|||
Firmament 0206 — Sky-Wizard’s Tower
A glass island barely a mile wide, from which extends a glass tower.
Though the glass of the island is transparent, the tower itself is
marbled with colors that obscure the contents of its interior on all but
the lowest floor. This is the home of Martikhora (they/them), a wizard
(level 9) who considers it their life’s work to keep the low-hanging
firmament hidden.
Martikhora does not age, and is older than the ruination of the wilds,
but is younger than the low-hanging firmament. They inherited their task
of maintenance from an older master, Lakshmi (it/he), who features
heavily in their anecdotes and originated the idea that this glass
structure fell from the higher firmament. Martikhora is less certain of
this, but shares their master’s conviction that the glass structure
should be hidden from those who would do harm to it and its
residents.
Each floor is connected by a continuous spiral staircase. It begins on
the interior of the first floor, but wraps around the exterior of the
rest.
The first floor of the tower is a mostly empty room. The glass is
crystal clear. In the center of the room, laid face down on the glass so
that it may look upon the world below, is the nude preserved body of
Lakshmi the Unapproachable, builder of the tower. Tattoos of stylized
flowers of all varieties coat the body. Hidden in the tattoos, the
formula for the spell Fatal Flaw.
The second floor is Martikhora’s library and study. The glass is amber
and dotted with bubbles. The books on the shelves and desks are
exceedingly rare, many one of a kind. They primarily are esoteric texts
on magic and the otherworldly, but there is also a selection of
fictional courtroom dramas from the kingdom of law, following a
stunningly clever and extremely attractive scholar and lawyer named
Samir Karakhan.
The third floor contains the illusion spell that encompasses the whole
of the firmament, making it invisible from below and allowing weather
from above to be recreated below. The glass is ribboned with blue and
green strands. The focus of the spell is a model canal city, carved from
one huge piece of wood, through which a tiny copper steam boat makes a
continuous circuit. Once per week, Martikhora deftly adds water and fuel
to the boat’s engine without interrupting its progress.
The fourth floor is Martikhora’s personal chambers. The glass is black
like obsidian. The room is furnished with an austere cot, but the floor
is covered in thick wool rugs. Any Samir Karakhan books not in the
library are likely to be lying on the rugs here. A tapestry depicting
constellations hangs on the wall, woven of dyed wolf-fur and given as a
gift by the
Ancient Astrologists of 0204. In chests stacked along the side of
the room, the collected treasure of Lakshmi and Martikhora:
(as magic user IV, &treasure)
2000 coins, of a variety of origins
100 coins worth of powdered spices
A God-Casket
3 maps — one leads to a laboratory in the wall of Catage (0314), one to
a
tomb in the wilds (0203). The third is fake, pointing to a buried
hoard at what is now Fort Cygne at 0612 — excavation would reveal no
treasure.
13 magic items — 5 potions: potion of inviolability, potion of terrible
strength, welkin love potion, hero-mead, reviled ointment. A crystal
dagger. 3 staves: Egron, Irosorin, Bashaa. The ring Fist Panoply. A
nautilus helm. 2 pearl eyes.
The fifth floor has no roof, and contains Martikhora’s spellbook, a
single sheet of vellum lying flat on the floor, held in place with a
small river stone of sentimental value to the wizard, and stained by the
rain. It contains all spells. It has been defended appropriately against
tampering.