Far out in the eastern wildlands stood a lonesome tower, clad in countless years worth of moss, lichen and all manner of climbing flora. But despite having been abandoned for years, there was an almost mystical aura of immutability to the structure. An aura that was made all the more striking by the evening sun which bathed the white marble pillar in a golden-rose light. An ethereal, almost dream-like sight out here where every other trace of man-kind had been erased.
Far less ethereal was the figure who sat atop a small horse just a stone's throw away from the tower. Clad in simple traveling attire with tools and gear hanging from its shoulders, it looked quite out of place in the picturesque scene. But there was a reason for its presence. The figure eyed the structure and its surroundings closely. Slowly and carefully it rode around the tower trying to spot any potential dangers or other interlopers. Human or otherwise. Finally, seemingly satisfied, it dismounted and tied the horse to a tree before pulling down its big hood to reveal the face of a young woman.
Lei was far from how you'd imagine an Outrider. Renowned for their resourcefulness and abilities, the highly skilled explorers were some of the very few brave enough to venture out into the far wilds. The fact that they were just as skilled at burglary and theft was mentioned more seldom, however. With her petite frame she looked very out of place out here in the wild, despite her heavy gear. Her shoulder-length reddish hair fell in soft curls around her round face strewn with freckles, giving the impression of a girl that seemed like it belonged on a farm or in a cozy tavern, rather than at the edges of the civilized world. But here she was, and she had a job to do.
As she started walking towards the tower she gazed upon the pillar of marble before her that almost seemed to burn in the ember light of dusk. It was a bit of a marvel that such a thing had not been found earlier, though with all the trouble that she had to go through to find this strange tower perhaps the true marvel was that anyone had found it at all.
She had been tipped off by an acquaintance. Employer? Friend for pay? Whatever Rag was. They were one of those people whose attitude towards you was wholly dependent on whatever way the balance of gold was shifting at any given moment. In any case, Rag had tipped her off to a find someone had made. Some random outlander had stumbled upon the place - gods only knew how. After a whole lot of digging, Rag had found out it had been the domain of some long gone disgraced Wizard, apparently exiled from Robeka. A mighty feat in and of itself.
There was no telling what kind of things might be hidden away inside. Of course, anyone with half a brain would stay far away from anything like a Wizard's tower -- but then again, not just anyone had a Black Spark. Lei opened one of her satchels and carefully brought out a dodecahedronal object, a strange device wrought from black glass and silver, with ornate carvings all over the surface. A little anti-magic trinket she had been gifted by a very grateful Artificer back in Bahtûn. Exactly how this thing worked was beyond her understanding, but she knew well how to use it to not get fried by whatever crazy traps might have been left inside.
As soon as she held it up she could see a faint glow along the carved designs. There was most certainly magic around, but that was hardly a surprise. She clasped the object with both hands, gazing through the glass as she scanned the tower. Here and there were vague bright spots, but the entire structure pulsated with a faint turquoise light. She'd need to tread carefully from now on. Slowly, she approached the tower, watching the surroundings meticulously. There was no room for mistakes - out here there would be no help coming if she messed up. As she got closer to the arched entrance what looked like an ordinary wood and metal door to the naked eye sparked and sputtered with magical energy when viewed through the device. It too was overgrown, covered in all manner of flora and growth, just like the facade around it. Yet for all that the door itself looked more or less pristine. For a moment Lei hesitated, pondering whether this device would inadvertently dispel some enchantment that held the whole damn tower up. But she had come too far to turn back empty-handed.
She fished out the second part of the device from her satchel, a three-legged little silver contraption with a violet gem suspended in the center. It almost resembled some outlandish insect, stretching its sharp forelegs towards the sky. With great care she placed it on the steps just in front of the door, then she retreated a few meters backward and with the device in her hands she took aim. Through the dark glass the little insect-like device glowed a sinister purple. At first it appeared as merely a wisp of color, but as she lined up the patterns to center in on the little device the color grew quickly in intensity. Within a few seconds the light was pulsating wildly, sparking and throbbing with menacing intent. And then, with a sharp crackle that made her hair stand on end, the device let out a small but potent explosion of anti-magic energy. The door was once again merely a door, showing not even a hint of light through the dark glass.
With the swiftness of certainty she got to work with her tools. It was a simple enough lock, that she probably could have picked with some time, but instead she busted it right open. It surrendered with a metallic shriek of pain, and then, the door swung open. Before her a short and narrow corridor opened up, shrouded in shadows. The white marble walls were ornately decorated with small tapestries and oil lamps hanging on chains. A few meters ahead, thick blue draperies concealed what lay further inside. Clutching the dark device in her hand the Outrider entered the darkness of the tower.
Through the device she could see faint spots of light in the rooms ahead, but nothing immediately beyond the draperies. Parting the fabric, she glanced inside. Only the faintest light slipped inside through the overgrowth covering the small windows, revealing what looked like a combined vestibule and workshop. The circular room seemed to have been constructed to serve as a greeting room, but was strewn with shelves, tables, and all manner of tools, papers and arcane oddities. What was even odder, however, was the faint sound of trickling water coming from somewhere inside. Strange, but hardly a concern. Once she was reasonably sure there were no immediate traps ahead, she stepped inside, ever watchful.
It quickly became apparent to her that this was a veritable goldmine -- even though she had barely a clue what all these papers meant or what the purpose of the numerous strange things strewn about was, it was clear that at least some of it would be very valuable indeed to... someone, presumably. She grabbed a small bottle from her satchel and took a deep swig of water as she contemplated the endeavor ahead. Then, as she placed the bottle on the table, her eyes were drawn to some sort of display case in the center of the table -- a raised metal tray, covered by a glass dome. What it contained did not really seem worthy of display however, resembling little more than a piece of long-dried fruit, shriveled and grey. She wondered what it might have once been, but soon her attention was drawn elsewhere.
Sparksteel in hand, she started lighting oil lamps to chase away the encroaching darkness, bathing the room in a drowsy warm glow. Along one of the walls she now spotted the source of the trickling sound -- a large stone basin of water that seemed to be perpetually re-filling. Though she tried to reach down she could not touch the bottom, only vast emptiness. She shivered slightly at the thought of how deep it might delve. With fresh water available, it almost might have been worth it to spend the night in the tower -- were it not for the fact that there was no telling what lurked above. Or below. No, she'd rather return to the small camp she had set up in the forest close to a small stream. She was hardly unused to sleeping under the stars, after all.
While looking around she found a concealed set of stairs leading upwards, circling along the outer edge of the wall before ending at another door upstairs. But before she headed upwards she wanted to have a closer look at all the potential treasures on the shelves. Though try as she might, she couldn't make neither heads nor tails of it all. While she had learned to identify a lot of valuable things through the years there was no easy guidebook when it came to Wizards' toys. Still, many of them looked like they'd be easy enough to carry back so that someone more savvy could discern their value.
Suddenly, the crash of glass shattered the silence, almost making her jump out of her skin. Somehow the display tray on the table had tipped over, taking her water bottle with it to the floor. She stared at the mess in disbelief, unable to understand how it could have fallen on its own. Then, her disbelief morphed to shock. She saw how the grey lump throbbed to life as it absorbed the water spilled on the floor. Its pale ashen surface became almost blueish in tone, slowly swelling as it hydrated itself. For a few moments she completely forgot to be cautious, just watching the little thing reviving. But then, with alarming agility, it slithered across the floor and up into the basin of water, quickly disappearing into the darkness below. All of a sudden Lei felt a fair bit more unsure of herself. Whatever that thing was she probably shouldn't have let it just run off. But as she watched the ripples on the surface of the dark pool she realized there was little she could do now. She'd just have to watch her back going forward.
Glancing outside, she saw that the light was quickly fading and night would soon fall. Weighing her options, she decided she would check out what lay one floor above and then return to her camp for the night, leaving the rest of the tower for tomorrow. Thus, with the dark device once more at the ready, she made her way upstairs. Once more she had to disable whatever magic had been placed on the door before coming upon a rather impressive library, rife with tomes and scrolls that looked more than a little valuable.
She realized that this job would pose quite a different kind of challenge -- it wasn't so much about finding something worth bringing back, but how to figure out exactly what would be most valuable. Any of these books could be worth a fortune, but how would she figure out which to carry back? Weighing her options once more, she realized she'd have to note down each and every one of them and check in with Rag. It would mean a lot of traveling, but this could set her up for big things indeed. Thus, with what little light she had left, she noted down a fair few of the books that seemed to be especially secretive or rare, being preciously short on writing material. It didn't take long before the meager light from the old oil lamp was insufficient however, and she decided it was high time to get back to her little camp. For a moment she glanced upwards, considering the possibility that there might be a soft bed somewhere up there. But it wasn't worth the risk, no matter how soft the bed.
