Part 27: The Sunken Tower

Update 25: The Sunken Tower



As soon as I was out of the temple, I teleported myself back to Xardas' tower.



I approached Xardas and informed him that I'd been inside the temple. "I have found a way into the underground temple!"

"You have? That's remarkable! You have become very powerful! Stronger than anybody else inside the Barrier. Maybe you really are the man the Orcish prophecies told of?"

Xardas had never mentioned prophecies. "Prophecies? What prophecies?"

"Ancient Orcish documents written shortly after the sealing of the underground temple mention a 'Holy Foe'."

"A holy foe?" I asked.

"Someone who shall come to drive the SLEEPER from our world forever!"

"I'm supposed to be the one mentioned in the ancient prophecies??? You must be wrong, surely!" I was only thrown in less than a month ago. It couldn't be me.

Xardas shrugged. "Maybe... maybe not!"

I remembered the sword I'd found on the Altar. I knew enough of Magic to know that it was different from the ones the Shamans had carried. "I've found this strange sword."

"Show it to me" Xardas replied.



I carefully handed the sword to Xardas, who took it by the hilt and carefully looked it over.

"That's interesting." Xardas said. "It has 'URIZIEL' written on it. I've heard of this sword. It's a weapon from the olden days, when the human race was still young. The weapon was forged from an unknown material. And there's nothing written about who created it! This blade was said to possess unbelievable powers, but I don't notice any magical aura!"

"URIZIEL possessed unbelievable powers?"




Xardas nodded. "It was written that the owner of the weapon was able to pierce the strongest armor and to overcome the most powerful of protection spells."

"How could the Orcs get this powerful weapon into their hands?"

"It's claimed that the Orcs took it from a powerful warlord. They didn't know how to use it, but they did hide it!"

"But they didn't hide it well enough!" They clearly didn't know what they had, if what Xardas says is true. I'd found it lying on a stone slab guarded by a single shaman. "Is it possible to restore the former powers of the weapon?"

"You'd need a very strong magical source of power for that purpose."

As soon as Xardas mentioned 'strong magical source' a thought entered my mind. "You mean strong enough to detonate the Magic Barrier with?"

Xardas narrowed his eyes. He knew what I was thinking. "About that strong... Besides, you'll need a very special magical formula in order to transfer the power. Give me some time and I'll create the magic formula."

I nodded. "Meanwhile, I'll be hunting around for better armor! These blue rags didn't protect me well enough in the underground temple!"



"you should go to my old tower."

He had more than one? "Your old tower?"

"It sank below one of the eastern lakes during one of the earthquakes. The spires are still visible above the surface. There are still some artefacts inside it. I never made any effort to salvage them." Why would he? He certainly had things pretty easy as it was.

Promise of artifacts convinced me. "How do I get there?"

"I haven't been there since the earthquake, which means you'll have to find a way to enter it yourself." Xardas placed a key into my hands. "But take this key. It opens a chest in which I used to store some particularly rare artifacts."

That sounded like a good way to spend some time. But there was one thing I wanted to know first.



"Is there anything you can teach me?" We were working together. I figured that we should share all knowledge to increase my, our, chance of success.

"I shall raise you to the Six Circle of Magic." My eyes widened. I'd thought that maybe he would share a spell or two. "Notice that only the most powerful magicians may join the Sixth Circle. it's reserved to those whose life is a sign. Your sign is the unification of the elements. The Sixth Circle enables you to use the magic of any rune. And don't forget: Do not claim the power, but serve it."

Xardas presented me with a robe quite similar to his. I accepted it, though the shoulders were a bit much.



Xardas presented me with a robe quite similar to his. I eagerly accepted it, though the shoulders were a bit much.



I changed into my old Robe and sent myself over to the New Camp. It was getting late and I had a good deal to sell. I spoke with Cronos and we arranged a deal. In exchange for the weapons I'd found in the Free Mine and Orc Temple, he would give me Ore and some new books.



I fell asleep in my hut and awoke the following morning. Today I would seek out and explore Xardas' old tower.



I plotted out my course on the map. When I'd found Ur-Shak at the ruins I recalled seeing a sunken tower just west of the tower. I marked the location on my map with some charcoal and made my way there.



The matched the description that Xardas had given. A sunken tower where the spire was still visible above the water's surface. I swam to the tower in order to get a better look.



A rough, rocky passage seemed to lead underwater and into the tower ruins.



There didn't appear to be any other way in, so I took a deep breathe and jumped in.



The tunnel went down for a little while, but eventually curved upward again. I emerged inside a cave and, presumably, within the ruins of the tower.



As I walked further in, I had no doubt that this was the right place. I also discovered why Xardas had not bothered to reclaim it. It was crawling with undead. Skeletons, with a mage among them, guarded the entrance. I took care of them and moved further in.



Only three rooms seemed to be accessible from here. The main room, where I was now, and two smaller rooms accessible adjacent to it. Aside from the skeletons, I encountered two large groups of Zombies. One in each of the two smaller rooms. While they were large in number and powerful they were also quite slow. I was able to successfully take many of them out from a distance.



With the undead guardians all gone, I searched each room for the chest that Xardas had told me of. I eventually found the chest that opened with his eye and found quite two items of interest.

The first of which was a suit of armor that appeared to be created solely with Magic Ore. Impressive! It would be able to take quite a beating.

The other item of note was a rune that would take me inside the Old Camp. Following Gomez's invasion of the Free Mine he'd locked all the gates in and out of the camp. If this rune worked the same as the others, it should deliver me right into the Fire Magician's tower. I thought the prospect of returning there over and instantly made my decision.



I was returning to the Old Camp to get some answers.

Update 25 supplements: Xardas conversation Viddler
Zombies of the tower Viddler

Character sheet as of this update's New Camp visit:


Finally got around to updating the OP a bit more too.