"Oh? Oh, yes. I'm sure we have that book on hand somewhere. We could let you peruse it here, or if you have time, I could have our scribes make a copy for you to take. Either way, we just require a modest sum of 5 gp donated to the Forae Logos." She says with a cheery helpful smile.
Absalom legend tells that Blakros Museum was once the mighty
stronghold of an astrologer called Ralzeros the Overwatched.
He watched the stars with his weird machines, and some say he
was able to communicate with the otherworldly beings of the
Dark Tapestry, the black spaces between the stars.
Ralzeros’s rival was a prominent mage named Beldrin. After
a significant feud between the two, Ralzeros disappeared. It is
thought that this feud arose when Ralzeros accusing Beldrin
of stealing a key to one of Ralzeros’s many chambers, which
contained the wondrous magical tools he used to watch and be
watched by the stars.
If Beldrin did steal a key to Ralzeros’s magical chamber, he
most likely hid it in one of his three towers, which once stood
on a promontory near what is now the Precipice Quarter. Only
one tower remains standing—the Tower of the Broken Shield,
commonly called Beldrin’s Tower. The Tower of the Candelabra
has sunk deep beneath the water. The Tower of the Horn fell to
the base of the bluff; it remains half-flooded at all times and is
only accessible during an extremely low tide. He most likely hid
it in the Tower of the Horn, which is said to have held the keys
to many of the chambers in his other spires.
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"I dare say I think we've seen some machines that would fit your description!" Zot would explain excitedly. He would notice his excitement and the woman's reservation of our lot, and realizing this he'd try to calm down and add, "Given the urgency and your timely help, I'd like to match the donation of my friend here. If you have any other information that would help us in resolving what could be a dire situation, we would welcome it. Thank you greatly!"
Aurax suddenly materializes from the astral plane.
“Well, well, well, if it isn't my favorite summoner! You know how much I love a good story. What's this one about?!“
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Shirin looks at the rest of the team but starts briefing Aurax.
“So, there was this astronomer named Ralzeros the Overwatched who could communicate with beings from the Dark Tapestry, right? But he had a rival mage named Beldrin, who supposedly stole a key to one of Ralzeros's chambers!“
Shirin sighs again.
“well, a tale of rivalry and betrayal. You are intrigued. ‘Tell me more’. You say?!?“
she jokes.
“Well, Beldrin had three towers, but now only one still stands. It's said that he hid the key in the Tower of the Horn, which held keys to many other chambers!“
Aurax is astounded.
“Interesting! A tower full of secrets, I like it! You know, this could be a fun adventure for our friends here!“
Aurax, turning to the other adventurers.
“What do you guys think? Should we explore the Tower of the Horn to find that key? Who knows what other mysteries and treasures we might discover along the way!!??“
Even under the bright light of day, travel through the Precipice Quarter can be unnerving. Parts look like they were abandoned only moments ago, while others appear to have been buried under decades of dust and neglect. A disquieting silence seems to be all around, broken only by the sounds of the sea as you approach the cliff side of the district.
Churning waves break against jagged rocks where the Precipice Quarter meets the sea, a chaotic maze of stone and coral with neither level ground nor shelter from the ocean’s destructive power. In the midst of this chaos lies the fallen Tower of the Horn jutting out of the shallow surf below, its smooth, ivory surface now adorned with seaweed, coral, and barnacles.
From here, the only route down appears be the side of the sloping bluff, which is marred by jagged rocks.
Once at the bottom, where shore meets sea, you can see that the ebbing of the tide has left behind a path of sorts leading to the base of the Tower of the Horn. As your feet sink into the soft sand left behind by the receding ocean, the entrance to the tower—a jagged breach in the wall—soon becomes visible. Any other entrances the tower once possessed now appear to lie choked beneath tons of debris, hidden deep beneath the sand.
Aurax, effortlessly climbing down says.
“Speak for yourself, Shirin. I've got this covered!“
Aurax seems to glide down the bluff with ease, his serpentine form unaffected by the slippery rocks.
Making your way toward the tower, you see that there is indeed only one way in. The jagged breach at the base of the tower. Coral and barnacles cover the bottom half of the tower's outside, making it look like prickly thing erupting from the seafloor at a slant. Looking inside, you see that half of this chamber’s floor is covered in seawater, and the tower
reeks of brine and the lingering smell of death. Three doorways
lead to other chambers in the tower, the wooden doors having
long rotted off their hinges. The southernmost portal is almost
half-submerged beneath the cold water. A large, circular hole
gapes from the ceiling to the north, with a long rope dangling
down from the dark chamber above, and another hole opens in
the floor directly below it. The rope looks old, but still functional. It's obviously a more recent addition to the decor than the doors were.
Technical info-
Player info-
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Like the half orc he didn't need the light to navigate through this place, and was comfortable enough in the dark to immediately move away and begin the process of searching, in this case primarily for traps and hazards that could catch them up, and what he considers the real danger, magical ones left behind by the tower's owner, though with luck anything too serious had already long since been set off by natural causes.
She checks the western door for traps. And opens the door if there are none.
AS the party moves in, and spreads out, neither Kebrin or Shirin see any traps laying in wait for them.
From out of the water slushes a green skinned humanoid to quickly block the door. It moved with such grace out of the water, none of the heroes had the faintest notion something was moving until it blocked the exit! The creature has pale green, scaled skin and large, webbed hands and feet. On either side of its neck are slotted gills.
Moving with amazing speed, it lashes out with two claws at Shirin before anyone has a chance to react! Landing a slashing blow on Shirin,the claws dig in, and grabs onto her arm. She is grappled.
Kebrin
Chalmers
Shirin (-5 hp, grappled)
Aurax
Zot
Well, it must have been something you said. This young creature seems absolutely terrified!
Although she had not yet been harmed, it seemed certain death to stay and fight these creatures. In favor of self preservation, the young merrow releases Shirin and flees the tower the same way you just entered. After it's mad dash, sloshing through the sea water, it is now eerily quiet. There is still the doorway to the south, partially under water, to the west, a bit of water there, and a dry doorway to the north. There is also the rope leading up and through the hole in the ceiling. Although the rope starting to turn green you think as long as you go just one at a time it could be climbed.
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I don't suppose any of you know what sort of a being that was? Didn't seem any too friendly
Kebrin asked while looking around to get a feel for the place
Well, the floor below is going to be lost to time, as it seems were the stairs. I can't say I really trust the rope, but I could probably shimmy up it and lower another. Do we want to make sure this floor is clear first though?
Taking a quick peek through the southern door, leading to the creatures watery burrow that it emerged from, shows an empty space. Nothing of note can be found there, leaving you with the choices of the northern and western doorway. The doors having rotted off long ago. The doorway to the west seems to lead into a rather large room, partially under water. The door to the north is smaller, dry, and a hole in the back wall seems to lead to another space.
After Shirin rights herself, following the hectic grapple scratch, the party moves toward the dryer of the two exits. To the north. Less likely that something will jump out of the water to get you when there's no water!
Scattered bones and equipment lie strewn about this chamber’s
floor. A wayfinder hangs from a corroded chain around the neck of one skeleton while the bony hand of another clutches a golden amulet. Beyond these grim remnants, a brightly-colored mosaic covers the chamber’s back wall, largely free of the barnacles and deposits covering the other surfaces in the area. The mosaic depicts a group of wizardly figures gathered around a larger figure clad in robes of black and white.
The mosaic’s central figure as Nethys, the god of magic.
lesser figures clustered around him depict noted wizards of
ancient days
Chalmers retrieves the wayfinder and golden amulet. The amulet seems to have two small holes bore into it, indicating that two additional pieces
are meant to overlay its face.
Also scattered about the floor is an ivory map case, an everburning torch (easy to spot!) and a cold iron longsword sheathed in a jewel encrusted scabbard. This appears to be the remains of an adventuring party, and indeed the papers within the map case confirm this.
Within, is an accounting of what happened to 'Daling's Delvers' as told by Daling himself. The group was accosted by reefclaws at the entrance, but was able to drive them off. They were then beaten up by animated statues on the floor above them. They had to leave one party member for dead and retreated back down here. While resting, the party bickered about what to do next, and soon the tide came back in and trapped them!. With the tide, came another reefclaw, and they were unable to drive it off. They retreated into this room to die. Daling still bickering with Ekiekito about what the golden sigil was intended for and where the other pieces might lie.
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nice sword, if anyone knows how to use one of that type. and that torch might be handy, water won't put it out, and there's plenty of that going on. But what I'm most interested in, is those animated statues that killed this bunch on the floor above. If that's where we're going. I don't really fancy ending up joining the 'Delver's'
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Shirin looks around.
“This place has a grim history. It seems we're not the first to venture here in search of the tower's secrets. Well, we should learn from their misfortune and remain cautious. On the bright side, at least we found some valuable items!“
Shirin examines the golden amulet with the two small holes, intrigued by the possibility of other pieces that might fit into it.
She casts detect magic.
The amulet with the two small holes do not radiat any magic, but the wayfinder and torch both do, of course.
The statues on the second floor can be reached by the worn rope in the first room. The ceiling here is twenty feet tall. Moving at 1/4 of your speed, I'll say it will take 2 checks to get to the top at a DC of 15. Once at the top, it would be possible to pull the next person up.
“I can climb but I’ve got no arms so I can just throw the items down for you guys to catch!“ he says and already goes up to nip down the less sensitive items.
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Right...well in that case
Kebrin goes to the rope, rubs his hands together a couple times and begins to climb. Muttering something about patience, or a lack there of, in dwarven
and promptly fell on his butt
bah, more slippery than I thought
And tries again
And hopefully the magic light doesn't show the red of his cheeks too badly.
With Aurax having a climb speed, I'll speed things up and say that he is able to get to the next level and assist in pulling the rest of you up. It takes some time, and creates some bruises, but eventually you all make it to the next level.
You are safe for the moment. Nothing jumping out to get you, but you do indeed see a number of statues not far from here.