84 rooms · levels 50–53
Boulders litter the path here, fallen from the sides of this freshly torn canyon in the mountains. To the north the way back to the road looks rocky and treacherous; to the south the path is smoother, though it seems nobody has walked it for many, many years. Far above, at the top of the mountain, a circular white tower stands alone on a plateau.
A narrow mountain path winds its way up through a ravine carved into the mountain. Small pebbles cover the ground, along with some larger boulders which have fallen from the walls over the years. This path appears to have been unused for many years. Up ahead the very tip of a tower can be seen above the mountain slopes. A large sign is firmly mounted into the ground here.
The path climbs on through a deep ravine, along a bed that must have held a river in times long past. Smooth stones and dry silt crunch underfoot. The wind whistles through the ravine with an eerie wailing noise. The path continues south, up the mountain, and back north toward the canyon.
The ravine runs straight up the mountain here, and the tower is lost from sight above its walls. The wind has risen to a howl, and the steep, rocky footing makes every step hard work. The path climbs on to the south and drops away back to the north.
The ravine grows narrower and deeper as it climbs, and the sunlight barely reaches its bottom, making it hard to pick out any detail. Down here the wind has died away completely, though it can be heard roaring through the ravine above. The path bends sharply to the west, toward the summit, and runs back down to the north.
This is almost the top of the mountain. Ahead to the west lies a flat plateau, mostly filled by a large tower. Behind, to the east, the ravine winds its way down the mountainside, and the wind can be heard howling as it is funneled through it, but up here it is nothing more than a light breeze.
The mountain top is a flat plateau, featureless save for the large tower. In every direction the view stretches for miles. The path back down through the ravine leaves to the east; on every other side there is a sheer drop. To the west the plateau is dominated by the great circular tower of smooth white stone, glinting in the sunlight. It has no windows at all, and a pair of large double doors at its foot is the main entrance. The tower narrows partway up, and it might be possible to climb its outside to the flat top, which cannot be seen from here.
Halfway up the tower there is a narrow ledge running around the outside. There is still no sign of any windows or other entrances, but the flat top of the tower is still not visible. The ledge itself is formed where the tower narrows, the top being smaller than the bottom, almost as if it were a more recent addition. The only way to go appears to be further up or back down.
The view from here is quite amazing, with all the lands spread out like a tiny map. Unfortunately there does not appear to be any way to get into the tower from here, and the wind is quite dangerous with powerful gusts threatening to blow you away. The only way to go seems to be back down, and it might be advisable to hurry.
Beautiful statues of many different races fill this room from wall to wall, one for almost every race there is, so perfectly sculpted and lifelike that they may once have been living people, turned to stone for some macabre collection. A few of them, however, are different from the rest: crude and childlike, not perfectly formed. These statues are now on the move! The only way out is a locked door in the east wall.
A faint mist hangs in the air, parts of it appearing out of nowhere, flowing through the room for a while and then vanishing, only to reappear somewhere else a little later. The same force seems to be at work on the walls, the air and even the light, everything slipping away elsewhere only to come back a moment later. In the west wall the twisting has torn a ragged rift, and through it boulders and the floor of a mountain canyon can be seen. That seems the only way to go, and better soon than late.
A titanic, dark portal dominates this room, sucking up the magic in the vicinity, and drawing all the heat to it as well. A gigantic crack runs from the top of the portal to about the middle, and the portal seems lifeless and dead. It is impossible to make out where the walls in the room are, as all that can be seen is layer upon layer of ice.
There seems to be something wrong with the magic in this room. The mist is distorting all over the place and gaps of nothingness are appearing in parts. Suddenly you feel a sharp pain inside your head as a tear begins to rip your brain apart. Screaming, you claw futilely at your skull to try to ease the mounting pressure inside. Alas there is nothing you can do as the pain intensifies and your world fades to red....
.. and then to black....
The light in this room is dim and murky, and the walls are covered in algae and running with moisture. The floor is damp and strewn with straw. In the northwest corner are a couple of broken, useless chairs, beginning to rot. In the center of the room a large iron ladder leads up into a shaft in the roof, slowly turning around, perhaps once every couple of minutes. The double doors lead back out to the east.
At the top of the ladder is a small, perfectly circular room, its walls of smooth, highly polished obsidian vibrating very slightly. The ladder stands still in the center and runs back down the shaft to the entrance hall. Every so often the whole room turns with a low grinding, and the archway in the north wall opens onto somewhere new; just now it shows a vast, stinking room heaped with refuse.
At the top of the ladder is a small, perfectly circular room, its walls of smooth, highly polished obsidian vibrating very slightly. The ladder stands still in the center and runs back down the shaft to the entrance hall. Every so often the whole room turns with a low grinding, and the archway in the north wall opens onto somewhere new; just now it shows a tiny stone room, its arch pierced by a pattern of little holes.
At the top of the ladder is a small, perfectly circular room, its walls of smooth, highly polished obsidian vibrating very slightly. The ladder stands still in the center and runs back down the shaft to the entrance hall. Every so often the whole room turns with a low grinding, and the archway in the north wall opens onto somewhere new; just now it shows a large room swimming with green slime.
At the top of the ladder is a small, perfectly circular room, its walls of smooth, highly polished obsidian vibrating very slightly. The ladder stands still in the center and runs back down the shaft to the entrance hall. Every so often the whole room turns with a low grinding, and the archway in the north wall opens onto somewhere new; just now it shows a dusty stone room with a spiral staircase in the far corner.
At the top of the ladder is a small, perfectly circular room, its walls of smooth, highly polished obsidian vibrating very slightly. The ladder stands still in the center and runs back down the shaft to the entrance hall. Every so often the whole room turns with a low grinding, and the archway in the north wall opens onto somewhere new; just now it shows a gallery crowded with lifelike statues.
At the top of the ladder is a small, perfectly circular room, its walls of smooth, highly polished obsidian vibrating very slightly. The ladder stands still in the center and runs back down the shaft to the entrance hall. Every so often the whole room turns with a low grinding, and the archway in the north wall opens onto somewhere new; just now it shows a room where a faint mist flickers in and out of being.
The stench in this room is terrible. Mounds of rotten foodstuffs, decomposing paper, and other nastier things fill this huge room which seems to be far bigger than could possibly fit in the tower. The only even slightly interesting part is in a corner filled with various pieces of broken furniture and items which seem strangely out of place, but a closer look reveals these to be broken as well. The only way out is back to the south.
This room is tiny, making it impossible to squeeze many people in at once. The walls have been carefully carved out of stone, giving them a smooth and polished feel. The only way out is back through the entrance to the south, which is a square arch with a pattern of tiny holes covering the inside.
A dark green slime grows all over this room, covering the floor ankle deep, crawling up the walls and even beginning to creep across the ceiling. Across the far side of this large room is a smallish hole through which rubbish falls, presumably to be slowly digested by the slime or eaten by the beast that uses this room as its lair. The archway back to the ladder is to the south.
This small stone room is covered with dust and shows signs of not having been entered for many years. A faint trail of footprints leads from the entrance to the south, across the room and up a spiral staircase in the far corner of the room, which leads to a trapdoor in the roof. The footprints are so old that they have been almost totally obscured by the dust which has fallen since they were made.
Beautiful statues of many different races fill this room from wall to wall. There seems to be one for almost every different race, and the statues are perfectly sculpted, seeming totally realistic and lifelike, so lifelike in fact that they may have indeed once been living people, transformed into statues for some macabre collection. A few of the statues, however, seem different from the others, not being perfectly formed, but rather childlike and crude. The only way out of here is back to the south.
A faint mist hangs in the air, with parts of it seeming to appear out of nowhere, flow through the room for a bit and then vanish again, only to reappear somewhere else in the room a little later. The same force which is affecting the mist also seems to be affecting the walls of the room, the air in the room, and even the light in the room, everything seeming to vanish elsewhere, only to reappear a moment later. Back to the south seems to be the only way to go.
This is the southern end of a rocky corridor. The walls and floor are fairly rough, seemingly weathered away over time. A thick layer of dust coats the floor here but rapidly disappears to the north. A trail of footprints can be seen where there is dust, traveling northwards into the gloom. A spiral staircase leads downwards in the corner of the room.
This area is very dark, making it difficult to make out any details in the gloom. The only light is a very faint glow coming from somewhere further north. The eastern side of the room is perhaps slightly warmer than the west, but otherwise the view seems to be the same in all directions, rocky, uneven passages leading in every direction.
This passageway comes to an abrupt halt at a flat but uneven stone wall. It gives the impression that the builder of this tunnel gave up in disgust and left at this point, as there seems to be no logical reason for this short passageway. No light seems to permeate the air here as in other rooms, and the only way to go appears to be back to the east.
The passageway bends sharply at this point, going from the west to the north. The walls and the floor are the same rough, uneven stonework as the passages leading away. The air in this room is becoming uncomfortably warm, especially to the north, while cooler air to the west offers welcome relief. A faint reddish glow comes from the north, but it is impossible to tell from here exactly what is causing it.
The passageway continues to travel in a north-south direction, but of more immediate notice is the wall to the east which is glowing a dull red color, and giving off a tremendous amount of heat. A faint heat haze is rising from the air around it, and it is making the surrounding area stiflingly hot. The other stone walls here are hot to the touch, heated up by the eastern wall. It is not clear exactly what is heating up the east wall. To the north, the passageway narrows as it stretches off into the distance, while away to the south it appears to take a sharp bend to the right.
This small, square room is not as hot as might have been expected from outside. It appears as if all of the heat has been directed at the west wall, causing it to glow a bright red color. The source of all the heat is a figure standing in the middle of the room, apparently made from fire. He does not look happy to have been trapped in this room. The only way out is back to the west.
The passageway narrows sharply here, making it impossible for more than one person to pass at a time. As it narrows it also bends sharply, heading west in one direction and south in the other. A bright white glow comes from the west, while a rather sinister reddish glow filters in from the south. The walls in this room do not seem to have been scraped by anything large trying to squeeze through since the inhabitants of the place seem to avoid this area.
Brightly glowing moss covers the walls and floor in this area, bathing it in a pleasant white glow. The floor is rather uneven and tiny pools of water fill the cracks. The moss is even more concentrated in these pools, and seems to thrive on them, glowing even more brightly than elsewhere. To the west the light continues just as strongly, but it grows more gloomy to the east as the passage narrows sharply.
Brightly glowing moss covers the walls and floor in this area, bathing it in a pleasant white glow. The floor is rather uneven and tiny pools of water fill the cracks. The moss is even more concentrated in these pools, and seems to thrive on them, glowing even more brightly than elsewhere. The brightness in this room continues to the east, but dies quickly to the west leading to a dark and gloomy area. A gentle breeze flows in from the south but turns rather chilly as it heads north.
A stiff breeze seems to spring from nowhere here, heading along the passageway to the west. It seems something charged with a strange elemental magic, building in strength as it continues onwards. The passageway itself is rather crudely carved out of the stone, with rocky and uneven walls, ceiling and floor. None of the air seems to flow along the passageway to the south for some reason.
A stiff breeze flows into this room from the east, building to a fair intensity by the middle of the room, before fading rapidly to a very gentle breeze by the time it flows into a large, brightly lit area to the north. The walls of this passageway have been crudely carved from the stone, and are rocky and uneven.
Only the light filtering in from the east allows anything to be seen in this passageway. There seems to be no other light in this area, and in fact somehow light seems to be sucked southwards, towards a totally dark area. The walls are extremely crudely carved here, as if the builder was afraid to take too long over it.
This area seems to suck up all light, making it impossible to make out any features, even for those able to see in the dark. And yet, is that some moving patch of darkness, somehow blacker than the rest of the room?
The air flowing in from the south seems to be having all the heat sucked from it as it flows through this room and onwards to the east. As the passage curves to the east, frost forms on the walls, and a thick coating of snow covers the ground, getting deeper to the east. Footprints of the same size as at the entrance to this floor can be seen heading off to the east. A strange elemental magic charge can be felt faintly building up in this room, focused by the rooms to the south.
Snow covers the ground here to a depth of about a foot or so. The walls seem to be made of stone, but a foot or more thick sheet of ice covering them makes it difficult to tell. The ice catches the light which seems to come from nowhere, and reflects in around the room in dazzlingly beautiful patterns. Footprints come in from the west, and disappear under a door to the north which seems to be made from solid ice. The door is so thick that it is impossible to see anything through it. A strange elemental magic charge hums in the air in this room, growing stronger towards the east.
Snow covers the ground here, so deep that it makes travel difficult, coming up to about the waist. The room itself seems fairly large, but ice covers all the surfaces with a layer several meters deep, so the area left is rather smaller. The strange elemental magic charge is so powerful that it throbs in the air here, and it seems to be sucked through the north wall.
This pleasantly warm room has three walls made from stone, but the south wall seems to be made up by a large door made from ice. It is unclear what is preventing this ice from melting, but it does not seem to. A set of stone stairs lead up through a hole in the roof.
A strange glassy substance forms the walls, floor and ceiling in this room. It is very hard, smooth to the touch and is a milky white color. A large door, made from the same substance is set into the south wall. The fit is so perfect that it is almost impossible to make out the outline of the door, as if it were supposed to be hidden, but if this is the case then the large handle in the door seems rather stupidly placed. The only other way out of this room is through a hole in the floor where a set of stone stairs lead down.
A narrow platform runs from north to south in this deep cylindrical room. It is suspended in the middle of the room, about fifty feet from the floor. Below, a huge pool of a strange clear liquid sits placidly. The walls, floor and ceiling of this room are made from a strange, milk white, glassy material. At the north and south ends of the platform are doors leading out of the room, and in the middle a ladder leads up to a trapdoor in the roof. A number of blocked holes in the walls might once have allowed the liquid into the room, but are not working now. There is an unnatural silence in the air, and some kind of indescribable stillness can be felt.
All of the surfaces of this room - walls, floor and ceiling, are made from a strange glassy substance. It is extremely hard and smooth to the touch. To the north stands a large door, made to fit almost perfectly to the wall. So perfectly in fact that it is impossible to make out any crack between the two. To the west an open doorway leads to another room.
The walls of this room are made from a rough cut stone, and the floor is bumpy and uneven. The room is square and has no decoration or ornamentation of any kind. An open doorway leads to the east, while another leads to the south. The one to the south, however, seems to be protected by some kind of living barrier which bars the way.
This room is tiny, with barely enough room to squeeze a single person in. The walls are from extremely roughly cut stone, as if this room were added as an afterthought at the last minute. Besides the open doorway leading back to the north, the only other item of note is a small hook on the south wall.
Chaos swirls all around, forming shapes and objects even as they are thought of; but even as they are wished to remain, they melt away again as the chaos takes hold once more. This room is nothing more than a swirling chaos of thoughts and ideas, taking form only when their creator wills it. A swirling malevolent mist seeps in from the east. Below, through a gap in the chaos, the flat top of the tower and the open sky can be seen, and it is possible to drop back down onto it.
A dark red mist swirls about you, seeming almost alive, and wanting to be free of its constraints. It seeps into your skin, into your eyes, and into your brain and soul, taking you over. Your world fades to red.....
....and then black.....
This square room has stone walls on three sides, but to the north there is no wall at all, only a deep, dank and almost solid mist that hides everything beyond it. The only other way to go is down through the wooden trapdoor in the floor.
Deep mist closes in on every side, dank and almost solid, and there seems to be nothing underfoot to stand on, yet there is no sensation of falling either. Behind, to the south, the stone walls of the stairhead still show dimly. Ahead the mist thickens to the north, and paler drifts lead away east and west.
The mist is so thick here that it presses on the skin like wet wool, and even a hand held before the face is lost in it. Sounds die as soon as they are made. Paler mist lies to the south, toward the stairhead; a cold hollow opens to the west, and to the east a faint glint shows through the murk.
Patches of a darkness deeper than the mist drift slowly here, coiling around one another like smoke in still air. Where they pass, the mist grows chill and dim. The edge of the mist lies to the west, and to the north a faint glint shows through the murk.
There is something badly wrong with the magic here. The mist distorts all over the place and gaps of nothingness open all around. This spot seems safe, but on every side the very fabric of space is tearing itself apart, and to the north the tear gapes wide enough to step into. The only safe way to go is back to the west.
The mist here is torn into long ragged streamers, as though great shapes pass through it often and fast. Deep gouges hang in the empty air where something has raked at nothing at all. The edge of the mist lies to the east; the streamers drift away to the north, and to the south something solid seems to lie beneath the mist.
A pocket of bitter cold hangs in the mist, and the drifts curl back from it as if afraid. Faint whispers come and go on the edge of hearing, never quite words. The torn mist of the hunting ground lies to the south, and the thick heart of the mist to the east.
Something catches the light here, a faint metallic glint hanging in the mist at about the height of a hand, as though the mist itself were holding it up. The mist to the north glows with a strange white light and crackles with a building charge. To the east the mist distorts and tears in a way that is painful to look at. The heart of the mist lies to the west, and the drifting wisps to the south.
For the first time since entering the mist there is something solid underfoot: a narrow causeway of worn stone, running south into the gloom. A trail of old footprints crosses it. To the north the mist is torn into ragged streamers, and to the south the shape of stone walls can just be made out.
This looks to be the way out of the mist: a small room walled in stone on three sides, while to the north a deep mist marks the way back into it. In the roof an extremely solid-looking trapdoor leads upward.
Deep mist obscures vision in every direction, making it impossible to see anything at all. There does not seem to be anything underfoot to stand on, but there is no sensation of falling either. Suddenly a magical charge builds up in the mist, causing it to glow a brilliant white for a moment. When the brightness fades from your eyes you find yourself elsewhere....
While the floor space in this room is tiny, making it hard to squeeze more than a single person in, the ceiling towers far above, stretching up to a height of at least twenty meters. The walls themselves are roughly hewn out give the room the feel of a natural cavern. A thick layer of dust covers the floor here, and a set of footprints like the ones before lead from the trapdoor leading down through a narrow gap in the north wall.
The walls of this room form a triangular shape, with the south wall making up one of the sides, while the other two walls meet at a point to the north. A narrow gap in the south wall allows passage in that direction, while at the northern tip, the walls do not quite meet, but form the start of a narrow passage leading onward. Overhead the roof rises to a height of at least twenty meters.
The passageway here stretches for about thirty meters in either direction before spreading out into larger rooms. The walls of the passage are very narrow making it difficult to fit more than two people side by side. Overhead the roof stretches off to a great height, making it comfortably high enough for any giants wanting to visit.
The walls of this room form a triangle, the north wall making up one of the sides, while the other two almost come together to make the tip to the south. In the gap where they do not quite meet, a narrow passageway leads off to the south. An arch in the north wall leads to another adjacent room.
This small room is filled by a large staircase leading upwards high into the roof. Here at the bottom of the stairs an archway leads to the south, while the top of the room is hidden from view by the winding stairs. The stone walls have been carefully carved, giving them a smooth, polished finish.
The stone walls in this room have been carefully carved, and their polished finish catches the light very nicely. A large staircase leads down to the floor below. A massive iron door fills most of the southern wall and is the only other way out of this room.
This is the northern end of a well furnished corridor. A thick red carpet lines the floor, and the walls are made of smooth, polished obsidian. Heavy wooden doors lead east and west, while a massive iron door fills most of the northern wall. The corridor itself heads off to the south.
Large candles sit on stands almost head high around an ominous pentagram which is inlaid onto the middle of the floor. The lines of the pentagram seem to be made of solid gold set into the stone floor, with silver runes snaking around the edges. A large iron brazier stands in the corner of the room, and a smell hanging in the air indicates that it has been used not too long ago.
A deep feeling of tranquillity fills this room, in complete contrast to the feeling throughout the rest of this tower. A thick layer of dust covers the floor in this room, indicating that it has not been used for some time. In one corner of the room lies a stony pile of rubble that seems to be made up from parts of a humanoid creature. In the center of the room, on an intricate metal stand is an emerald orb. The orb has a huge crack running from the top to the center of the orb. At the foot of that stand, a human skeleton lies dead, the sword in its hand outstretched towards the orb as if its final act was breaking it.
This is the middle of a cozy corridor heading from the south to the north. A thick red carpet lines the floor, and the walls are made of smooth, polished obsidian. A heavy wooden door leads to the east. On the west wall hangs a large painting depicting a mage standing on a high hill and hurling magic upon an army below.
This area seems to be a kitchen of sorts. A large table fills most of the room, and is covered with various ingredients, pots, pans and other utensils needed for cooking. A huge fireplace covers half of the eastern wall and a large fire burns merrily in it, roasting a large pig revolving on a spit. The only way out of this room would seem to be back through the large wooden door to the west.
This is the southern end of a well furnished corridor. A thick red carpet lines the floor, and the walls are made of smooth, polished obsidian. A heavy wooden door leads to the west, while an obsidian door blocks the way to the south, and the corridor runs back north. On the east wall hangs a large painting of a female mage standing on a mountain and hurling magic upon an army below.
This room seems to be the bedroom, due to a large double bed up against the northern wall. In the southeast corner sits a large comfortable chair which shows signs of heavy use. The chair faces towards a small fireplace on the southern wall which is currently not lit. Stretched across the eastern wall, left of the door are three rows of bookshelves. The books on them do not seem very interesting but are filled with mainly historical texts from the distant past. The only way out is back through the door to the east.
This bedroom seems to have been hidden from anyone casually wandering by. A large circular bed fills most of the room, a thick warm rug covers the ground from wall to wall. A faint smell of some exotic perfume hangs tantalizingly in the air. A large painting hangs on the eastern wall depicting something best left undescribed. It appears complicated.
This room has been carefully hidden from prying eyes and contains some of the spare magical items that Kylarn has collected over the years. It is a small stone room with barren walls, merely a few items lying on the ground. Written on the north wall is the message, 'Perseverance is the key'.
The dust in this room is almost a foot thick, giving the impression that this room has been left empty for a long time, perhaps as long as the tower has been built. Certainly it has not seen visitors for a thousand years at least. The only notable feature of this room is a large pedestal in the center.
This room has smooth, polished obsidian walls and a thick red carpet on the floor. A large obsidian door covers most of the northern wall. The only other feature is the spiral staircase leading upwards.
This room has walls made of smooth, polished obsidian and a floor covered with a thick red carpet. The room is square and fairly small. There is a spiral staircase leading down below, while a very solid looking wooden door leads north.
A large throne set a few feet off the floor dominates this room. A couple of steps lead up to it where it is placed against the eastern wall. The throne itself is covered in red velvet cushioning, with the rest made of gold inlaid with hundreds of tiny gems. At the ends of each arm sit a large, perfect diamond. Sitting in the chair is someone who can only be the master of this tower. To the west a sturdy wooden door leads out, and to the south a large gold door stands blocking the way. The eastern wall consists of a shimmering barrier, through which can be seen a huge pack of demons on some outer plane.
This room is very small, and is almost completely empty except for an enormous iron bound wooden chest sitting against the southern wall, stretching right across it. There are two wooden shelves against the eastern wall, but they are empty. The only exit is the large gold door leading north into Kylarn's throne room.
The landscape all around is flat and featureless, the ground a cold, dry sand, and the sky looms overhead an ominous red from horizon to horizon. The only thing here is a large pack of demons, loyal to Kylarn. Two shimmering doorways hang in the air: the one to the west leads back into Kylarn's throne room, and the one to the north to somewhere else entirely.
This is a fairly large room with smooth, polished obsidian walls and a thick red carpet covering the floor. The walls have several claw marks and gouges taken out of them, and the west wall is rather badly scorched, by a fire hot enough to melt some of the obsidian. It has since solidified and left an ugly smear down the wall. Very solid looking wooden doors lead to the east and the south.
The walls of this room seem to be made from some translucent barrier, and through them an almost solid mist is visible. It gives no hint of where this place is, and so it is safe from any who might try to find the one who made it: perhaps some far outer place, or a tiny pocket dimension. There is no way to know. The shimmering doorway back to the plain of demons hangs to the south.