Dark Day work in progress
Capital Tower
He never understood the importance of guarding a door inside a stone tower in the worst part of Capital City. Trevor knew he was not the smartest guard in the squad, but he felt he had proven himself more valuable than this. Sure, there were a few important people who came and went through the door, but then he would be dismissed for a time and when he returned he was sure he was guarding an empty room until someone knocked to come out. It was a strange feeling, like guarding a cell; a small window to see who was knocking and a lock on the outside, but everyone he saw was more respected then the last and the protocol was ridiculous at best.
It had been a particularly boring day, at the end of a long week when Trevor decided he would ask - no demand to be transferred to something more important. This made him feel better in an instant as in his mind he could see himself standing in the Kings guard, all dressed out in a shinny suit of armor. He held himself up and marched a little march, turning back to the door just in time to see a bloody hand slap the window. The moment of shock quickly changed to panic as he fumbled for the key, yelling for help that was sure to be out of range and telling the wounded that he was coming to help. For a moment as he undid the lock the guard felt a wave of hope that this would be the event that would change his life. He swung the door open and offered his hand to the small group of disfigured and rotting zombies that quickly surrounded him and allowed their worms to transform the young man into yet another instrument of death and chaos. As he arose to a new state of being he bowed to the man in the dark cloak, following his instructions to go forth and infect all that he could.
Island Tower
Paul could not remember the last time he was so unmotivated. As he sat on the roof, overlooking the lush tropical island in the the middle of a beautiful blue ocean, he decided he deserved this peace and quiet at this time of his life, quite convinced he had saved the world twice; had he not been involved during those adventures the world would not be so well off as they were now. The world never known; how would they and would they be the same if any of them knew how close their collective lives had come from being erased or irrevocable changed if not for the actions of few special, skilled and motivated people, doing what was right.\\
He was quite sure this new life was his reward for all he hard work. Whomever had built the towers so very long ago had only a handful of reason to go through with all the effort to build such a powerful magical tower in such a remote area; the stone was clearly brought from far away and it would have been all but impossible to find the island by sea even if you knew what you were looking for; to Paul it was almost as if it was built for him.
He acknowledged to himself his connection to the creators, as a mage he could in theory make such a tower, but would never consider it worth it. His time and money was better spent on simpler things and supporting the former teammates and their more loftier goals. He was convinced only Elves would have made them with their extended lives and long term planning would make the towers as important as they were expensive, but hen why abandon them.
Paul was with the group when they found the first and was quickly out voted to explore more once the most basic concepts were discovered. Sure their were very few two way doors; while it was great to travel great distances in no time, getting back was often just as important and it would not be discover after many years of Paul's prodding that they started to explore enough to map out how there were paths through the system that allowed travelers to return to the tower they needed to be.
Then there was the inherent danger of exploring the towers; there was the one where Braden had died because he could not swim when they came to the flooded tower and there was some who still believe at least some of their missing members may have gone through an unexplored door never to return. That was when all the safeguards and protocols had been enacted. Even now there were a few doors and a few towers that had not been fully explored; maybe now would be the time to start that again.
But it was had to think about leaving this place. There were a few birds chirping and just enough waves crashing on the beach so far below to give the place a background music of sorts, if only he could record this in some way so others could hear it. He closed his eyes just for a moment to take in the sound by itself when he heard something that instantly ruined the mood and changed the course of his day and probably the rest of his life.
Nine Lives
cat sheriff finds out what is going on
The mind of a mage works different than most. All adventurers are driven to a point but mages have the unique necessity to be extra precise in their thinking, strong enough to handle the forces flowing through them and the understanding that anything is possible. Fighters and others with more mundane skill do not have to think ahead of time what they might want to do. They practice with their weapons or other tools, limber up and pack their equipment. Priest have a bit more to do, depending on which God they worship, there are routines that other find odd, annoying or just plain time consuming, but when the time comes to act, they are more or less free to choose from all their powers. A mage has to pick and choose his whole life what he wants to do, before he knows what he needs. If a mage knows he will be going underwater, he can refresh himself on any water spells he might have learned. So if he is in the forest and thinks he will not be needing them, he will not be prepared when they party get thrown into the raging river. Most mages keep a few combat spells handy at all times but when you are on vacation, you tend to not waste much time with the more complicated spells. Paul had not opened a book in a few days, nor had he the need to cast anything more than a cantrip to freshen his drink.
When he heard the moan from inside the tower, a switch went off in his head; from peace and tranquility to war and strategy, his mind started racing what he was ready and able to do. All he has was his ring that kept his fly spell going, all his wands and such were stashed away for safe keeping. Speed would have to be his plan, what ever it was did not sound big but what would have gotten through the tower had to be trouble. Flying down with a wide arch keeping his head towards the doorway, Paul though a simple fireball should take out what ever was in the tower but back lash might start the island ablaze
The Return
pool filled with rocks
Forbiden Forest
