Pale Tower Attack

The group decided not to enter the tower through the main gate.  On the parapet level were two doors leading into the tower.  The party headed through the northern door.  This led to a stairway leading down to the main level.  A storeroom with some rusty weapons and other gear was at the bottom of the stair, along with a another door that would lead further into the tower.

Steamy air filled the inner gallery, emanating in lazy wisps from a bubbling pool recessed into the floor of a raised dais surrounded by six pillars of ice. Four foggy mirrors hung from the walls near ice sculptures of helmeted pike-wielding warriors.

At the north end of the inner gallery a glassy pattern of striated, crystalline ice covered the tiled floor in an open alcove, illuminated by a soft, blue light.  A door led further in to the tower and a second alcove was barely visible to the south beyond the pool.  Seeing no enemies Casia indicated that the party should head to the second floor by way of the teleporting alcove.

Amadeo led the way, stepping into the alcove and stating “A gathering within the hall, take one, take us all.”  Ice formed around him and he slowly began to fade and then blinked out of sight.  Fanara, Casia and Milos followed.  As Milos faded from sight he saw three guards come from the door, armed but with no armor.  Santrel, Jorgen and Nadya were left to their own wiles against the enemy.

As the battle on the first floor began two more guards exited the room, one attacked while the other headed into the area with the pool and disappeared from sight.  One guard was slept but the others were a difficult match for the heroes left on this level.  As the battle turned in the heroes direction, Jorgen took the teleportation alcove upward before all the enemies were dead.  Santrel cursed him as he disappeared.

Santrel and Nadya finished the guards off and killed the sleeping guard.  Just as Santrel was leaving Nadya saw a guard enter the room from the pool area, but she escaped without harm.

On a crescent-shaped dining table occupied the Y-shaped chamber, while two large mirrors on the north and south walls created the illusion of an even larger space. Twenty feet overhead, an immense chandelier of ice crystals hung from the ceiling. To the east, rounded steps accessed a short hallway, flanked by twin ice sculptures of dryads holding ice-carved tree limbs, created an elaborate archway. Translucent, glass like double doors were set in the hall's north and south walls. To the west, two alcoves stood between three windows providing an amazing view of the wintry landscape outside the tower.  Two winter-touched sprites were performing an acrobatic routine on the table top they were accompanied by a goat legged, horned bard playing a lute.  The group had seen this singing creature before on the path to Waldsby.

 Now there was a battle in the dining hall as the sprites disappeared and the bard attacked with claws. The party, awaiting the rest of the group quickly dispatched the three creatures and were doing some exploration, including breaking the mirrors.  Inside a door Amadeo saw flecks of saliva dripping from the corners of a filthy and ill-smelling humanoid, whose large pointed ears twitched at every sound.  Amadeo immediately shut the door.

Jorgen and then Santrel appeared in the dining hall just a four guards and a sergeant teleported to the other alcove.  The battle was still ongoing as Nadya appeared and the door Amadeo shut burst open with the creature now large sized joining the fray.

This battle was a little longer but the heroes prevailed and relaxed for a moment. The group from downstairs explained what had happened.  They searched the bodies and found another locket mirror and a ice key on the sergeant.  Both the bard and the sergeant carried a few potions. 

Surmising that they had not been told the truth of the teleporters the whole group tried to move back to the first floor and were successful.  They found barracks with beds and chests but no treasure.  A sole guard was killed without much opposition.

Now Casia was ready to head upstairs again even though Santrel had no spells left and Milos was low on healing.  They used the teleportation alcove to head back to the dining room, went down the hall and opened the doors on the east end.

A long red carpet extended from the western doorway of a mirrored hall between ice sculptures of twin nymphs, ending at an open alcove to the east. Passageways continued north and south, following the contours of the tower's outer wall, where windows looked out over the open courtyard below.

DM's Notes: The party earned 833 XP for the battle and now have 4995 needing 1005 to reach 4th level.