When we last left our heroes, they had delved into the lower (underground) levels of Elvid’s tower, the evil wizard. They had just defeated some nasties who appeared to be guarding a young, beautiful woman that the PCs hoped would turn out to be Arelyn.
Spoilers “A Wizard’s Fate” from Dungeon Magazine #37 follow the break. At the end, there are some minor spoilers for the adventure, “The Wizard’s Amulet,” from Necromancer Games.
At the touch, the woman blinked and looked confused…then angry…then scared…and then confused. She asked where she was and who the heroes were and where was Elvid. She didn’t know how long she had been in the room. The last thing that she remembered was coming to check on Elvid after the sound of the explosion rocked the town. She was wearing a rather expensive looking bracelet with emerald chips (a gift from Elvid and not magical) and said that they were engaged. He had been working on making her a perfume as a wedding gift. Arelyn insisted on going to find him and that he was a changed man…no longer evil. She started to head out of the room but the heroes convinced her to let them go first.
They head back to the small room with the round wooden door. Using the wooden key found in the the skeleton’s ribcage, they opened it. Beyond was another small room with another door. This one was shaped like a diamond and was made of brass. A keyhole was in the middle of the door. An inscription on the door read, “Let he who would enter speak his name.”
Heading back to another of the normally locked doors, the heroes broke it down. As the door shattered, a high-pitched voice, possibly a halfling, squeaked out imperiously, “Begone! Or by Zotzpox’s name, you shall be cursed!!!” The room within was charred. Furniture, books, shelves…all were broken, blackened, and burned. It looked as though someone had let loose an inferno in a library. In the far corner of the room, carved into the wall (after the fire) was a rough inscription that read, “Elvid was an Evil Man.” Both of the Es were written backwards and the handwriting was almost like a child’s.
Sifting the remains in the room (and getting covered in soot), the heroes didn’t find anything of value or interest. They did, however, find a door hidden in the corner with the writing. This door led to a short hallway and then a larger chamber with lots of large webs. Four giant spiders dropped down and started to attack. Although the heroes prevailed, some were poisoned by the spiders. Fortunately, they had come equipped with anti-toxin.
The far wall of this chamber had collapsed into rubble. Clearing it out, the heroes found a door that they broke open. There was a small room with a chest in the center. No traps were found but when the chest was pried opened, a fiery explosion damaged some of the heroes. The chest held a magical sword which Clarissa claimed as well as a few other treasures that the other heroes took. It also held a brass key with a diamond handle.
Heading back through the library, someone had written in the soot, with the Es backwards again, “He was still Evil!”
Back at the diamond door, the key was used while saying, “Elvid Luzfedor,” and it disappeared. Beyond was a round room, about 30 feet in diameter. There were five metal spheres, about four feet across, floating about four feet off of the ground. Each had a seam around its equator. The walls had three life-sized figures painted upon them. One was a human warrior with a spear. Another was a dwarven warrior with an axe. The last was an elven warrior with a longsword. Not wanting to take any unnecessary risk doing things in the room, the heroes decided to search around the complex a bit more first.
The heroes checked in the room with the rats and goblin body first but didn’t find anything helpful. As the heroes passed through the first room, the one with the demon statue, Clarissa spotted some writing in soot on the floor and a broken and badly damage hand (no other body parts). The writing, you guessed it, was in the childish handwriting with the backwards Es and read, “Elvid is Dead and has Left the Building.” There was a high-pitched giggle from near the closed-in wall that was blocking the heroes’ escape. A similar high-pitched voice yelled out that Elvid had gone to hell!
Arelyn fainted.
The heroes left her there and pressed on. They found nothing new in the library. Back in the entrance room, where they had left the unconscious Arelyn, they did find a change. She was now dead with a stinger mark on her neck. Another high-pitched giggle came from the blocked hallway. Since there was nothing they could do for the unfortunate young woman, the heroes headed back to the room with the spheres. After some experimentation, they discovered that although the spheres could not be moved, the tops did come off.
As soon as one top was removed, the three painted figures sprung to life…just as the heroes had expected. Although it was a tough battle, the heroes took out the three and they did not re-appear on the wall. All the spheres were opened and the heroes found a number of things: four vials (potions) labeled shrink, sweet, speak, and swim; a lot of copper coins; four ivory tubes with magic scrolls; a magically animated metal snake that attacked but was dispatched; Elvid’s journal, three letters, and a small pouch.
The heroes headed back to town, taking the bodies of Arelyn and the other adventurers who had come to the tower earlier. The returned to the sage to report back and learn more about what they had found. The important information learned is related to the magic sword, journal, and letters and pouch.
The sword is a +1 magic longsword.
The journal detailed a number of Elvid’s evil exploits as well as allegiance with a demoness, Aldinach, that Elvid referred to as his mistress. She is a demoness known for seduction and corruption. It also made mention of Elvid’s disappointment at only being granted an imp familiar, Zotzpox, instead of an army of demons to raze the countryside. Near the end of the journal, Elvid’s tone changed and he focused on his love for Arelyn and how it had changed him. It also made note of how Elvid needed to keep his love and his recent activities a secret from his thrice-damned familiar.
The letters and pouch all related to another wizard by the name of Ednowain (finally getting to what would be a tie-in to the broader campaign). The first letter was to Elvid from someone named Robar. It spoke of how Robar had visited some sage in the city of Sedd March (under false pretenses) and found the letter and pouch, just where Elvid had indicated it would be and that both were enclosed. The enclosed letter was from a wizard named Ednowain to, presumably, another wizard by the name of Fernan. It made reference to how Ednowain had discovered the secret of lichdom and would be pursuing it. He hoped that Fernan would come visit and was providing the enclosed signet room so that Fernan could access his tower. The last letter was from someone named Grigory Sandybanks to Elvid and was a report on his arrival in Conallglen and success at locating the tower of Ednowain not more than a day’s travel from the town of Broadwater.
That’s pretty much it for the early adventures of Clarissa and, with the letters and info found in Elvid’s ruined tower, she decided to head to Conallglen. Her companions, however, decided to go their separate ways and so she started this next quest on her own.
