"I do my best to keep busy. I do research. Read novels I brought from the surface again and again. Play with Cheeseball." He sighs. "It would help if I had visitors. Alas, visiting me is very dangerous. The demons, you know."
0
time
0
You scratch the cat. It purrs contentedly. It doesn't thank you. It looks very irritated when you pull your hand away.
0
scra
1
It thinks. "Don't you think you should scratch me?"
"I wonder why I bother! Look at this place! Pitiful!" It hisses. "The best years of my life, spent here. No catnip! Nobody ever in heat! Pfaugh!"
0
tower
1
"His name's Solberg. He talks to me all the time. And I do mean, all the time. Even when I want to be alone. I'm sick of it."
0
wiza
1
"Yeah. It means Magical Slave Who Hates His Life."
0
fami
1
It spits. "Demons. Lava. Soot. Lousy food. No lizards to eat. If I wasn't a familiar for that stupid wizard, I'd probably just jump in some lava and end it all."
0
demo
1
"Well, someone has to. There are demons everywhere. Pfft."
0
guar
1
"I guard the tower."
It meows and stretches. It takes about a minute. Then it deigns to look up at you. "My name is ..." It hacks editorially. "Cheeseball."
A large calico cat is patrolling the tower in a somewhat dispirited manner. It's a very old cat indeed. When you get close, it looks up at you.
0
stnd
1
"Patrick said he has a Ring of Will. Ask him about it."
"There is a magic item. It's called a Ring of Will. Very rare. It was created to protect from dumbfounding. It has a side-effect. Its wearer is much better in a mindduel."
0
augm
0
"If you don't know how, ask around the Tower of Magi about the Mindduel spell. I'm sure someone could teach it to you."
0
mind@duel
0
"I am a master mindduellist. No spell known can shield a mage from a mindduel. It's a price we pay for our powers. I could kill him if I got close to him. Any good mindduellist could. It would help, of course, if your power was augmented."
0
weak@poin
0
"And that's why he wants to kill me. I'm one of few who can strike him at his weak point."
"Years he spent, infusing himself with protective magicks, down to the marrow of his bones. Fire, cold, poison, hostile magics, I don't think any of them can affect him anymore. Blades? Probably not."
0
prot@purs
0
"Such a bright mind, wasted in such petty pursuits."
"He envied us our skill. He thought us a challenge to his aspirations. So he spent his time, he and Hawthorne, getting each of us exiled one after another. He did that, and spent years developing protective spells for himself."
0
conn@poli
0
"And he used those connections. Oh yes."
"Yes, Garzahd. Poor, foolish, paranoid Garzahd. He worked and learned with us, but could never stand the thought that others could have as much power as him. He also was the only one of us who developed political connections."
0
garzahd
0
"He's still alive, thank the Heavens. Won't be for long, I fear. A more loyal servant our nation couldn't hope for."
0
patrick
0
"I haven't seen her in years. She's a recluse now, travelling the planes. In spirit, of course, not in body."
0
aimee
0
"Damned foolish woman! She was the one who masterminded Hawthorne's assassination! She brought this mess down on our heads. We weren't ready!"
0
erika
0
"Well I'll tell you. Forgive me if I'm a bit windy. I so seldom get to talk to people. You see, all the most powerful mages in Exile, me and Erika and Aimee and Patrick, we were colleagues on the surface world. Us, and Garzahd."
0
send
0
"There may be some outside now. Be careful wandering around here. It's me they're after, but demons are notoriously non-picky when presented with food."
0
demo
0
"Don't think I am being paranoid. Hordes of demons orbit this tower, day and night, waiting for me to leave the safety of my wards so that they may devour me. Would you like to know who their sender was?"
0
reas@assa
0
"This tower is where I must stay. There is a simple reason. If I leave, I will very likely be assassinated."
0
rema@exil
0
"It's a long story. But then, after the demon was slain, I still had to remain here."
0
beas@slai
0
"Fortunately, the beast was slain."
"Linda was on the Triad then. She came up with an insane scheme to capture a demon lord and bind it to her will. She imprisoned anyone who questioned the scheme. I came here and built this tower, so that I could repair any damage from a safe distance."
0
disa
0
"The Tower of Magi is, following the custom for such towers in the surface world, run by three mages. Normally, the system works. However, several years ago we had a disaster."
0
tria@magi
0
"This puny tower has been my home for seven years. That is a lot of time."
0
bore@tower
0
"Well, I am a officially a member of the Triad of the Tower of Magi. Normally, however, I fight boredom in my exile within Exile."
"Visitors! Wonderful! I am Solberg, of the Triad. Welcome to my humble home."
You meet an aging, highly unkempt man. You think he's wearing mage's robes, but all the stains and tears mage it hard to be sure.
0
stnd
0
"I don't know about that."
50
2
You find intricate golden runes, embedded deep within the stone. They look powerful.
You find intricate golden runes, embedded deep within the stone. They look powerful.
The faded, sooty sign reads:
Tower of Solberg
Royal Clearance
You find intricate golden runes, embedded deep within the stone. They look powerful.
You find intricate golden runes, embedded deep within the stone. They look powerful.
You find intricate golden runes, embedded deep within the stone. They look powerful.
You find intricate golden runes, embedded deep within the stone. They look powerful.
You find intricate golden runes, embedded deep within the stone. They look powerful.
You find intricate golden runes, embedded deep within the stone. They look powerful.
