come upon the coast this morning, and found port like a god’s hand was guiding us to it. The pier was half burned, and the little port’s streets are crowded with refugees. They talk about armies of the dead rising up, crushing settlements as they pass. The orcs, goblins and lizard folk are hit too, they says, and wars bands gather. On the horizon we see smoke from fires, and the captain says we’ll unload our cargo, wait for that cursed group to leave town and fill with gold from refugees looking for a ride to Taldara. No reason to stay for a group that will never return alive, it’s just wasting time wind could be in your sails, says I.”

-Gruth, Sailor.

From this port they traveled south and west, by the sun, trekking across empty plains. Every village crossed was a burned out husk, except for the rare unpoisoned well, or root cellar with good food in it. Only once did they find humans from these lands alive, and that was a caravan moving to port. The leader among that people was described as “A fierce warrior, tall and dark, who fought with the possessed spirit of a demon or spirit when protecting his clan as they tried for a port to Taldara.”

Thus far, none of those involved in the journey (that I’ve been able to contact) are willing to share many details about the trip. One phrase from Michael was followed by a clamped jaw and narrowed eyes.

"We was different people, then, mean and strong. We fought for geld and nae much else, and tis best to not press us about whut we did goin down them trails.”

-Michael auf Derring

Chapter 2 : The Tower
Upon arrival, the group was faced with warring armies of necromancers and legionnaires, and neither side was particularly happy to see them. Among the treasures of the tower, they found a silver sword, stolen from a strange race of outsiders. This would prove to fateful, later.

From various members of the party, I’ve gathered descriptions of the tower. It’s eleven stories aboveground and two to three below. Underneath is a series of pools that connects with a deep underground system, and was home to an ancient and insane Aboleth. These caves are likely inhabited by Goblins or Troglodytes now, as they were battling for possession of them when the tower was last visited. In the system of tunnels where the caves lead into the tower, there are series after series of traps. Most take full advantage of natural features, and are unlikely to need resetting.

The first two floors of the tower were set up as garrisons and prisoner processing. In the center of these floors a broad spiral staircase curled high into the distance. Behind several layers of defenses, smaller stairs at the compass points led higher into the edifice. Certain floors were accessible by the smaller staircases, and some only by the central. The northern stair led to secluded floors with living quarters for entire families, the southern led to what looked to be general containment. The eastern and western stairs were blockaded by military activity, and had to be avoided.

“We skirted the battles and snuck up the northern stair. Things were fine until we found ourselves on what I believe was the ninth floor. An insane being, one I can only suppose was an original guardian of the tower, provoked Peorth into combat. In that battle, a cloud of deadly gasses was released, killing both Flimble and Marian. Though they were dead, the magic of the tower would not allow their souls to move on, and they discovered the truth of this diabolical prison. The insane prisoners within were not only contained until they died, but forever kept from reaching the scales of Evighet.

The final battle led them to a broken chamber atop the tower. An ancient black dragon from the line of Sslira herself had been locked in this place since before the breaking of the world, and because of the battles and bloodshed finally found egress by way of a mist gate. From the diary of the cloud gnome Flimble :

“I saw it all, the pretty weave of magic pulsing down and the locks that smoosh us here. Frihet would hate this place, but I was brave and true. I never wavered or got scared, watching them fight the dragon. I think the gate powered the tower, something it connected to drew the energy that kept all the souls locked in. It might have even been the portal into the prison of Sslira herself.”

Peorth and Michael followed when the great beast activated the portal, and stepped through into a realm of pitch black while Jaer and Lorack fought to close the portal from the other side. Even the spirits of Marian and Flimble played roles in closing the portal, finding components that could only be accessed as an incorporeal creature. In the end, Peorth cut the silver cord of life that bound the soul of the dragon to it’s body and Michael removed one of it’s feet after it died. This artifact can still be found in Vintermor. It’s used as a table on which the Dragonclaw company once signed contracts.

An angel in the service to Kunnia came to investigate the surge of power from the deadly black edifice, and found the gate closing. In gratitude she gave each member of the expedition a gift. Two were brought back to life, and items of power were shared with the others.

Afterword
The more I learned of this edifice, the more I understand the reticence of those involved to share information about it. If it is a gate to Sslira’s realm, the details of operating the tower are best lost forever. As to the location of the port where this adventure began, I can only say “It’s southward, in lands hot and dry, where people are few and dangers many.”