24 - A Weird and Complex Tower
| Session 1 | Session 23 | Session 24 | ||
| ◀◀ | ◀ | ▲ | ▶ | ▶▶ |
| Ashira Brolin Frostbite | Ashira Brolin Frostbite | Ashira Brolin Frostbite |
Do I need help?
Frostbite ignored and stepped past the glass carriage. Another door, another chance to reach the heart of the palace towards hopefully Zybilna herself.
Instead of a grand hall, he stepped onto a balcony. Below: a vast open space churning with a vortex of dark clouds. Suspended in the middle of the roiling dark stood a marble tower, capped with spiraling turrets and unreachable balconies. Stairs led up its turrent from somewhere out of reach of this balcony.
Rather than wander more of the palace’s halls, he spread his draconic wings and took to the air, gliding down to one of the stone staircases that led to a turret of the tower. Landing lightly, he stepped into the first turret.
Empty. Stone walls, silent air, a stair leading further up. No magic. No queen.
He moved on.
The next turret held a chest, nestled on a pedestal of living vines. No traps, no locks. He opened it with a clawed hand. Inside, a black crystal, softly glowing. He prodded it with his staff. Nothing. He picked it up - just a strange weight in his palm. He slipped it into his pouch, a note for later.
This place led no further, outside he flow to the next stair to another turret. Another chest, this time set on cold metal and a green glow from inside. Inside a green crystal, pulsing gently. He added it to his pouch.
Still no queen. Still no answers. And his wings were fading.
He scanned the tower again to the right of the stairs he spotted a broken section of wall. Rubble hung frozen in the air. A knight, sword and shield in hand, floated unmoving beside it - caught in the same strange time-stasis as the insects outside. He floated inside through the breach and made his wings disappear.
A stairwell led both up and down on the outside wall. In the center: a ruined study, shelves splintered, books shredded, devices shattered. A broken blowing horn floated nearby, seemingly humming faintly in its stillness.
He chose up. After a long climb, he reached double doors with the symbol of a deer in a circle above them. He tried them - sealed.
Further up: an ornate iron door, covered in cogs, ledges, and tumblers, a nightingale-shaped knob at its center. A message beneath it read: "Speak my name."
Frostbite squinted at the strange lock. He was not good with locks or puzzles, no chance in opening this door.
He descended.
At the bottom of the stairs was an open arch into the tower’s inner sanctum. There, seated, was a man on a throne. Standing beside him: a horned figure with red eyes and a flaming sword.
Frostbite froze.
His claws scraped stone. The figure’s ears twitched.
"Did you hear that?" one of them said.
Panicking, Frostbite crept into view and tried to bluff his way out.
"It’s just me," he said awkwardly.
"Who are you?" came the response.
Frostbite hesitated. He tried to bargain, to warn them of coming threats. He mentioned reciprocity. As always he couldn’t even say it right.
It didn’t land.
The horned figure stepped forward, eyes narrowing.
This is going bad, Frostbite realized.
And then - he ran. Darting up the stairs, he twisted his body into a spider shape, scuttled through the breach in the wall, and vanished outside.
Alone again, winds brushing through his hair, the tower behind him... He needed rest for his wings again and he needed his friends, is that what they are?
| Session 1 | Session 23 | Session 24 | ||
| ◀◀ | ◀ | ▲ | ▶ | ▶▶ |
| Ashira Brolin Frostbite | Ashira Brolin Frostbite | Ashira Brolin Frostbite |
Updated on: 17:09
