After grappling for some time Kali finally decides to put on her mask. As she does she falls to her knees in pain as the mask seers itself to her skin. She feels her soul reach out to an entity she doesn’t know and as it does her now Patron’s life begins to flash before her eyes.
She sees a knight hitting a killing blow against an ogre and turning to an elven priestess laying on the ground. Extending his hand he offers his name, Lord Soth, and taking his hand she returns with her name, Isolde. Smoke surrounds Kali’s vision and flashes to Soth and Isolde in a passionate embrace and then a flash to Soth passing a satchel of gold to a mercenary and saying “When you kill my wife it needs to look like an accident.” Another flash and the City Guard is breaking down the door to his home to arrest him while he and Isolde escape through a secret tunnel beneath the floor. The scene fades into Soth and a pregnant Isolde having a conversation in their Keep. Isolde saying “I prayed to Mishikal and she revealed to me that you will stop the Catachlysm. You must go to Istar and stop the Kingpriest from calling down the wrath of the gods. It will absolve you of all your ill deeds thus far.” Smoke again blocks her vision and as it dissipates Soth is on the road with a contingent of knights speaking to three elf maidens who tell him “Isolde has been unfaithful to you. This quest is but a distraction so that she can be with her lover and true father to the child she carries.” Antoher flash and Soth is back at his keep, having abandoned his quest, in the midst of a fight with Isolde who is holding their newborn child. As they yell, the Catachlysm that Soth could have averted hits the Keep and causes a chandelier to fall onto Isolde and the baby. As a fire burns around them Isolde calls out for Soth to save their child. He turns his back, refusing, and as she dies Isolde calls out “you shall live the lifetime of every soul that you have caused death today.” As she takes her last breath the entire Keep is engulfed in flames. A final flash and before Kali are the ashes of the Keep and from them rises Soth now as a Death Knight. His followers rise as skeleton warriors and flying overhead are the three elf maidens, now banshees crying out the sins of Soth to haunt him for all eternity.
As everything in front of Kali vanishes into smoke, she is suddenly within a Keep made of smoke and shadow. She feels like she is standing on a cloud of fog, not a floor of stone. Before her Soth towers at 6’5 in plate armor, charred black, leaving only a single black rose on his breastplate. He wears a long purple cloak draped behind him almost to his knees. A tassel of long black hair tops his helm, from which only two flaming red dots stare out peering out. His voice seems to echo from a bottomless cavern commanding an aura of freezing unearthly cold and terror.
"I am not usually pledged the souls of those who align with the good in this world. I can kill with a single word. I can hurl a ball of fire in the midst of my enemies. I rule a squadron of skeleton warriors, who can destroy with touch alone. I can raise a wall of ice to protect those I serve. The invisible is discernable to my eyes. Ordinary magic spells crumble in my presence. What can you offer me in exchange for the backing of my power?"
Kali tells him that she needs his power to rescue her dragon and she is willing to sell her soul for it.
“I do like you despite your inclinations towards good. I am aware that you come to my presence from the powers encased in a mask. If you so choose I can offer you more power if you fully submit to my power.”
Kali agrees and feels as the power of Soth flows through her, granting her additional magic. When she comes to she head to the Black Tower to meet everyone and see what Khelbaen has been able to come up with for them. When the Party meets up, they are surprised to see that the magic user with the ability to teleport them to the Flooded Forest is none other than Bo Burnam. Khelbaen also lets them know that he will be sending two of his own mages as well as Don Jon with them to help aid in the rescue of the dragons.
As they all take each other’s hands the ground around them glows a mystical and blinding blue. Wind whips around your bodies and something pulls them through what feels like another world and they find themselves standing in the middle of a teleportation circle. They look around and see that they are mostly surrounded by walls of stone save for two openings to the side leading into a sitting area with two red cushioned chairs. On the table they see a handwritten letter. To one side they see a bookshelf with many books next to which there is an end table with a half played game of chess. On the other side is a coat rack with a wizards hat and a blue cloak next to a closed door.
Burr heads to the letter which reads”
“Welcome adventurers to my Tower of Wonders. Beware as you explore the many floors ahead. There are bountiful treasures ahead but also a multitude of terrors. Only the bravest will find their out.
- The Mage Who Never Dies”
Brother Sqwaky head to the hat and cloak and takes them for the journey. Diz investigates the chess set but as he does Kali rushes determinedly past all of them heading straight for the stairs to the next floor declaring they don’t have to waste on investigating their surroundings. They need to save their dragons. Everyone rushes after her in agreement.
As they head to the second floor. Diz can’t help but investigate some of the rooms in the dormitory they enter. Her curiosity however, leads to the release of two ghosts! After defeating them, everyone looks around a little more and Diz is able to find a hidden room that has a telecope looking out into the encampment of Lionis. It is filled with all manners of creatures and looks like a fortress they do not yet have the power to overcome. Notably though, their dragons are not there.
They head to the third floor where they find a giant Ouija Board carved into the ground with a giant Planchette laying off to the side. As six of the adventurers raise up the Planchette they hear a voice in their heads, “Three questions you will be able to ask anyone who has passed on from this world.”
The Party first tries to call out to the three fallen dragon
riders from Team Metallic, but each time the voice rings in their heads “The
soul you are trying to reach out to you has not passed on from this world.
They finally decide to reach out the fallen dragon of Lionis, Askook. They are able to reach their soul and begin to ask their questions:
“What is Lionis weakness?” – “His love for me.”
“Where are our dragons?” – “To the south.”
“Are they in a specific place?” – “Pirate Hideout”
They head to the fourth floor and are met with a freezing cold room in the center of which is a Giant Ice Crystal in the center surrounded by smaller ice crystals. They can see something locked away in the ice. Kali covers herself in a magical shield and goes forward to try and melt the ice, taking slight damage as she stands to close. As the ice begins to melt away a Frost Giant is beginning to be released and the Party decides that whatever is being housed in the crystal isn’t worth the fight it would take. They continue on up the tower.
The fifth floor presents what looks to be a prison. There is a glass floor in the center surrounded by a stone floor they are able to use to go completely around. In the center is a floating crystal. They are able to see someone being held prisoner inside and feel an evil force emanating from them. They decide to go around and avoid stepping on the glass.
As they enter the sixth floor the walls and doors appear to be covered by thick vines. As Diz attempts to open a door she releases a Vine Blight. After defeating it the Party makes into a second room with another door that turns into a Vine Blight when opened. Diz peaks into the next room and sees an Awakened Fly Trap with another door on the opposite wall. Diz decides she will run to open the door so everyone can then run through. Unfortunately, like the other doors, this door was also a Vine Blight. They are able to fight and defeat the Awakened Fly Trap but are a little worse for wear as they head up to the seventh floor of the tower.
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