The traps and monsters in the old wizard tower took a few days to clear out. But the carnies were able to solve the riddles, navigate the traps, and defeat the monsters therein.
The first floor of the tall, narrow tower was a mere 15 feet wide. To get to the second floor, the Carnies removed a gem from a stone hand, which sealed them inside the tower but opened a small door in the ceiling of the low room. They climbed up into the room, which seemed to have no walls. They inspected 3 demonic statues in the center of the room, and eventually solved the riddle by touching water, fire and gold to the blue, red and gold gems in the statues. This teleported them to the next floor.
The third floor was as small as the first two, but extremely hot. On the floor grew clumps of green grass, while the transparent walls looked out onto a burning hellscape, where a fiery demonic horse raced towards them. A single word glowed on the ceiling, offering a clue to the riddle: “TNEMHSIRUON”, or Nourishment backwards. The party tore up clumps of grass and threw it at the horse. The grass passed through the wall, the demon horse ate the grass, and a large black door appeared on the opposite wall, leading to the next level.
The fourth floor was a freezing room with ice covering every surface. There were platforms, staircases, levers and pillars. There were three frozen gelatinous cubes that thawed and attacked the party. But pulling the right levers revealed a key that let them activate a teleportation circle, bringing them to the next level.
The fifth floor contained a puzzle so easy that the carnies just skipped over it and went straight to the sixth floor, where they found themselves in a cavernous room with hundreds of mirrors, and desks covered in books and scrolls. The high ceiling was lost in darkness. Hiding in the room, waiting to pounce, was a Beholder. It screeched and attacked the party. The Carnies decided not to chance the monster’s deadly rays, and managed to cross the enormous and escape through a glowing teleportation circle.
On the seventh floor, the Carnies were surrounded by miniature sheep in fields of green. They did not sense any danger, and decided to take a long rest to recover from their previous encounters. Luckily, falling asleep was the key that opened the passage to the next room.
The floor of the eighth room was covered in lava. A raised, twisting narrow pathway led from one side of the room to the other, with Gibbering Mouthers blocking the way. The Carnies made short work of the monsters and carried on to the next floor.
The ninth floor was broken up into several sections, each presenting a different puzzle to be solved and creatures to deal with: There were several mimics, a huge Grell, and finally an undead fire giant that sprang to life when they placed a magic helm on his head. Getting past the ninth floor took a lot of effort and a lot of time. The party decided to take another long rest after defeating the flaming giant.
The next room was reached by walking down a long, narrow hallway. The room opened out into a large, cavernous room, complete with stalactites, stalagmites, and a sleeping black dragon atop a pile of golden coins. Sticking out of the hindquarters of the dragon was a singing shortsword, who spoke to the party when they approached. Bowie answered the sword, which woke the dragon. She demanded to be released from this prison. The carnies tried to reason with her, but she was too impatient and attacked. After a mighty battle, the dragon was slain, the magic sword was retrieved, and the Carnies moved on to the top floor.
