Ghost Tower of Kara-Inar

📜 From the Journals of Archmage Valamir the Resplendent, Master of Celestial Correspondences, Peerless Sage of Moon and Sea

Copied from a brittle scroll found in a lacquered tube, the ink silvery and faintly luminescent under moonlight.

To he who follows my path — whether thief, fool, or future genius — know that I, Valamir the Resplendent, first laid mortal eyes upon the Ghost Tower of Kara-Inar.

It stands — when it chooses to stand — upon a rocky outcropping of the Ashkarin Peninsula, 10 miles west of the city whose people still whisper my name with awe and envy. There, where the Azure Sea gnaws the cliffs and the gulls cry warnings to the deaf, the tower appears. Not always. Not often. Only when the full moon swells fat upon the horizon.

Then the air itself shivers. The wind falls silent, and the waves still their breath. From that hush arises a shimmer, as if moonlight found a mirror beneath the sea. Slowly the reflection sharpens — silver light stretches skyward, solidifying into the Ghost Tower of Kara-Inar. Its walls glimmer like glass veined with liquid pearl, half-real, half-dream. Within, one hears the hum of the spheres themselves, a sound that bends reason and inflames genius.

The tower was raised, so the old songs claim, by Ardûn of the Moon, an astrologer-king of ancient Ashkarin who sought to bridge heaven and earth. His folly was magnificent! When his mirror-magic faltered, both tower and soul were dragged between worlds. Now, each lunar cycle, the tower’s reflection aligns once more, granting passage — fleetingly — between planes.

Yet beware, ambitious reader: when the tower fades at dawn, it drags with it what it has touched. Creatures from beyond, summoned or stranded, wander the cliffs in its wake. The Pale Lodge calls this phenomenon a lunar breach; I call it a door for those bold enough to knock.

And within that spectral keep lies the object of my obsession — the Soul Gem of Kara-Inar, heart of Ardûn’s power, gleaming like frozen moonlight. I have seen it pulsing behind the tower’s veil, a prison for a thousand bound souls and a vessel of inestimable worth. The gem’s value, even by the most conservative estimation (mine), stands at no less than forty thousand gold pieces — though I would have sold eternity itself for but a touch of its light.

If you would claim it, watch the moon. When the tide stills and the cliffs glow, the tower has come again. Step within before dawn, and you may find glory. Step too late, and the sea will take what’s left of you.

— Valamir the Resplendent

By my hand, beneath the full moon of the 7th Turning, Year of the Azure Tide.

Complete Miniature List (Alphabetical)

Summary

• Total unique creature types: 32

• Largest group size: 16 Bugbears + 1 Chieftain

• Average individual miniatures needed: 45 total (if using full non-tournament wandering monster list)

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