The Tower of Thalivar

Alec spent time in Siegfried’s Sequestered Sanctuary in a simulacrum of a Helmite military encampment by the coast. Ephemeral soldiers roasted meet over barbeques, quaffed ale, and sang songs of home. He awoke and found a folded letter beneath his morning coffee. The letter was marked with the sigil of Kirkwall. “Interesting,” he said, picking up the steaming mug and taking a drink while he opened the letter, giving it a read.   Dearest sons,   We hope this letter finds you both well. Alec, it has been years now since you ventured out to make your way in the world. We know that it is difficult to send messages over so great a distance without relying on the use of magic, but we have gleaned so little of your exploits and worry for your continued safety and so we relish the opportunity to connect. Robert, we sent you in search of your brother and in search of knowledge of our family’s past and how it shall inform our future, and we hope you have found both. We are so very proud of you both. Your success brings great honour to your homeland. We trust that you are finding your fortune and securing the legacy of the Trevelyan Family for all time in the far-flung West. Know that Kirkwall remains free and prosperous. Until we meet again! All our love, Your Parents   Bob stood on the deck of the St. Asmod’s Hope, peering through a spyglass borrowed from Captain Laurel. He scanned the ships that had anchored further out. The Tide-Runner he immediately recognized, but he gave the two other ships a once-over. The first was a low-slung corsair that looked like it could outrun or outmaneuver anything in encountered in open water. The name Dancing Delight was emblazoned on its stern. The second ship was a stout galley, its lines augmented with bands of reinforced iron and a prow similarly shod. An icebreaker , Bob thought to himself, thinking of the ships that fought to clear Kirkwall’s harbour during the long winter freeze. Sure enough, the ship was dubbed the Ice Floe. Satisfied, Bob handed the spyglass over and went back down to the infirmary to check on Brevindon Margaster. “How is the hand holding up?” He asked with a smirk. Trussed up as he was, Brevindon could do little but roll his eyes at Bob’s provocation. He flexed his newly-regenerated hand experimentally. “Eager to try it out, I guess,” he muttered. Doc Crablegs sniggered at his writing desk. Brevindon cleared his throat. “Since you’re here, you might as well make yourself useful. Tell that half-orc that I would speak with him. Alone .” The cultist then closed his eyes and let his head sink back into the rude straw pallet. “All right,” Bob said with a shrug.   While Varien continued to converse with Grizzelda Copperwrought nearby, Siegfried stood beneath the ruined Tower of Thalivar with Erwen for a moment, thinking. He chose to unattune from the ghost cutlass of the captains . Captain Mange cursed him as he set the weapon aside. “Captain Mange, if you had anything worth telling me, I might have been motivated to stay!” The other Ghost Captains were more understanding. We’ve seen a lot of wielders come and go, but not everyone stays bound to our merry crew. Best of luck to ye. Siegfried tossed the sword in his rucksack and withdrew the ethereal cutlass , taking a few practice swings with its glowing blade. “Nice,” he said. He turned to Erwen. “So, Small Man, I had a brief chat with Lord Neverember. You remember him – big guy up in Neverwinter, has a meticulously-trimmed beard.” Erwen frowned. He never forgot a slight, and Lord Neverember had slighted something fierce. “Anyway, everybody in Neverwinter pays him money, and in exchange, he spends it to protect them. With me so far?” Erwen nodded. “Yes,” “Kind of like how the lionesses do the hunting but the lion protects the pack,” Siegfried continued. “I know exactly what you mean,” Erwen said. “Now, he sent this money to this chap Gallio and said, ‘oi Gallio, this tower’s haunted, get rid of it,’ which, we agree just by looking at it, it’s a haunted tower, and we don’t like it.” “I definitely don’t like it,” Erwen agreed. “Now, Neverember gave money to Gallio to tear down the spooky tower, but Gallio has been telling the builders ‘Hey, let’s rebuild this tower.’ Now that ain’t right, especially when you have a bunch of little old ladies telling Neverember to get rid of that spooky tower and paying their last piece of silver to do so.” “Do we need to finish this guy?” Erwen asked, his fingers turning into pointed claws. “We may just need to scare him,” Siegfried said. “Let’s visit the local constabulary and requisition some manacles for that very purpose. But when we check in on him and ask him what gives, if he’s genuinely mistaken or confused about his orders we’ll have to just scare him, but if he’s malicious, if he’s possessed , then that’s something we’ll have to deal with. Because here’s what I think. I don’t like it when people steal food from my plate. I don’t like it when people steal food from the plates of the hungry, and I really don’t like it when their one job is to take down the spooky tower and they’re using that money to rebuild the spooky tower.” “You know,” Erwen said, kicking a pebble, “there’s a much more efficient solution to this problem.” “Think you can take down the tower using an earthquake spell?” Siegfried asked. “You might need a permit for that.” “I’m very anxious to be gone from this town,” Erwen said. “Oh, we’re definitely getting out of here tomorrow,” Siegfried said. “I have a teleportation spell for that.” The pair stopped by the constabulary and made the acquaintance of Lance Captain Shadra Elsendre. Siegfried could tell immediately why Lord Neverember appointed her to the role – she was quite fetching. Siegfried was interested to know if she was anything beyond a pretty face. He watched as the Lance-Captain drilled a squad of lance-wielding militiamen and women on horseback in a field behind the blockhouse. It was clear that the Lance-Captain commanded respect from the members of the mobile cavalry known as the Lances of Leilon. Siegfried was duly impressed; they were definitely not farmers with sticks. “The best competence money can buy,” Siegfried said, thinking of Lord Neverember. He signalled to the Lance-Captain’s adjutant, who interrupted the officer and pointed in Siegfried’s direction. The Lance-Captain brought her warhorse around and thundered towards Siegfried and Erwen at a hard gallop, reining up at the last moment and dismounting smartly with a creak of plate armour. Siegfried bit the inside of his cheek and turned to business. “Lance-Captain Elsendre, is it?” he called out officiously. “And you are?” She took off her helm, revealing tresses of raven-black hair. “Stingblade Siegfried Thann of the Lord’s Alliance,” Siegfried said. “I am in town on personal business but I’ve been deputized to perform a small audit, and I was hoping I could request your presence in an official capacity as I conduct said audit.” The Lance-Captain pursed her ruby-red lips. “An audit. Does Arguile Kornfast know of this?” “Arguile isn’t the one under audit, I’m afraid,” Siegfried said. “Lord Neverember was under the impression that this tower”—at this he hooked his thumb over his shoulder to indicate the Tower of Thalivar— “had already been demolished.” “Ah,” Elsendre said, nodding. “Not so much demolished as neutralized.” “Which it hasn’t,” Siegfried replied. “Well,” the Lance-Captain shrugged. “Have you looked at the tower? Gazed upon it?” “Yes,” Siegfried said, taking pains to glance pointedly at a nearby frozen shadow. “We have examined and noticed the effects of this tower.” “But you haven’t been paralyzed when gazing upon the tower, correct?” Elsendre said. “I have not,” Siegfried conceded. “But I am a person of rather strong will when it comes to magic like that.” “Of course,” Elsdendre replied. “But for more than a century, anyone who did so, was so, if you catch my meaning. And so, now that is no longer the case, hence the term neutralized.” “I see,” Siegfried said. “Now I’m not an expert, but I carried out Lord Neverember’s orders in protecting the mages who were involved in countering the effect, with great difficulty we managed to remove the harshest effects of this tower. It was quite a convoluted operation, and,” she looked around, “an expensive one. However, we did it without losing a man, which I consider a victory.” “Of course,” Siegfried said. “It is far easier to make more coin than it is to replace a good man.” “This is true,” Elsendre said. “And it will take a lot of coin to get this town back into proper shape.” She looked around, momentarily embarrassed at the state of the some of the buildings in the immediate vicinity. Some were in the process of reconstruction while many others lay fallow. “Lance-Captain, you are doing good work,” Siegfried said. “You are not under scrutiny this day. Now, tell me about Gallio.” “Gallio Elibro,” Lance-Captain Elsendre said. “Ah yes.” “I’ve spoken to a few of the construction workers who are under the impression that the tower is to go upwards rather than being flattened.” “There certainly seems to be some confusion on that point, I will grant you that,” Elsendre said. “Let me back up. Salvaging the tower and recreating it into something more imposing, because if you look at it, it is one of the best-constructed buildings in this town, we would consider that to be a great show of force and dedication for Lord Protector Neverember. Now, that said, we have run into some labour difficulties, and Gallio, a mage from Neverwinter, has been working to decipher and catalogue the tower’s secrets before we are able to fully turn it into a symbol of Lord Neverember’s power in this region.” “Are you familiar with a form of magic that allows you to send a short message across great distances from one individual to another?” Siegfried asked. “I am a martial woman, and magic is not my area of expertise,” Elsendre said. “No worries, but believe me when I saw I have spoken to Lord Neverember since arriving in Leilon, and I have received his direct intentions regarding this tower.” Elsendre paused, and then nodded. “If that is Lord Neverember’s wish, then we shall ensure that the tower is properly…” “Demolished,” Siegfried said firmly. “Demolished,” Elsendre conceded. “Lance-Captain, might we take a walk to the Tower of Thalivar and Gallio’s office?” Siegfried asked. “The Lion in the North is concerned that taxpayer coin is being wasted on preserving a tower he has asked to be removed, and as is the Dagger’s nature, precision is preferred in his anger.”  “Certainly,” Lance-Captain Elsendre said. “Shall we pick up some manacles along the way?” Siegfried asked casually. “Maybe ten pair, say?”   Bob ventured into Siegfried’s Sequestered Sanctuary and found his brother reading the letter from home. Alec handed over the letter for Bob to read. A single golden tear traced down Bob’s cheek as he did so. “Maybe we should find our friends in town,” Bob said. “I need to deliver a message to Siegfried from that cultist below deck.” Alec nodded. “Let’s take Skraper out for a ride,” Bob said. Alec smiled and nodded. Bob and Alec went below deck to find Skraper curled up on a bed of straw. “Hi ho, Skraper!” Bob called to the liondrake. “Time to show us the world.” Skraper growled and stretched. “What you want? Skraper attack?” “No!” Bob said, alarmed. Skraper growled again. “Skraper protect?” “Better, but what I want is a flight to remember,” Bob said. “Other master never rode Skraper,” Skraper moped. “This not sound fun. You promised saddle first. Skraper demands saddlesfaction!” Alec chuckled at the liondrake’s pun. “I will get you the finest saddle in all the Sword Coast, I promise,” Bob said. “Okay,” Skraper sniffed. Bob and Alec climbed onto Skraper’s back, and the liondrake leapt skyward, flying through the cargo hatchway into the sky above the St. Asmod’s Hope . There was an immediate commotion from dockside as longshoremen and barge-polers dove for cover or froze in terror at the sight of the dragonne flying above the town. “Skraper been cooped up too long!” the liondrake roared. “Skraper no scraping!” Alec shouted. “Remember that half-orc?” Bob said into Skraper’s furred ear. “Find him!” “Skraper remembers!” the dragonne said darkly. “Skraper remembers him all too well!” The creature dove towards the tower, its keen eyes already having locked onto the tall half-orc.   Erwen began sizing up the tower, which thrust up from atop the rocky crag, its uppermost floor blackened with soot. The tower had been cracked open like an egg, with a fissure that extended down one side of the building. Wooden scaffolds had been erected along the flank, with evidence of work clearly apace to rebuild the structure. At the foot of the tower, two ruined arches opened into the gloomy interior. The tower reached more than 80 feet into the sky, and the summit of the crag was about the same breadth. The base of the tower was approximately 40 feet wide. Erwen cast conjure animals and instantly a cete of giant badgers materialized around him. Erwen smiled.   Siegfried heard the far-off sound of confused and frightened townsfolk and his attention was drawn to the silhouette of a liondrake wheeling and swooping over the town. To Elsendre he said, “pay that no mind, it is a colleague of mine taking his mount for a spin.” “Fair enough,” Lance-Captain Elsendre said. “They will be landing nearby presently, unless I miss my guess,” Siegfried said. Elsendre tensed as the large monstrosity closed in on their position. The creature landed gracefully on a grassy knoll and knelt down to let his passengers dismount. Skraper eyed the group of badgers hungrily. “Bob, Alec, I would like to introduce you to Lance-Captain Shadra Elsendre of the Lances of Leilon,” Siegfried said, “Lance-Captain, may I introduce Robert Trevelyan, Stingblade of the Lord’s Alliance and Protectorate Investigator of Neverwinter and Champion of Phandalin, and his brother Alec Trevelyan, Redknife of the Lord’s Alliance, Watcher of Helm and Breaker of Hearts.” “A pleasure to meet agents of the Lord’s Alliance,” Lance-Captain Elsendre said with a nod. “No matter how strange their conveyance.” Bob bowed and Alec flexed. “I bring news from the ship,” Bob said to Siegfried. “Do tell,” Siegfried said. “Those ships at anchor out there,” Bob said. “They’re called the Ice Floe and the Dancing Delight .” “Never heard of them,” Varien said, shaking his head. He’d broken away from his conversation with Grizzelda at the mention of ships. Siegfried nodded in recognition. “Though he’s not directly involved in the shipping trade, my father spends a lot of his time in dockside bars and in parks overlooking the harbour,” he said. “I think he’s sketched just about every ship that has ever made port in Waterdeep.” “Point being?” Varien replied. “Point being, I happen to know that the Dancing Delight is captained by a Tabaxi named Stands-in-Tar, while the Ice Floe is helmed by a Dragonborn named Kristoffen,” Siegfried said.

“That reminds me,” Bob said to Siegfried. “Your pal Brevindon wants to talk to you alone when we’re done here.” “Oh, what’s he going to do, apologize for shoving my face into a chamber pot when we were both nine years old?” Siegfried said. “It’s a bit late for that.” The party regarded the tower. It appeared to be unguarded and for all intents and purposes unoccupied. Here and there, thrown down in the dirt, were discarded construction tools – shovels, pickaxes, and hammers - a sign of a workplace hastily abandoned. Erwen’s keen tracker’s eye took note of several sets of booted footprints leading away from the tower back down the path up which the party had traveled. Excellent , he thought. He pointed out the tracks to Siegfried. Siegfried smiled. “That’s better than the alternative, Small Man.” He turned to Elsendre. “Lance-Captain, did the workers here go on strike?” Lance-Captain Elsendre sighed. “Those labour difficulties I mentioned earlier? The workers have announced that for the time being that they are no longer working on this project. They claimed that they were experiencing many odd occurrences in the tower – strange chills, sinister whispers in unknown languages, tools going missing, that sort of thing.” Siegfried frowned. “And were these claims not investigated?” Elsendre looked embarrassed. “Well, the guards I tasked with following-up on the workers’ claimed were themselves turned away by the goings-on here. They couldn’t stand to be inside the tower for very long at all, and they reported that Mage Gallio had been spotted roaming the tower grounds in his…” She paused; her face flushed. “Yes?” Siegfried prompted. “In his nightgown,” Elsendre finished, wincing. “At night.” Siegfried shook his head and expelled a breath sharply. “This sounds like either a case of possession, or betrayal, or both.” “He came highly recommended from Neverwinter,” Elsendre said. “Do you know where he resides while he is here carrying out his work?” Siegfried asked. “He has taken up residence in the tower,” Elsendre said. “According to Gallio, he is working day and night to decipher the tower’s secrets. He would emerge now and again to eat and spend some downtime, particularly after the strain of removing the tower’s paralytic effects.” “When was he last seen in town?” Siegfried asked. “It might have been a few days, now that you mention it,” Elsendre said. “Certainly less than a tenday.” “Has he been socializing?” Siegfried asked. “You’d have to talk to someone at the Wayside Inn,” Elsendre said. “I am chiefly concerned with protecting caravans along the High Road and ensuring their safe transit. The whereabouts of a single wizard…” She laughed and shrugged. “Is your job,” Siegfried finished her sentence for her. Elsendre’s chuckle died on her lips. The Lance-Captain looked appropriately chastened. “Ah,” she said, pursing her lips. Siegfried turned to the tower and stepped to the ruined portico. He roared at the top of his lungs. “GALLIO!” His shout echoed up through the tower’s conical interior. In unison, Erwen’s cadre of giant badgers backed away from the tower, hissing. A musky odour arose from their ranks. From his perch on a nearby rock, Skraper growled as his ears flattened against his leonine skull. “You saw that?” Siegfried said to Elsendre. The Lance-Captain nodded. “Most troubling,” she replied. “Animals are often more perceptive than men when it comes to the eldritch,” Siegfried said. “That’s true,” Elsendre nodded. “It’s been quite difficult to get a workhorse to go anywhere near this tower.” “And it was not me they were afraid of, it was this tower,” Siegfried continued. “The tower on its own should not flinch when it hears the name of a man under its thrall, or if the tower is underneath a man’s thrall.” “This isn’t your first rodeo,” Elsendre said. Siegfried shrugged. “We opened several vampires’ coffins on the deck of our ship this last highsun,” he replied. “Fascinating,” she said. “With your permission, Lance-Captain, my companions and I would like to enter this tower and bring Gallio out in irons on suspicion of treason and malefactory magic,” Siegfried asked in a way that wasn’t a question. “We should interrogate him outside the tower, if he comes quietly.” “Oh, hell no,” Erwen said under his breath. “So be it,” Elsendre replied. “I may have rank with the Lords’ Alliance, but I recognize that this is your town, so to speak, and I am not casting blame on you for this situation because it was indeed the mage’s intent to deceive, and while this falls outside your skillset it is very firmly within my skillset,” Siegfried said. He turned to Bob. “Bob, would you mind taking your mount for a quick reconnoitre of the tower, to see if we can get eyes on Gallio Elibro?” Bob nodded and hopped onto Skraper. The dragonne leapt skyward and began to circle the tower. To Erwen he said, “Erwen, you seem to be preparing something.” Erwen looked at his clan of giant badgers. “What was that all about?” he asked one of them, whose four paws were fringed with white fur. He cast speak with animals. The giant badger introduced himself as Socks. “That’s some bad juju boss, we don’t like it.” “I don’t like it either,” Erwen said, “which is why we’re going to do something about it.” “You want we should burrow?” Socks asked, rubbing his forepaws together excitedly. “Yes, I need you to burrow in a very specific way. 10 feet down, five feet eastward, and then 10 feet up, and then five feet eastward again, across the base of the tower.” “So, what you’re saying is this is a standard undermining operation?” Socks grinned a toothy grin. “Heck yeah,” Erwen said, returning the badger’s grin with one of his own. “Just make sure it falls in such a way as to limit the collateral damage,” Siegfried said. He conjured a yellow hard hat and passed it to Socks, who put it on at a jaunty angle. “I’ll wear this like a badger of honour,” the badger said. Erwen nodded his approval. Foreman Socks saluted and called out to his companions. In unison they began to burrow. Erwen began to mentally prepare for phase two of his plan. Bob looked intently at the tower as Skraper circled it, taking note of the scaffolding that reinforced the shattered and blasted eastern face of the structure. He could peer into each of the tower’s upper levels with little difficultly, and the tower’s upper reaches had been torn clean off, exposing its insides as the floor tipped precariously. Of Gallio, there was no sign. The topmost level was open to the air, with a crane and winch atop the scaffolding. Bob saw what looked like cages arranged against the remaining walls. A circular gap in the centre of the floor suggested that something had been removed from it, as the remaining stones were too worked for it to be mere collateral damage from the tower’s partial demolition. Rubble had visibly cascaded down onto the floor beneath the ruined section. “Time for phase two!” Erwen said as he wildshaped into an Earth Elemental. He lumbered towards the tower with his boulder-sized fists and began to smash the stone foundations. “Now, if we can just get this cur to run out the front door, we can zap him in the face,” Siegfried said. Alec grinned and flexed his biceps in preparation. As if on cue, a human man of Rashemi descent rushed out the front entrance in alarm. His black hair was tousled and unkempt and he had dark circles under his eyes that stood out visibly from his dusky complexion. He was clad in an ink-stained robe that had several white stars cut from felt stitched onto it. He was obviously perturbed at the sudden assault on the tower. “What is the meaning of this! Leave off, you fool! You’ll doom us! You’ll doom us all!” “Gallio Elibro, get down on the ground with your hands behind your head!” Siegfried ordered. A look of confusion followed by anger settled over Gallio’s face. “On whose orders? Who do you think you are? Are you responsible for this?” He pointed at the earth elemental. “For I shall have to cast, er, something, to counter this unwarranted attack on this strategic structure!” “I said, get down on the ground!” Siegfried ordered loudly, his sword drawn. The ethereal blade glowed an unearthly green as Siegfried’s scarf flapped menacingly where there was no breeze. Intimidated by Siegfried’s impressive flair, Gallio raised his hands uncertainly and dropped to his knees. “Tell that walking pile of rubble to cease and desist this very minute, or Leilon will once again be doomed!” He closed his eyes, awaiting the worst. “‘Cease and desist’? More like feast on these fists!” Earth-wen roared as he continued to bash the tower, sending shards of rock and stone flying in all directions. “Gallio Elibro, you are under arrest under suspicion of malefactory enchantment, undoing abjurations, embezzling tax monies, and high treason. What is your explanation for why this tower should not be torn down this instant?” Gallio shook his head as Siegfried spoke. Though cowed by Siegfried’s imposing presence, he was still haughty and belligerent. “I am here under Lord Protector Dagult Neverember’s orders…” “As am I!” Siegfried barked. “Answer my questions!” “This tower holds secrets!” Gallio said. “Secrets have not yet been deciphered.” Siegfried cast animate objects on his collection of manacles. They floated menacingly on either side of him. Alec leapt forward and tackled Gallio, putting the shackled mage into a rather painful arm-bar maneuver. The mage groaned as his joints creaked. “All right,” Siegfried said. “Convince us. Will any ancient evil be released if this tower comes down?” “This tower is a planar magnet for untold horrors!” Gallio moaned. “Then it sounds like something we should break!” Siegfried said. “Not so!” Gallio pleaded. “For it is also a prison for these horrors! It traps them! I am so close, so close to divining its secrets!” Alec saw that Gallio’s fingertips were stained with purple ink, and ink of the same colour was smeared carelessly across his many-starred cloak. Alec could tell that Gallio was sincere in his beliefs about the tower. “So, what you’re saying is, if we knock down this tower, we open up a hellmouth?” “It may open a mouth, but not to Hell, oh no, not to Hell!” Gallio was suddenly seized with hysterical laughter. Alec frowned and put enough pressure on Gallio’s shoulder to cut his laughter short. “It is a beacon! The realm! You know not what you do!” Gallio said. “You need to be very specific,” Siegfried said. “Let’s start with A and go to B. If we destroy the tower, what happens? Small, simple answers will do.” “The wizard who created this tower, Thalivar, he used a device called the planar beacon to trap and bind monsters from beyond this plane of existence. Now, if these monsters had been properly bound and secured, they could have aided in the defence of Leilion against hordes of orcs, goblins, or those terrors that stagger out of the Mere of Dead Men. But a terrible calamity struck this tower a century ago, and the planar beacon disappeared from this plane, unleashing the monsters it had trapped and leaving the town a ruined wasteland. However, I think the planar beacon merely slipped from this realm into the Ethereal Plane. And if this tower is brought down either in this plane or the Ethereal, then it will unleash any monsters that it has bound up in the last hundred years. I just, I just need more time to decipher Thalivar’s theories about the beacon.” “All right, Erwen, I think you’d better stop bashing this thing until we can figure out what’s going on,” Alec said to the wildshaped druid. Earth-wen’s stony face cracked into a frown. He wasn’t buying Gallio’s story. “You fellows look like a competent bunch,” Gallio babbled. “Perhaps you can aid me in this effort, hmm? What have you got to lose?” Alec could tell that Gallio was heavily invested in the idea of keeping the tower standing, though he was being honest about the price that would be paid for flattening it. “You like this tower, don’t you?” he asked the mage. “He may be telling the truth about how this tower seals away evil, but he can’t be trusted beyond that,” Alec declared. “I take umbrage at that! Umbrage!” Gallio shouted and then squeaked as Alec applied even more pressure to his submission hold. “Erwen, this guy needs replacing, but the tower needs to stay up for now.” “Replacing? This is ridiculous. I have worked so hard!” Gallio protested. “Yeah, but you’re compromised!” Alec said. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Gallio shot back. “I’m of sound mind. Sound mind! I can see clearly now!” Bob called out. “Erwen, slow down!” He ordered Skraper to land on the scaffold on the topmost floor. Bob dismounted and looked around. The objects here were weathered from a century of neglect. In one corner there was a stairwell leading down. Before Bob was the area where the beacon Gallio had been talking about had likely been installed, but now there was only a circular void, with the remaining eastern floor completely collapsed down into the level beneath. Around the walls were rusted cages that looked like they’d been torn open from the inside out. Bob hopped down the pile of rubble, noting that it had filled in what looked like a doorway into a chamber. Here and there were pickaxes and shovels hastily cast aside. “Skraper, you want to clear this rubble?” Skraper began to paw furiously, sending a waterfall of rubble down the scaffold chute behind him. Foreman Socks pushed his head up from the rubble. “Hey boss, are we doing this? We digging? We taking five?” “Change of plans,” Erwen said. “You see that guy trussed up like a turkey? You can dig him.” “You sure about that?” Socks asked. “Surround him, for now,” Erwen said. Suddenly the earth around Gallio and Alec erupted as badgers, snarling and hissing, surrounded the pair. Earthwen balled up his rock-like fist and bopped Gallio on the head. “I was complying!” Gallio whimpered. To Lance-Captain Elsendre he said, “are you seeing this? I wasn’t resisting!” Earthwen backed up through the wall of the tower into a greatroom of sorts. Puddles of standing water were on the stone floor, and starlings had nested up in the vaulted ceilings 20 feet above. In the centre of the room was a long banquet table heaped with construction tools and half-eaten lunches. There was a doorway to a chamber leading north and a hallway to the east. Siegfried ordered his animated manacles to ensnare Gallio. The animated manacles flew at the mage and bound his hands wrists, forearms, and elbows. Then he dropped concentration, leaving the heavy bindings in place around Gallio’s arms. “No somatic spells for you, Gallio,” he said. To Elsendre he said, “I remand him into your custody. This tower clearly needs a second pair of arcane eyes as this man has been compromised, but he’s not wrong that immediately destroying it will cause untold destruction in town. I will leave him in your custody but send word to Lord Neverember to dispatch a second arcanist to survey Gallio’s work and resume safe demolition if that’s all right with you.” “Compromised though he may be, Gallio knows more about the workings of this tower than anyone else,” Elsendre said. “That’s why we’re leaving him in your custody,” Siegfried replied. “If what he’s saying is true, then why not have him remain close by to advise you while you neutralize this threat?” Elsendre asked. “Because I have a court date in Waterdeep tomorrow to report on the vampires at sea thing,” Siegfried explained. “Very well, we shall place him in custody,” Elsendre said with a raised eyebrow. “No doubt Lord Protector Neverember will make the appropriate arrangements.” Gallio was indignant. “This will not stand! The Many-Starred Cloak will not stand for this. Do you hear me? You are interfering with official business!” “Gallio, I am an auditor of the Lords’ Alliance,” Siegfried snapped. “My job was to survey your work here and you have been found wanting.” “Survey? You did no such thing!” Gallio shouted. “You didn’t even enter the tower!” “Ah, but I have read your mind,” Siegfried said, placing a forefinger to his temple. Lance-Captain Elsendre shot Gallio a severe look, shutting the man up. “Gallio, had you any interest in preserving the safety of the people of this town, you would have never attuned yourself to this tower,” Siegfried said. “Though you are the foremost expert on this tower, you as a human man cannot be trusted. Your word no longer carries bond. That is why you are under arrest.” “I will appeal this to the highest level,” Gallio sneered. “The highest!” He spat out a broken tooth. “That is your right,” Siegfried said. “I am Siegfried Thann of House Thann in Waterdeep, Stingblade of the Lords’ Alliance. Any complaints you have about my conduct can be delivered through me.” “Waterdeep has no power here!” Gallio protested. “I am merely telling you where I reside,” Siegfried replied. “Lance-Captain, write this all down,” Gallio said. “I am going to author such a letter of complaint…” “And my hands are clean,” Siegfried said. Gallio trailed off, muttering. “There will be a reckoning…an outrage…the Many-Starred Cloak will respond…” Siegfried cast sending to Dagult Neverember, taking care to utter the words aloud for Gallio’s benefit. Gallio in Elsendre's custody. Tower binds planar evil, preventing swift demolition. Said evil has compromised Gallio. Have Stormeye hire a planar specialist to resume abjurations. Lord Protector Neverember replied swiftly. Good help is so hard to find, isn't it? We shall hire another mage of stronger aptitude. Stormeye knows a guy. Job well done Siegfried. Siegfried relayed the reply in Lord Neverember’s voice. Gallio lowered his head, dejected. “I was only serving the Lord Protector,” he said. “I can inspect your mind and add that to the record, and it will be reviewed by your successor,” Siegfried said. Gallio harrumphed.   Upstairs, Skraper continued to dig. He opened up the passage leading to a dusty, musty chamber within the tower, and as he did so, he uncovered the shattered remains of a human skeleton beneath the fallen flagstones. Bob was able to pass through the rubble and inspect the chamber. He took in the dust-covered remains of a bedroom. There was a window on the western side of the tower, a mouldering four-poster bed, and a wooden writing desk on the south side. A chamber pot containing desiccated waste lay on the floor near a pair of curl-toe slippers. A century’s worth of dust and decay covered the interior of the room. Bob’s keen eyes, however, picked out recent signs of disturbance – several sets of footprints leading from the window that took various paths through the dust, all leading to the writing desk. Similar tracks of footprints led back to the window. Alarmingly, some of the footprints could be seen on the walls and vaulted ceiling of the chamber. Bob noticed that all the footpaths appeared to avoid the pile of rubble that had blocked the chamber. The writing desk’s surface had been similarly disturbed. On it was an old journal, its cover closed to reveal the skin of a horrid creature stretched over the binding. An inkwell sat nearby as did a quill. Bob opened the journal and began to read. This journal belonged to the wizard Thalivar and detailed the studies he conducted inside the tower using a device called the Planar Beacon. The light of this artifact drew creatures from across the planes and trapped them inside the tower for him to study. The journal revealed how Thalivar's beacon unearthed a powerful magic item named the Ruinstone. Thalivar devoted himself to acquiring it—but whether he found it or not remained a mystery to Bob because the entries stopped there for over a hundred years. Turning the page on the last entry, Bob continued to read. Dates on the entries and the freshness of the ink revealed that later entries had been made in the last few days, and in the same hand as the older work. Thalivar described how he visits a ruined version of his tower in his dreams each night. In this dead world, he felt drawn to a pile of rubble in the ruined chamber where his beacon once lay. Each time he drew close to the rubble, a terrible dread held him back. Thalivar wished his faerie servant Soapwort were here to assure him that he was dreaming, but the faerie never turned up when he called. Thalivar prayed that these nightmares would end soon so he could resume his studies in peace. These entries were made in fresh purple ink from the nearby inkwell. “It’s the same handwriting,” Bob murmured, flipping pages. “But how can that be?” He pocketed the tome and departed the tower with Skraper. He handed the tome to Siegfried, explaining his discovery. Siegfried looked at the purple ink that stained Gallio’s fingertips. Opening the book to the last page, he presented it to the mage. “Gallio, did you write these entries?” Gallio looked confused. “I’ve never seen that tome before in my life. Where did you get it?” “Do you recognize this ink?” Siegfried asked. Gallio looked at his hands and down at the stains on his robe. “Yes, I guess. How odd.” “Do you accept the possibility that you might be innocent but that your body has been borrowed by the wizard Thalivar?” Siegfried asked. “Thalivar? How can that be?” Gallio replied. “Nobody’s seen Thalivar in more than a hundred years!” “But this ink’s wet, you’re covered in it, and it’s the same ink that has been making new diary entries over the last couple of days,” Siegfried showed Gallio the dates on the journal. “Uh oh,” Gallio said. “I see.” “Are you going to stop being a dick about this and accept that you are in need of help?” Siegfried said. Gallio visibly deflated. “I’m so very tired. I thought it was the stress of my research and my work.” “You haven’t been sleeping,” Siegfried said. “That ghost has been taking you for a stroll each night.” He nodded at Elsendre, who confirmed. “How could I have been so stupid?” Gallio said. He awkwardly wiped blood from his chin with the arm of his robe. “Although I wish your investigations had uncovered this before your walking rockpile slugged me in the face.” “We did call out for you to come quietly,” Siegfried chided him. “While he’s no longer a danger to us, he may become possessed during the night, so you must keep him secured until his replacement arrives.” “We shall keep a close eye on him in the constabulary,” Elsendre said. Earthwen stomped around inside the tower. He moved down the hallway and saw what looked like servants quarters. The vaulted ceiling had fallen in, and most of the rubble appeared to have landed on a bed against one wall of the room. Mouldy books were strewn about from a broken bookcase, and the remains of a high-backed chair lay on the floor. Earthwen thought he could see long-dried blood mixed in with the rocks on the bed. The earth elemental melded into the rocks and discovered some bones within. He gathered the bones and withdrew from the rocks and lay them on the floor. Humanoid but not human, perhaps? Earthwen thought. The bones came out with tattered strips of clothing, but nothing to identify them. Earthwen felt an evil chill and decided to slam the nearest wall with a flurry of fists. There was a cracking sound as Earthwen’s blows shattered a load-bearing wall. Outside the tower, the party heard the sound of destruction from within. “Gods-dammit!” Siegfried shouted. “Erwen!” The tower began to shudder as ancient timbers began to crack under the strain of the unstable stonework. Earthwen began to dig into the flagstone floor of the tower. The tower shifted and swayed on its foundations. As it swayed and began to crumble, the party could see the faint outlines of a tower still-standing just out of phase with the prime material plane. Within that ethereal tower was a dull, dead-white glow coming from a portion of the tower that had been sheared off in the prime material. 80 feet up, the white hole in the sky began to glow a dreadful shade of void. Gallio’s eyes were fixed on the glowing orb above the tower. The dead white glow began to shine in his eyes. “Do you see it?” he whispered. “Do you see the Tainted Sign?”