Witch Tower
The Witch Tower of Oldwood is an ancient stone tower built over an even older underground tomb complex located in the heart of the vast Oldwood Forest of Teboba. It derives its name from a particularly deadly Hag that took up residence in the tower sometime before 206 AF and terrorized the region for 11 years. That creature, however, had absolutely nothing to do with the original construction of either the underground tomb or the monolithic tower built upon it.
The Witch Tower itself is 85' tall and has a base of more than 60'. It is unknown when or by whom the tower was built, but the few experts that have visited the tower agree that it is at least 800 years newer than the tombs it is built over, and some think that number is closer to 1,500 years newer. The tower is built of dark basalt rock cut into intricate shapes and fitted together in a manner that negates the need for mortar. The design of the tower is quite strange and unique, as the entire structure is very asymmetrical in both layout and appearance. The architecture is of an unknown type and no other similar structures are known to exist anywhere else.
The tomb complex discovered under the tower is accessed via a shaft located on the lowest level of the tower. The shaft is a square opening of finely cut local granite stones each weighing at least 6 tons and descending straight down to a depth of 32'. At the bottom of the shaft is a granite-lined chamber with a corbelled roof reaching a height of 11'. This chamber is perectly square with each wall exactly 18' long and seems to be perfectly alligned to the cardinal points of the compass, with an arched doorway on each wall. At one time, these arches contained what are assumed to have been heavy wooden doors, but no trace of the wood remains. All adjoining chambers to the central chamber are perfectly square themselves, with equally high corbelled roofs and exact dimensions.
The northern chamber has the remains of six granite burial vaults, 9' long, 4' wide and 4' high. All were at one time capped with perfectly fitted slabs of carved and highly polished granite, but all these covers have since been utterly destroyed and all the contents of the vaults have been removed or destroyed, as well. The southern chamber is completely empty of any contents, and the only distinguishing features to the room are a very intricately carved series of symbols and images incised into the granite floor of the room. To date, no one has been able to decipher the meaning of these symbols.
The eastern room contained a carefully arranged pile of gold bars, each weighing roughly 20 lbs and made of the purest metal. The total number of bars was 20, and the estimated value of that gold was in excess of 16,000 guilders ($6.4 million). The western room held a large chest of huge uncut diamonds and emeralds of stunning purity that carried a value of another 2,000 guilders.
Purpose / Function
The tower's original purpose is unknown, but its last known occupant was a viscious Hag that had been responsible for hundreds of deaths in the region.
