karrags ower

"We have to find some sign of his brother soon. He's getting worse and worse." mused Darkhawk over breakfast two days later leaning back in his chair after a another hearty meal.
"It's the third day running he's not turned up for breakfast" agreed Ako, his fair hair shining in the early morning sun which streamed through the inn's windows.
"If he keeps going as he is he'll never find his brother." said Trimus feeling much stronger after a restful couple off days spent reading and sleeping.. "What did you find out from councillor Fren?"
"Quite a bit actually." said Ako pulling a scrap of weathered parchment from a pocket inside his robe. "Remember the map we found in the Kobold's Lair? Well I persuaded Fren to translate it for us. What do you think of that?" He pointed to the image of a tower by which was written. "Old Tower Evil Undead here".
"Hmm. Sounds interesting" said Darkhawk "But how will it help Aril find his brother?"
"Yes. How will it help me Ako?" said Aril from behind the talk fighter who gave a start and almost fell from his chair. "Still sitting around here chatting, eating and drinking? That's not going to find him is it? I'll tell Otig where we're going. You never know what a new day may bring."
The others looked askance at each other.
"He looks sober!" exclaimed Grabthroat.
"Perhaps he's given up hope" said Trimus. "Ako would you keep an eye on him just in case he, you know, goes funny." He tapped the side of his head with finger.
"Why me? Why not you?"
"Your a cleric. You understand people better than the rest of us. Quiet he's coming back."
"That conversation was more useful than I thought it was going to be. Otig says that the place is called Skarrag's Tower. A long time ago a village near here was threatened by the wizard who lived in the tower. he forced them to give him money, sheep and all sorts of other things. Then one night the sky was lit up by a huge explosion and thunder shook the village. The next day the tower was just a blackened stump and the wizard was never seen again."
Trimus listened intently to the story then leaned forward "Was his spell book found? Did he have a laboratory? What is left of the tower now? "
"Slow down, slow down! I didn't ask! We could go and find out though couldn't we?" He added with a smirk.

Hiring horses from Gama's stables the companions headed off towards Skarrags Tower. Trimus in search of new, more powerful spells, Ako to destroy evil, Darkhawk in pursuit of excitement and honour, Grabthroat for money. And Aril? Aril was just trying to forget his brother through danger and excitement, but knowing in his heart of hearts that he couldn't.

Towards mid afternoon Grabthroat called a halt. About half a mile distant was the tower. made of a smooth dark stone but scabbed over in parts by green and orange lichens. the tall structure appeared to be fairly intact and stood in a clearing in an otherwise verdant forest. as the studied the tower three shambling figures passed in front at apparently regular intervals.
"Zombies!" spat Ako. "Leave those to me and Grabthroat." The pair dismounted and moved towards the tower. Once they had got within a hundred feet or so they waited for the first zombie to appear. as it did Ako held out his Holy Symbol and boldly shouted "Be gone foul spawn!". The zombie threw its hands in front of his face which was rotten and postulated in places. It turned and wandered off into the woods.
As the next approached like the other dressed in grey, non-descript rags the cleric stood and uttered the same command. This time the zombie stopped and looked around sniffing the air as it did so. Seeing this Grabthroat aimed his crossbow and let a bolt fly. It hit the zombie through one rat gnawed eye socket and the creature collapsed to the ground feebly clawing at the bolt for a moment before expiring. Moments later the third zombie appeared. This time Ako successfully turned the creature and it shuffled away into the woods. Ako turned and waved the others forward.

Walking around the perimeter of the tower Aril pointed out two large holes high up on the east and west sides.
"What do you think caused that?" he muttered to no one in particular.
"Only one entrance" said Darkhawk pointing at a solid wooden door with black iron studs.
"Unless we want to climb the walls and go in through the blast holes" said Trimus dryly.
Aril gave Trimus a stern look before turning to look at the stonework around the door. "It's not locked and I can't see any traps." he said brushing dust from his hands.
Darkhawk cautiously opened the door which gave a mournful groan as the rusty hinges protested against the movement. Beyond the doorway there was a room that took up the entire ground floor of the tower. A stone spiral stair in the NE corner coated with cobwebs led upwards into darkness. A large statue, its figures muted by a skin of dust stood to attention at the foot of the stair.
"No one's been here for some time. " said Ako. "No footprints or anything."
"OK then. Let's go up." said Aril leading Darkhawk towards the stair. However as they passed the statue there was a grating squeal as the statue raised its arm and then swung it down towards Aril. Aril managed to bring his blade up to block the down stroke of the statue and the ring of metal against metal echoed around the hall. Darkhawk took his chance and swung under the statues guard and found his sword stuck in the statue's torso! "Aaargh!" Cried Darkhawk "My blade's stuck!"
"Duck Darkhawk!" shouted Trimus and the large fighter dropped and rolled to one side as the statue swung his left arm through the space he had just occupied. Simultaneously Trimus loosed a magic missile that exploded in the statue's face sending sparks and shards of hot metal in all directions. Aril then avoided the statues wild swings before severing its head with a single blow. With that the statue collapsed in a pile of rust and wreckage freeing Darkhawk's sword as it fell.
"Everyone OK?" asked Ako.
"Yeah. Fine." Muttered Darkhawk as he examined his blade for any imperfections. "Let's press on."

They had barely gone more than a few steps up the cobweb laced stair before a click signalled the tripping of a trap and the leading pair of Darkhawk and Aril were engulfed by a cloud a fine dust making them wheeze and choke.
"Cover your nose and mouth and get up the stairs quickly" called Ako using his rope as a mask and pushing the rest of the party up the stair and through the rapidly dissipating cloud. At the top Darkhawk and Aril stood hands on knees coughing and wheezing.
"That dust really goes deep." gasped Aril. "It's made me feel quite weak. We must be more vigilant. So far we have been lucky but traps can kill. Now, where are we?"

In fact they were sitting, standing and squatting at the eastern end of a corridor. The spiral stairs continued up to another floor above. Two solid wooden doors were set into the southern wall. A window, still glazed, looked west over the surrounding countryside at the far end of the corridor.

Aril checked the nearest door then carefully pushed it open, sword in hand. His caution was not needed however as the room was devoid of life. He released his breath and sheathed his sword before waving the others in. The room contained a bed, table, chair and a chest all becalmed in a sea of dust. A small window, begrimed by time looked south and let in a watery grey light. Trimus searched the bed but found nothing, Ako was disappointed not to find anything on or under the table especially when Aril stood up from his efforts with the chest holding a pouch that made a satisfying sound as he shock it.

"One hundred gold pieces by the heft of it." he grinned. "Not a bad start!" He tucked the pouch into his pack and brushed his hands clean on his tunic. "Let's see if there is anything in the next room."
After listening in a desultory fashion at the door Aril stood and frowned. "There's something in there but it might just be birds. But I'm not sure. And to cap it all the door is either stuck or locked so there's little chance of us gaining the element of surprise."
Darkhawk shrugged, stepped up to the door and booted it near the handle. It shuddered, cracked and a large cloud of dust filled the air. One more kick and the door flew inwards swinging drunkenly on one bent hinge.
"Oh Futtucks! Strange birds Aril!" chuckled the dwarf drawing his axe as shambling through the dust came two creatures, pale greyish skin hanging from waxy yellow bones, eyes shrunken in their sockets.
"More zombies. Stand back everyone." The cleric help up his charm and urged the undead to depart. One threw up his hands and collapsed to the floor amongst a pile of sacks while the other turned and fell through a broken window in the south wall. A muted thump marking his demise. "Hm. Nice work Ako." said Trimus already moving over to the sacks where the first zombie had fallen. Moving the corpse to one side with his staff the mage opened the first sack then the next. "Very nice. Coins, Electrum and gold in roughly equal amounts. About four thousand in all."
Darkhawk whistled through his teeth. That amount of money could keep all of them well feed and housed for several years.
"And there are these as well." Said Trimus chucking a small pouch to Grabthroat
"Two nice turquoises, two pieces of amber small but clear and an opal, good colour. Very nice. I'll keep these safe." And before anyone could object the dwarf tucked the velvet pouch into a side pocket of his pack.
The party returned to the stair and continued the climb. Ahead of them rats or other creatures scuttled into dark corners to watch with shiny beady eyes. The layout of the next floor was identical to the previous floor with a window at the end of a corridor and two doors set into the south wall. The nearest was open and on looking in Aril and Ako could see a number of barrels and chests. A quick investigation revealed them all to be empty except for a few handfuls of grain in one chest, a sticky residue in two of the barrels and a nest of a small mammal that skittered away when Trimus investigated. The other room was if anything less rewarding. It was bare and unused for many, many years. Disappointed the party returned to the stairs and continued to climb.
An astounding sight greeted them as they entered the top floor of the tower. The east wall had a large hole in it with blackened slaps of stone scattered on the floor which had crushed metal and glass objects beneath them. More astonishing still was the hole where the western wall should have been. The roof hung drunkenly supported by charred timbers and a few seared and melted stone blocks at each end. Birds had nested in the cracks and crevices, fronds of plants trailed down from where seeds had lodged. These formed a living green curtain that swayed in the light breeze. A rotting bench with three drawers and a sturdy iron bound chest stood proud amongst the debris. Grabthroat knelt before the chest and calmly lifted the lid, slowly letting out his breath as he did so.
"You should have let me check it first." admonished Aril.
"I know." he replied "I forgot. Still no harm done."
"What's in it?" asked Trimus, learning over the dwarf's shoulder.
"An ink pot, some quills, a few glass bottles." Grabthroat listed the chest's contents as he passed the items over his shoulder to the waiting mage. "What's this?" He pulled out a heavy rectangular object wrapped in a heavy oilskin only for Trimus to wrench it from his hands. "I'll have this" he said clutching the heavy package to his chest "And that ring" he added pointing to a fine gold ring at the base of the chest. Stunned by Trimus' enthusiasm the dwarf picked up the ring and passed it to the gleeful mage.
"Look at this." called Aril from the shattered west wall.
Following his gaze they could just about make out a roughly circular clearing amongst the mature woodland.
"What is it?" asked Ako.
"Dunno. Could be anything but it might be worth a visit. What do you think?" Aril turned and awaited a response.
"I think we've found all we are going to here." said Trimus fingering the rough surface of the oilskin.
No-one else objected so the companions carefully retraced their steps, took their bearings from the tower and headed off into the wood. The way was difficult with tangled branches and loose blocks of stone clothed in thick moss impeding their progress but before long the plants thinned and they stood in a barren clearing. Unlike the fecundity of the surrounding forest the lifelessness of the clearing struck a dramatic contrast. In the centre of the blasted, grey area was a tangled pile of old, bare bones.
"Human, both of them." announced Ako standing up from examining them. "Judging by the fragments of clothing one of them may have been a wizard the other a warrior of some kind."
"Whatever happened it was hot." said Grabthroat "It melted the wizard's rings and this dagger."
"But not the fighter's amulet, or the wizards medallion." Darkhawk added picking up two small metallic objects. The one from the wizard was silver, about two inches across, a five pointed star within a circle. The warrior's amulet was surprisingly heavy for it's size, about four inches long and diamond shaped. Mostly midnight black in colour it had a small blue diamond at the top near where the silver chain was attached.
"I think Rintrah may be able to shed some light on these." said Trimus. "Let's head back. It will be dark soon."
The journey back to the city was uneventful, each member of the party lost in their own thoughts. Trimus musing over the contents of what must surely be this powerful wizard's spellbook.
Ako thinking about the star shaped medallion, did it have a connection to one of the powerful religious sects that used to exist in the past and would it help him to decide which immortal to follow.
Darkhawk studied the warrior's amulet. How had it survived? Did it offer the wearer some protection, was that writing on it? Oops nearly fell off my horse, I'll put it away till later.
Aril, still no nearer to finding my brother. Where are you Fedrin?
Only Grabthroat remained alert and on guard, scoffing at the other's finds but still he fingered the gemstones he had collected and stuffed in his pouch and listened to the muffled clinking of the coins that would help build Kagyar's temple.

"This is very unusual." said Rintrah turning Darkhawk's amulet over in his hand. "There were once five of these amulets. They are neither good nor evil, merely tools. It is up to the wearer to decide their purpose. If you have the strength of will it can transform you into a mighty warrior. It has, other powers, as well. Use them well, your actions will be observed."
"Other powers? Observed? By whom?" stammered Darkhawk.
"I cannot say. Some may say I've said too much already. I probably should have said that it was just a worthless trinket and offered you a few galvena for it. But you" he looked at Trimus "Will already have studied it and deduced that it is more than it seems.
Trimus nodded slowly and sipped at his melon cocktail.
"Ako your medallion is also unusual. It appears to be one of the Twelve Talismans, ancient artefacts of great power. Too much power I fear for you to control so keep it safe, keep it hidden. Many others may desire it.
"Aril. I have heard rumours about your brother." The young man sat forward in his chair not daring to breath. "He was riding out towards Punavia on the track of some bandits who had raided a small village. Maybe someone out there saw him it should at least be worth a look. Anyway I have other things to attend to, goodnight and sweet dreams." With that the wizard finished his drink, ran a hand through his golden hair and walked out of the common room leaving the others agog at what they had heard.
"Fedrin may be in trouble. We must go now." demanded Aril.
"Calm down. Rintrah didn't say when your brother went on this bandit hunt. Anyway we need to rest up a bit and I have some reading to do." "Trimus! Think of someone else for once." spat Ako "His brother may need help."
"It will only take a few hours. I'll start early. Then we can go and find Fedrin. Now for bed. Looks like we'll have an exciting day tomorrow."
Ako looked at Aril and shrugged while Aril sighed and looked up at the stars.

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