Welcome to the Tower of Malice

A Runewardens Diary by Sister Mara von Witten

Warning! Contains spoilers for Ptolus Chapter 25: Jabel Shammar!

Session #5

We have rested a while in a Mord's magnificent mansion at the lowest level of the Tower of the Misbegotten -- Canabulum sets it up in the crevice we found earlier. We think we hear occasional strange sounds scraping along the walls outside the mansion, but our wizard friend tells us that shouldn't be possible. Still, we think something is trying to get in.

We return to the room near the top of this tower, to the chamber where we fought the mind flayer. Passing through an iron door, we enter a room whose walls are painted with horrid murals of mind flayers worshipping the Galchutt (their creators). A shallow pool is half filled with slime, which Serai thinks is a mind-flayer-rejuvenating fluid. Inscribed near the edge of the pool is the word "Ssenkrad99" -- "darkness" spelled backward. We appear to be at the top of the tower, but it's unclear as to why the mind flayer wished to guard this room.

Is the mirrored mask we pulled off the mind flayer in fact the "malefic mask" I divined that we must wear to enter the central Tower of Malice? A new divination says, "Better to wear the mask you have than the one you do not."

Returning to the laboratory, we see three horned and winged creatures sifting through the rubble. When they see us, they mutter, "They stir! Fall back," then disappear.

We continue on across the bridge to the Tower of Malice. While its black adamantine door would not budge for us before, Gaerioth is able to open it easily while wearing the mirrored mask. We enter into a large round hall that boasts as its decor three two-headed giant suits of armor and many symbols of evil inscribed on the walls. As we enter we see three flashes of reddish light, and then creatures appear inside the suits of armor. They pull great battle axes off the wall of the chamber and advance upon us.

These two-headed brutes cut a cruel swath through our group, laying low both Sercian and myself at various times. We ultimately prevail, but at quite a cost.

The immense room beyond features a crescent-shaped platform supported by thick stone columns. Upon it is another platform holding an iron cage with a chain that goes up to a hole in the ceiling. There is something forbidding about this room, and we all feel a little sapped by the evil surroundings as we enter and make our way to the platforms. When we go up through the hole in the ceiling, we enter into absolute darkness that even the Eye of Ardaen cannot penetrate. We move through a soul-wrenching blast of terrible pain, as though we were passing through a membrane of evil. Once we're beyond it, the darkness recedes and we see the inside of a vast, dimly lit room ringed with black altars. At the center is a great black throne upon a dais.

The evil of the place weighs heavily upon us and we leave immediately, emerging in a smaller chamber with mirrored walls. Coming around a corner toward us is a gigantic umber hulk. The mirrors of this place put us at great risk of its foul gaze. A blade barrier slows it down a bit, but the creature manages to confuse Aliya with its gaze before we can take it down. And we can hear that more foes are on the way.

Session #6

We think about breaking the mirrors in this chamber, but sadly they are polished metal wall coverings. Not easily broken, but perhaps there are no more creatures with gaze effects coming. Footfalls sound on the approach and we see our hope was in vain -- another umber hulk appears, this one even uglier than the last, with oozing pustules on its hideous countenance. Aliya finds herself confused by its horrific appearance and flees: straight into the arms of another one. She just manages to tumble away and, in time, we are able to slay them both.

At a bit of a loss over our direction, we decide to head away from the continuing sound of heavy footfalls. After battling yet another fearsome umber hulk, we find ourselves in a shrine of hideous evil. An image of Lothian shows a spike driven through the god's head, and chaos symbols abound. To our surprise, the altar in this shrine smiles a terrible, vicious smile and utters a blasphemous word that dazes us all. A mimic! Canny Sercian drops a void bomb into its mouth. It implodes with satisfying power, and we all manage to dodge out of the way of the implosion just in time (although it was a close shave for Sercian, as he'd gotten himself stuck to the thing's pseudopods). The implosion causes a great hole in this level.

Up some stairs, we arrive in a ruin of a room, with once-fine appointments. Bedchambers open up off the main atrium. Suspended from the ceiling are concentric rings of serrated iron wheels. These wheels surround the stairway going up, so to get up there we'd have to cross into their sphere of cutting blades. The whole area disrupts magic as well. Perhaps, if the magic-disruption were nullified, I could cast peaceful weapon on the wheels.

In one of the bedrooms we chance upon another of the awful mimic altars. We quickly leave and Serai bars the door with sticky globules of chaositech goo. Just in time, too, as we're suddenly faced with two Large furnace golems. Although injured gravely by Tellian's holy arrows and Serai's rust grenades, it still manages to fling Gaerioth and Zophas into the area of the iron wheels. Many wounds* later, they're free -- and we hear more thumping at the door where we've barricaded the mimic.

* And one hero point. -- Ed.

To read the earlier adventures of the Runewardens, check out the first Ptolus Campaign Journal.

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