The Tower of Black Flame Report

General Summary

SkarRen of the Kyr(Skar) and Baelok meet Bronan and Zath at the docks near the Bazaar. Bronan, Zath and Ralornan return after a week long adventure up the Quosa River.

They headed to House of the Fallen Star to get some food and information.

Setesh Uttikal reminded them of the upcoming BloodMoot and asked if they would be participating. After everyone agreed Zath motioned for Setesh Uttikal to speak in private. Zath asked Setesh if the plan to deceive the Seven Knives would work. Setesh told Zath that this could all be a part of the test so it was for him decide the best course of action. Just in case, Setesh gave him the name of a "Replication Specialist", Ovi Todar , who could help Zath, for a price.

While Zath and Setesh were talking Valebel , one of Setesh's wives, approached the party with a large pot filled with slips of paper. She told Bronan to pick one from the pot. Bronan did as advised but when he opened the paper it was just a bunch of strange lines which made no sense to the illiterate barbarian so he gave it Baelok to read. It said "Tower of Black Flame." Setesh came back at this time and explained:

• Sudden Silence: Rumors are being muttered around Quodeth that the flashes of spells being cast haven't been seen coming from the top of the tower for many days now. Is the sorcerer ill? Dead? Gone away? Transformed by magic, or injured in a fall and lying helpless? Thieves of the Seven Knives guild have been seen lurking near the tower, watching it. They must be contemplating grabbing the sorcerer's magic, gold, and secrets before anyone else does . . .

The party have been tasked with taking the The Tower of Black Flame by any means necessary, and they only have 4 days before the moot.
Later that night Skar, Baelok, Bronan and Zath made their way to the Tower. They circled the building but could see no other way in except for the large front doors. Zath made picking the lock look much harder than it actually was but they made it inside.

• An old, massive, sturdy pair of stable doors stands shut in the base of the Tower, facing out to the cobbled alleys. Each door is made of wood reinforced with bronze, and stands six feet wide and ten feet tall. The doors are painted black, with bronze edge-frames covering the hinges. A large keyhole can be seen in the frame where the doors meet.
• The room beyond the alley doors is about 40 feet square, with a 15-foot ceiling. This chamber was obviously once a stable for mules; it still smells faintly of their dung, and has rusty, crumbling tether-rings set into the walls on the left and right. The room is dark, illuminated only by the light through the open doors. A closed stone door with a metal pull-ring handle stands at the west end of the room's back wall, and there is a trapdoor in the floor near the middle of the back wall.
• Along all four walls are heaped large, dusty barrels and crates that look as if they've been sitting undisturbed for some time; there are dozens of them, and they've been stacked rather untidily in groups that form walls about five feet high, a little way out from the stone walls behind them.
• Standing in the center of the room is a ten-foot-tall metal statue of an armored minotaur with a trident in its hand. Its free hand is open and raised in a "stop" gesture as it faces you. Around its neck on a fine chain hangs a wooden sign that reads: "Go back or perish."
• Beyond the statue, six human skulls with glowing eye-sockets hover in the air about five feet off the ground and ten feet or so in front of the far wall. They gaze intently at you.

As soon as Zath walked by the statue it began to move. Once that happened the floating skulls disappeared and combat began. Zath took a big hit from the "minotaur" so he dropped back to let Bronan in. Skar and Baelok took up positions using the crates and barrels as cover. Skar, jumping over a crate to get a better shot, was startled to find 3 thieves hiding in the corner. Without question Skar attacked and then withdrew. One of the thieves sliced into Skar's leg before "vanishing" (he thought he was hidden but everyone saw him). The rest of the thieves disappeared. The party turned back to the "minotaur" cutting it down piece by piece until it was revealed that it was just a large skeleton with a minotaur skull attached. Baelok, tiring of the charade, landed a massive shot with a arrow. The skeleton crumbled to small bits.
  After the battle Zath called out the hiding thieves. He told them that he worked for the Seven Knives too and that he would take the tower. The 3 thieves, outnumbered, decided to take the opportunity to leave now...another guild patrol was due to show up in an hour or so anyway.
  Once the thieves were gone the party checked the room for loot. All they found was some rotten food and some lamp oil. The only way left to go was upstairs but the have to get through this door first.

• This 5-foot wide stone door has a ring-shaped metal pull-handle set into a metal plate at the midpoint of its left-hand edge. The metal plate is pierced by a keyhole, and appears to be the door's locking mechanism.

Missions/Quests Completed

The Blade of the Sun

Zath has retrieved the "magic" sword to complete the task assigned to him by the Seven Knives guild but is planning to create a forgery in an attempt to keep the blade and gain access to the guild.
 

The Bloodmoot

The Bloodmoot is being help in one week. It is annual event held by the barbarian tribes where the participants are tested in various martial contests, test of cunning and demonstrations of skill. The winners gain fame and honor, along with other perks, among the local tribes. Entrance to the moot requires a specific task to be completed via direct assignment by an Elder or by drawing lots.

• The Mission: Claim the Tower of Black Flame by any means necessary.

Character(s) interacted with

The party met Setesh Uttikal at House of the Fallen Star
A new location: The Tower of Black Flame