The tower rumbled, and the floor suddenly gave way.
Jack and Torick plummeted through the tower as its many interior features collapsed: floorboards, bookshelves, vials, books, everything.
The tower landed them safely on the first floor where they had begun with nothing more than a chest – and the remains of the warlock himself.
Quest completed: Tempering the Tower
Objective: Defeat the tower's trials and end its master.
Reward(s):
Staff of Conjuring OR Wand of Conjuring
5x Potion of Basic Healing
Schematic: Potion of Basic Healing
22x Gold Coins
Jack has reached Level 3.
Jack has received 1 skill point.
Torick has reached Level 3.
Torick has received 1 skill point.
Jack set aside the prospect of assigning his and his companion’s skill points until his head was clear and they were safely back in Silverward.
In the meantime, Torick looked between the wand and the staff as they floated on the air before him. Finally he settled on the staff.
Torick has chosen Staff of Conjuring
The chest tossed the gold, the healing potions and the schematic gently onto the floor before spinning around and vanishing into thin air. Jack picked the items up and stashed them in his satchel along with the many herbs he had recovered from the tower.
All that remained was the warlock’s skeleton.
The dungeon wouldn’t have retained the warlock’s skeleton unless they needed it.
Jack ignored the pain in his arm and searched the folds of the cloak. There wasn’t much beyond old scraps of parchment and empty vials, though one item had survived the fire surprisingly well: a scroll. Jack unravelled it and examined the contents.
The drawing was crude – as if it had been drawn by a skeleton, so no surprise there. It depicted a map of the nearby forest, Silverward itself – and another town to the east named Knightkeep.
Silverward was largely ignored, but Knightkeep was surrounded by etchings in a language and hand he couldn’t recognize. Cruedly-drawn images of skulls surrounded it too.
‘It looks like our undead friend here was conspiring to unleash some rather unpleasant monstrosities on the land,' Torick spoke, examining the scroll at Jack's side. 'This is what happens when people start dealing with necromancy, you see?’
‘They go crazy?’
‘They go stupid,’ Torick said, enunciating the final word emphatically. ‘Look at this thing. Might as well have been drawn by a child with some bloody crayons…’
‘What’s the motivation for doing something like this?’ Jack asked. ‘Why go to all of this trouble?’
‘The same reason anybody does anything: power. I thought you of all people would understand that considering your area of expertise, Jack.'
‘But what power would turning the land into a scorched waste of undead grant?’
‘Oh, come on, Jack. You can’t tell me you’ve never wanted your own undead horde before.’
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‘The dream of any keen leader,’ he replied sarcastically. ‘The citizens would probably get along better, in fairness…’
Knightkeep.
Jack tapped his finger against the name of the town.
‘I wonder if he managed to accomplish any of his plan.’
‘Something for us to investigate in the future,’ Torick nodded. ‘I wonder why he didn’t seek to attack Silverward instead. Our town was much closer and much more accessible. Knightkeep looks to lie between twin patches of hills… Just another question, I suppose. The only way we can determine that is by paying them a visit. In the meantime, we need to get out of this damned tower and back to the bosom-like comfort of Silverward so I can enjoy the sweet taste of magic once more…’
‘I never did ask what your specific field of magic was,’ Jack spoke.
‘Fire,’ he smiled simply.
‘Of course it is,’ Jack frowned. ‘I should have known when you mentioned blowing stuff up.’
‘Ah, I’m just messing with you Jack,’ Torick chuckled. ‘It’s Elemental. I possess a combination of Fire, Frost and… Other spells. Look here.’
Torick stamped the base of the staff upon the ground. An old, slim, leatherbound journal phased to life before him and landed in his free hand.
‘It still works,’ Torick smiled.
‘What does?’
‘This is my pride and joy – my conjurer’s journal. Every spell I know is in here,’ he smiled, flipping it open. ‘Just wait till you… What?... NO!’
‘What, what is it?!’
‘I only have access to my starter spells,’ Torick said, frantically flipping through the pages. ‘The magic system must be different in this world. Everything beyond the most basic of my Elemental spells is gone…’
A blinking light prompted Jack back into the interface. He discreetly moved to Torick’s companion page and checked the new details.
Companion: Torick – Information Updated:
Spells Unlocked
Ignite
Type: Elemental [Fire]
Effect: Conjure a strong flame that can be commanded via a mage's staff or wand and directed towards a target.
Nightfrost
Type: Elemental [Frost]
Effect: Conjure a patch of frost magic that can be commanded via a staff’s gemstone or directed towards a target.
Fire and Frost were the categories that immediately caught Jack’s eye, though a third category included not one but two spells.
Detect Earth
Type: Elemental [Earth]
Effect: Feel vibrations in the earth to detect movement and presence of creatures or objects nearby.
Repair Earth
Type: Elemental [Earth]
Effect: Mend cracks in stone
Jack gave Torick an opportunity to reel off the spells he knew, finding that they matched up to those he could see in the interface.
But Torick stopped short of detailing the Elemental [Earth] spells. He snapped the journal shut and tucked it under his arm.
Why doesn’t he want to tell me about the other two spells? They looked pretty damn useful. If he only has access to his starter spells, every little helps.
Irritated screeches slipped through the tower’s heavy door, followed by the slamming of fists and blunt weapons.
It can wait.
‘Now all we have to do is deal with the kobolds out there,’ Jack sighed. ‘I was hoping they would be gone, but apparently not.’
‘It sounds as if there aren’t many left,’ Torick replied, holding his ear to the door. ‘The tower’s rumblings will have scared away all but the most fearsome of the kobolds.’
‘So the good news is there are only a few of these jerks out there. The bad news is that the ones still lurking around are the worst of a bad bunch.’
‘We can take them, Jack! We just completed a dungeon together!’
Jack checked his HP once more in the aftermath of the fight. 52/100.
But he still had the point to allocate - and plenty of Potions of Basic Healing as a reward from the dungeon.
Jack fished out one of the potions and examined it.
Item: Potion of Basic Healing
Effect: Instantly restores 15HP.
Potions of variety [any] may only be consumed once per hour.
Consequence of over-consumption:
- Irritating nausea [1 hour]
- Loss of 25% to HP and all stats [1 hour]
Jack downed one and immediately felt himself pick up as his HP restored to 67. The vial vanished from his grasp as several of his wounds seemed to go through weeks of healing in the space of mere moments, despite still not looking great.
‘Now that I can get used to,’ he nodded, drawing his bow and readying an arrow. ‘What’s our plan of attack?’
‘I thought you were the leader, Jack.’
‘I’m the Mediator – I’m not battle-trained, at least not yet, and I’m not afraid to consult the people smarter than me to solve problems. How do you want to do this?’
‘Get them out of the doorway, give me a window where they can’t attack, and I’ll take them on.' Torick clutched his staff and looked to Jack. 'Ready?’
‘Ready.’
They shared the cold, hard nod of two men ready to face death once more, and Jack swung the door wide.