RoT 23: "Xonthal's Tower 4: If We Ever Get out of this Maze"
Discovery, Exploration
This Maze is maddening! The first sundial as easy enough, but these others... (have you encountered two others or many others that have only exhibited two types of shadows?) From the one pointing North, Southeast, and Southwest simultaneously you have tried almost every path and have been met with areas of resistance before returning to a sundial.
At the moment, for the fourth time you find yourselves at an intersection where eight paths converge symmetrically with a sundial pointing North, Southeast, and Southwest simultaneously.
How long have you been in this maze? Hours? You’re not sure at this point but what you do know is that you have faced this Sundial pointing North, Southeast and Southwest too many times! Malice finally makes the decision to just go back to the South (the way you came in) and see what happens – perhaps backtracking will help.
After twists and turns and curves for about an hour and half you find yourselves once again at an intersection where eight paths converge, a sundial standing in the middle. But this time the sundial shadows form a giant X by pointing from Northwest to Southeast and Northeast to Southwest, the lines crossing over the center of the sundial. As you approach the sundial to inspect it the X begins to spin clockwise faster and faster as it goes. The shadows also begin to shrink in toward the middle until the eventually disappear at the center of the sundial. This pattern repeats every few minutes.
Malice tries leading everyone in a run around the sundial, following the shadows but this only gets everyone hot and sweaty and thirsty. Finally after watching the pattern repeat for the forth time, Malice in either a fit of frustration or a stroke of genius stands on top of the sundial. Everyone else watches as Malice begins to spin around and shrink until ultimately, he disappears into the center of the sundial. The rest of team immediately follows suit, and you all end up…
…at an intersection where eight paths converge, a sundial standing in the middle. Only this time the sundial points down all eight paths. At this point Malice has guessed that the key seems to be to walk between the shadows. As the in this intersection the only place there isn’t a shadow is the hedge itself, you all push into the greenery instead of using one of the paths.
FINALLY! You have solved the Maze and you step out of the hedge, emerging just a few feet from the base of the tower, the dead body of the Cultist you watched Iskander throw off the balcony earlier is sprawled on the ground before you. Behind you, the path back into the Maze leads straight to the Sundial; another path extends 30 yards beyond exiting to the village.
A few feet away you see a teleportation circle at the foot of the Tower. Stepping onto the circle you find yourselves inside the tower, apparently in the very room from which Iskander shouted to you from the balcony. The walls of this chamber bear exotic geometric designs representing feathers, eagles, and snakes, all rendered in a style you’ve never seen before. To one side of the room, a human female is sprawled face down in a pool of blood. She is dressed like a high-ranking member of the Cult of the Dragon.
You soon discover what appears to be a control panel of sorts near the teleportation circle. It has multiple symbols on it, including one shaped like an hourglass, which causes you to recall that Iskander held up an hourglass shaped item and told you it was a key to get to the dungeon level. Unfortunately, it is not here as promised – someone else may have collected it before you could get here to do so.
You begin exploring the tower levels by using the symbols on the control panel and noting where each of them go and that those rooms naturally do not have their own symbol on their respective control panel. You meet surprisingly little resistance, meeting up only with a small patrol of cultists who you assume were searching for Iskander on what appears to be the barracks level and on another level you find a few cultists conducting experiments with a pair of black dragon forelimbs. The one thing of note is that the papers you have found in a bedchamber and in the alter room make no reference to the Cults’ current machinations with trying to raise Tiamat, but rather to their original purpose, the study and worship of dracoliches.
Continuing to move through the tower using the teleportation system, you eventually find yourselves at what you presume is the top as it is an observatory. This chamber is clearly the workplace of a wizard. A pair of voluminous tomes on astronomy and astrology lie open on a table. A massive telescope of brass, crystal, and polished mahogany rests on an intricate stand in the middle of the chamber. A ladder rests against one wall, and an immense crystal lens is embedded in the ceiling.
But as you explore this chamber, the door leading to the balcony bursts open as a group of cultists attempt to ambush you…
How long have you been in this maze? Hours? You’re not sure at this point but what you do know is that you have faced this Sundial pointing North, Southeast and Southwest too many times! Malice finally makes the decision to just go back to the South (the way you came in) and see what happens – perhaps backtracking will help.
After twists and turns and curves for about an hour and half you find yourselves once again at an intersection where eight paths converge, a sundial standing in the middle. But this time the sundial shadows form a giant X by pointing from Northwest to Southeast and Northeast to Southwest, the lines crossing over the center of the sundial. As you approach the sundial to inspect it the X begins to spin clockwise faster and faster as it goes. The shadows also begin to shrink in toward the middle until the eventually disappear at the center of the sundial. This pattern repeats every few minutes.
Malice tries leading everyone in a run around the sundial, following the shadows but this only gets everyone hot and sweaty and thirsty. Finally after watching the pattern repeat for the forth time, Malice in either a fit of frustration or a stroke of genius stands on top of the sundial. Everyone else watches as Malice begins to spin around and shrink until ultimately, he disappears into the center of the sundial. The rest of team immediately follows suit, and you all end up…
…at an intersection where eight paths converge, a sundial standing in the middle. Only this time the sundial points down all eight paths. At this point Malice has guessed that the key seems to be to walk between the shadows. As the in this intersection the only place there isn’t a shadow is the hedge itself, you all push into the greenery instead of using one of the paths.
FINALLY! You have solved the Maze and you step out of the hedge, emerging just a few feet from the base of the tower, the dead body of the Cultist you watched Iskander throw off the balcony earlier is sprawled on the ground before you. Behind you, the path back into the Maze leads straight to the Sundial; another path extends 30 yards beyond exiting to the village.
A few feet away you see a teleportation circle at the foot of the Tower. Stepping onto the circle you find yourselves inside the tower, apparently in the very room from which Iskander shouted to you from the balcony. The walls of this chamber bear exotic geometric designs representing feathers, eagles, and snakes, all rendered in a style you’ve never seen before. To one side of the room, a human female is sprawled face down in a pool of blood. She is dressed like a high-ranking member of the Cult of the Dragon.
You soon discover what appears to be a control panel of sorts near the teleportation circle. It has multiple symbols on it, including one shaped like an hourglass, which causes you to recall that Iskander held up an hourglass shaped item and told you it was a key to get to the dungeon level. Unfortunately, it is not here as promised – someone else may have collected it before you could get here to do so.
You begin exploring the tower levels by using the symbols on the control panel and noting where each of them go and that those rooms naturally do not have their own symbol on their respective control panel. You meet surprisingly little resistance, meeting up only with a small patrol of cultists who you assume were searching for Iskander on what appears to be the barracks level and on another level you find a few cultists conducting experiments with a pair of black dragon forelimbs. The one thing of note is that the papers you have found in a bedchamber and in the alter room make no reference to the Cults’ current machinations with trying to raise Tiamat, but rather to their original purpose, the study and worship of dracoliches.
Continuing to move through the tower using the teleportation system, you eventually find yourselves at what you presume is the top as it is an observatory. This chamber is clearly the workplace of a wizard. A pair of voluminous tomes on astronomy and astrology lie open on a table. A massive telescope of brass, crystal, and polished mahogany rests on an intricate stand in the middle of the chamber. A ladder rests against one wall, and an immense crystal lens is embedded in the ceiling.
But as you explore this chamber, the door leading to the balcony bursts open as a group of cultists attempt to ambush you…