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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rel" data-source="post: 996387" data-attributes="member: 99">Encamped at the Doorstep of DangerBased on the aerial reconnaissance provided by Speaks' flock of birds (he has approximately 40-50 small birds as animal friends totaling 10 HD), the party knew that there was a large concentration of Gnolls in the ruins of Aquae Sulis and that they were being joined by more groups trickling in from the north.  After some debate on the best course of action, they decided to just launch an attack on the Gnolls to "test their defenses".They decided that they would need a safe spot to retreat to (their estimate of their own capabilities fell short of being able to slay the whole Gnoll encampment in one try).  The obvious choice for this was the abandoned wizard's tower on the eastern outskirts of Aquae Sulis.  They knew that the Gnolls avoided it anyway (thanks to the statues just inside that appeared to be Gnolls who had been turned to stone) and it was close enough to easily run to.To be certain to avoid any Gnolls during their trek to the vicinity, they angled southwest upon leaving Glynden, staying on the southern side of the low ridge in which the mine of Aquae Sulis lay.  After three days, they turned north and came over top of the ridge to approach the ruins from the south.As they crossed over the ridge and began their descent into the valley between the ridge and the Darkwood, they spotted a pair of small faces staring at them from a bush roughly a hundred feet away.  A moment later, the faces ducked back behind the bush.  The only thing the party could be sure of was that they had sort of dog/lizard look about them.  Keeping careful watch, they continued on, watchful for the dog-lizards.A short while later, they came to a clearing on the hillside.  Through the trees, which still hadn't regained their foliage from winter, they could make out the low walls of the town below.  They angled off to the east to approach the wizard's tower.  As they went, they could hear the sounds of the Gnoll woodcutters in the distance.Back in Glynden, they had received some information about the tower from an unexpected quarter:  Council Member Nacalius.  He was no friend to the party as they had left on their journey to the lands across the Fodor in the fall.  But given the success of that endeavor and the hero status gained by the party in the interim, he was doing whatever he could to downplay his opposition to aiding the barbarians.  As his brother had lived (and died) in Aquae Sulis, he was familiar with the tower and its origins.It was built many years ago by a wizard named Byrne (For anyone interested, I used the tower map from the 1st Edition Village of Hommlet adventure.) who had come to the northlands seeking solitude to pursue his arcane studies.  Glynden was too bustling for his tastes and he settled in Aquae Sulis.  He never had much to do with the townsfolk to begin with.  After he took on an elven apprentice, he was almost never seen as he sent the elf to do his errands about town.As with most wizards, he had a reputation for eccentricity.  In particular, he had a fascination with dragons.  This was convenient as he now lived at the end of the Dragon Tail range in the very shadow of The Dragon.  He was constantly sending out his apprentice to the surrounding towns to gather tales about The Dragon.  Many a round of drinks was purchased in payment for even the most minor bits of information (many of which were obvious lies) concerning the creature.Finally, some six or seven years ago, Byrne announced that he was going on an expedition to seek out The Dragon.  He made sure that it was known in Aquae Sulis that should he not return, the elf was to inherit the tower.  That was the last anyone had seen of him.A year after that, a series of raids by the barbarians weakened the town's defenses and a group of Gnolls dealt the final blow to Aquae Sulis.  The elf never showed up in any of the surrounding towns and it was presumed that he either fled the region entirely or was killed fighting the Gnolls.They arrived outside the tower and without preamble, ascended the stairs that led to the drawbridge. Things appeared much as they had left them:  The three Gnolls-turned-statues stood just beyond the threshold with evidence that they had killed a robed figure as they had become stone.The party ascended the stairs to the upper floor of the tower and here they found something that they didn't expect.  The large painting of a black dragon that had hung on the wall above the stairs was missing.  Obviously someone had been here during the winter.A further search of the bedroom on the same floor revealed that the finely crafted chest that had been left there by Rhys (after he looted the contents) was also missing.  There was no other evidence that someone had stayed in the tower for any length of time.The party cautiously explored the upper levels of the tower and found that the other room on the upper floor was a library.  Unfortunately, the shutters inside were open and foul weather over the last half-decade had ruined almost all the books.  Two were found that were in relatively good condition: One about dragons and another that was a history of the Slave Wars in Emor.Above the upper tower level was a narrower turret reached by a ladder.  In the bottommost turret level, they found the tiny bedroom and study containing little of interest save a slightly rusty rapier and the apprentice's spellbook.  The book contained a number of minor cantrips and a few spells of a basic nature.  It was clearly not the tome of an archmage but they held onto it thinking that perhaps Tadius Silvanus would be interested when he returned to Glynden.Above that, the top turret level was one large room with several tables.  This was clearly a laboratory for alchemy of various sorts.  The room was dirty and unkempt but the alchemical equipment was mostly intact.  Various ingredients were stacked neatly in jars and bottles and from these, Rhys was able to replenish the waning contents of his component pouch.The lower levels of the tower held little of interest.  The first floor beneath the entry level was clearly a kitchen.  It featured a rather mundane set of utensils above a simple wood stove and the larder contained nothing that remained edible.  There was however a small wine rack that held several bottles of fine wine and two bottles of what turned out to be single malt Novantae scotch.The bottom level was a single large room that was used for storage.  Its only prominent feature was a pair of large bins that contained a small amount of coal and a pile of rotted logs respectively.  A short underground passage led to a small spring, obviously used as a water supply and for cold storage.  From hooks in the ceiling hung some pots of spoiled mead.The party spent the remainder of the afternoon with Rhys and Speaks thoroughly searching the library for any more salvageable books and Krase doing a meticulous (took 20) search of the bottom floor of the tower (for some reason, he was absolutely certain that there was an underground passage that led into Aquae Sulis).  The library yielded no more legible texts and the only thing that Krase uncovered was a nest of giant centipedes that lived in the rotted log pile.  He was able to kill them without being bitten but somehow the sensation was somewhat of a letdown after the epic battles with the orcs and the fighting he anticipated with the Gnolls.In the evening, the party gathered in the upper level of the turret from where they could barely make out the rooftops of Aquae Sulis some 200-300 yards away.  They spent the next couple of hours discussing their plan of attack and then bedded down for the night.NEXT:  Battle Royalle</blockquote>

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