A Wizard tower

As you approach the small figure it retreats into the shadows further
then you hear a click and see a large regular shape shift. Stepping into the shadows under and behind the curve of the stairs you see a trapdoor and the winged monkey descending.

From the door he whispers They are coming. Is that thing helping us or what? and he moves to follow.

The three of you quickly descend with the door being closed behind you , sealing you into darkness. The leader feels to be made of some metal but has ridges and bumps along its surface that allow a better grip on its cool surface. You feel the area around you open up and a slight flapping noice causes you to look down. A faint glow from below lets you see the ladder continues down but the monkey is now gliding to the door at thee base of the ladder still some distance below. When you finally reach the bottom and turn to the doorway you see a long corridor with doors spaced out on either side and the winged monkey nowhere to be seen.

The air is still, thick and heavy with a hint of moisture. The walls look to hve been carved out with magic or great care as they are perfectly smooth and lack any seems or braces. The hallway is about 50 feet long with doors about every ten feet on alternating sides., left, right , left, right. The end of the coridor has another lader at the far end theat descends into a hole barely visible from here. Slight flapping sounds echo up from the direction of the hole at the far end of the hallway.

With litle else to do at this point you make your way down the hallway and examin the first door. Measuring 3 feet wide by 8 feet tall ad devoid of any features the door is still a bit remarkable in that it is made entirely of stone, including the hinges and latch mechanism. Looking down the hallway all the doors look the same.

The door appears to be simple stone and you find no signs of danger. Sliding the latch and pushing the door open you see a large storage room. Shelves hold a variety of food stuffs. Moving to the other doors you find the other time are similarly stocked with supplies including raw materials, cloth, wood, ingots of metal and stone blocks. The last holds materials that Azure recognized as used in magical research and crafting, though none are particularly rare it precious. It holds paper, velum, ink, chalk, and a variety of powders and fluids.

Jharib does not find anything of particular historical note and Azure is likewise disappointed as only the most common supplies are evident. Still quality parchment, wax, ink, and other trivialities are not as common in these remote areas as she is used to having access to in the larger cities. Not seeing any glyphs or sensing any active wards she grabs what may be of aid and the two of you move back into the corridor and over to the ladder.

At the hole you note that the air here is much cooler and the ladder is definitely cold to the touch. Looking down the vertical shaft you see a faint lavender glow in the distance below and the silhouette and blinking eyes of the monkey a dozen feet bellow looking up at you. Unsure what could be the point of all this following, now that you are away from the towers golems, you follow though not quite as quickly as the monkey seems to wish. As you descend the cold increases though you wonder as the moisture in the air should coat all the stone and ladder with frost with as cold as it feels.

Finally reaching the base of the ladder you turn to to see several rough passages with glowing crystalline formations scattered around. The Winged monkey perches shivering near one of the tunnels and alternates between looking into the tunnel and back at you.

Jharib determines this area does not seem to be a likely for mining crystals, though not unheard of. Mineral deposits such as this are usually only found this close to the surface in mountainous regions where the uplifted depth get that much closer to the surface. As he nears the corridor the creature is siding outside of he can see a strange crystal and metal formation that pulses with a dim light far down the tunnel. Taking a moment he startles as he makes out the shape of a dwarf.


Azure examines the crystals found here are of the most common quality though. Rough, small, and flawed, but still with a trace of magical potential. Likely a better vein would be of more use. But as mining is not her focus she is unsure how likely that would be nearby, though she suspects the wizard built his tower here for some reason. Pausing to create a hovering ball of flame to emit heat but fails to get more than a whisp of flame that quickly flutters and goes out.

Azure recalls from the study of the papers, before they burned up, that the tower master was called Grondurg Ingothelm. By what she saw and inferred he was a archmage of power focused on research. If this is the same person then obviously some of his research went awry.