(Following: Green with N-V / See setup in: Xonthal's Tower )
Xonthal
Both the Hexblood and Tiefling wizards recall-well the legends about the wizard Xonthal , who reputedly traveled not only Faerûn , but lands over great distances and seas: Zakhara , Kara-Tur , and perhaps even mythic Maztica . He was an archimage of conjuration and elemental evocation. He prized solitude and kept only elementals and genies for company.
Eventually, Xonthal erected a tower and a surrounding hedge mage, woven with layer upon layer of high magics to confound and prevent intrusion on his privacy. There has been no contact with him for over a century, when he kicked out his last apprentice, and his fate is unknown. Some think he may have becone a Lich , others that he is dead or otherwise left this world.
Xonthal's Tower
Over time, a town grew next to the tower, at the southern tip of the Greypeak Mountains . The settlement is also called " Xonthal's Tower ". Originally populated by families of the apprentices and crafters supplying the arch-wizard, it is now a quiet place considered "safe", as trouble-makers have avoided the place in the shadow of the lair of the archimage.
The town is occasionally visited by those curious about the tower and its maker, eager for knowledge or treasures within, but the dangerous protections have defied most. It is well-known that several factions would eagerly and handsomely reward any who might offer access and ownership of the mystical place. The most aggressive of these has been the Zhentarim , though the offers of the more secretive Harpers have been generous as well. Certainly many others eye the place similarly - the Cult of the Dragon , the Red Wizards , and perhaps even the Arcane Brotherhood .
To safeguard accidental entry into the dangerous hedge-maze by children or wandering livestock, a low fence has been built by the townsfolk along with a warning-painting of a maze-monster and bloody dead bodies. The villagers point out that while the maze appears to be a pleasant circular garden, it distorts its space as you look within, and is perhaps unknowably large. The vegetation cannot be breached or bypassed and even from rooftops is confusing, seeming to have no true pattern or structure. Despite nobody tending the hedge, it is in exactly the same condition it has held for as long as any memory of folklore tell.
Through the Portal
(See: Xonthal's Tower introduction)
Dex Shadow , a fae necromancer from the Arcane Brotherhood is first to arrive, via a technomagic portal. He encounters a member of the (old school) Cultus Draconis Cult of the Dragon , a wearer of the cult's leadership's signature purple robes named Iskander , who provides some information regarding the situation at stake. Then, the blue-skinned wizard is purged from what he believes was the inside of the tower. Iskander had suggested that the tower possessed strange magics relating to time and space!
Regathering his wits, Dex suddenly whirls on hearing the voice of Alyks Askaria , before realizing she speaks into his mind through a Sending . She indicates the rest have escaped and is asking where he might be. Dex shares he is at Xonthal's Tower , teleported, and is just fine, but to come as soon as possible - the Blue Dragon Mask is here! He has secured the Green Dragon Mask within his coffin amulet, which contains the body of the now-dead Green Wyrmspeaker, Neron-Vain .
The tower shows no signs or sounds of disturbance, but to test the viability of a solo mission, the wizard hops the fence, entering the maze and comes upon an eight-way crossroad with a sundial at its center. He follows the direction indicated by the shadow, and finds a clearing where armor and weapon statues stand guard around a checkered carpet. These, of course, spring to life. When one is defeated by Dex's magical attacks, two others spring to life. The necromancer eventually falls to the attacks, and awakens back at the entrance (1 HP) where an old woman with a cart of flour sacks cackles, apparently at his misfortune.
Reactively, she is murdered by the angry blood-of-hags wizard, who looks around for witnesses (if more murdering needs to be done) then disposes of the corpse by using it as Bone Armor . He then finds a tree a ways outside the town and up Mount Hilm , beneath which to sleep and recover. In the morning, returning to try the maze again, Dex receives another Sending from Alyks , indicating they should arrive in two days.
Using Disguise Self , the wizard heads into the town for food and drink, but finds such businesses closed as the town's leaders are meeting to investigate the disappearance of Nana Sugarcookie , a beloved town elder and master baker. It seems the problem is not only that her fresh sweets are unavailable, but that her regular supply of medicines for the town's children have been interrupted during an outbreak of a painful rash. Dex decides it best to head back up the mountain and wait for the party, out of suspicion of the villagers.
Riding Winged Horses
Alyks , Runi , Vaxz , and Vyerith arrive after traveling hard for two days on the backs of swift, majestic, and shadow-formed Unknown mounts provided by the Zhentarim . Upon reaching Altand after escaping the lair of Chuth in the Misty Forest , the party was brought to confer with Prince Alagarthas . Alagarthas calls for a magical mirror to be brought to the room aloft in the tree-dwellings and defenses, and uses its magic to contact his father at the Council of Waterdeep .
Both King Melandrach and the High Harper Remallia Haventree respond and listen carefully to the report, mainly focusing in on understanding the status of the dragonmasks and clearly disappointed that not only is the green mask missing and at risk with Dex , but also being unable to interrogate him about the visions of the attacks. Alyks does her best to recall what details she can. Remalia indicates she will signal agents to go after Xonthal's Tower , and if the party gets there first and is able to somehow gain information or access, the Harpers will generously reward them.
Meanwhile, Vyerith has been in contact with Rian Nightshade , who makes clear a competing offer on behalf of the Zhentarim , and is even able to supply fast travel to Xonthal's Tower with winged horses stabled by the Black Network nearby in the High Moor . (While Waterdeep is 500 miles away from the tower, the party's current location is half that - and at the pace of the pegasi and hard riding, able to arrive in two days time).
Now, together, uncertain of the conditions within maze or tower, of the confrontations or even the flow of time itself - the party readies itself to enter the circle of protections around the tower, woven into the seeming of a maze formed of leafy walls.
Hedge Maze
next...
(Next: TBD)