[coronatiger]

The next building on our list had a sign in front, identifying it as the abode of some ancient arch mage. I had no trouble believing the accuracy of the translation. The two-story house had two towers, and something about the architecture was positively menacing.

Va’lyndra studied the entrance closely, discovered magic and started analyzing it. I climbed the highest tower, just in case there was something interesting up there. There wasn’t much, aside from a small hole in the roof. The view was marvelous from up high, though, and I did a short balancing act on the spire before climbing down.

Va’lyndra warned us that passing through the doorway would turn us to stone. Not a happy prospect. I mentioned the hole I had found on the roof, and said I could get through if Va’lyndra would check for magic first. Leopold claimed that he knew a spell that would make a hole in the wall, but that he didn’t have the energy to pull it off.

Climbing with Surkalpi was slightly more demanding, but I got up there without trouble. Va’lyndra too. She didn’t see any magic inside, but she worried I might get stuck in the tiny hole. She felt she had to be careful when she poked her head inside to see, but I figured that was because of her pointy ears. It took me some time to squeeze through, and she had to hold Surkalpi while I did, but after a minute or so, I was standing in the tower room. I searched through the rubbish, following Va’lyndra’s instructions about where to look, but found nothing. A spiraling staircase led down, but I didn’t want to risk it unless Va’lyndra had checked it for magic first, so I climbed back out.

Back down on the ground, Leopold had wandered off, so I called for him. Ilzo had fetched a pick-axe and was working his way through the wall. The hole wasn’t big enough for anyone but me, yet, so Va’lyndra retrieved our other pick and gave it to me. I helped Ilzo widen the hole, and everyone entered. Va’lyndra did her spell dance again, and discovered that there was an anti-magic enchantment that suffused the structure of the building, protecting the floors, walls and ceilings from tampering. Ilzo snorted derisively, pick-axe still in hand.

Ilzo, Leopold and I searched the room while Va’lyndra tried to analyze the anti-magic spell further. Her nose-bleed suggested that it was time to go to bed. On the way back to camp, she insisted that even if her spell had failed, she would be able to affect things inside the house, just not the building itself.

“Well,” Olivia asked in a low voice when we were alone in our tent, “is there something you want to tell me?” I had just summed up to her what I’d been doing since we left her after dinner, so I felt rather clueless, and admitted I didn’t know what she was talking about. Olivia grabbed one of the straps on my leather armor. “This is not how I tightened your armor this morning. You’ve undressed since then, Mattea,” she accused, “and I can’t imagine Leopold or Va’lyndra trying to get into your pants. It must have been Ilzo!” Her voice broke halfway through the last sentence, and tears welled up in her eyes. “Oh, no, Olivia! It wasn’t like that at all,” I explained. “I took off the armor so I could wriggle through the hole in the roof.” “Really?” Olivia blinked the tears out of her eyes, seized my head between her hands and studied my sincere expression for a moment. “Oh, Mattea, I’m so sorry! Please forgive me! Can we kiss and make up?” Leather plates hit the ground, soon followed by softer fabrics; we certainly could!


Thoughts on April 10th

“Why don’t we just break through the interior walls?” I asked the others as we made our way back to the arch mage’s house. “That way, we don’t have to pass any door frames.” Both traps we had found yesterday were there, so I assumed that any other traps also would be located in door frames. Leopold pointed out that we needed to use the stairs to move between floors, but I replied that we could use our picks on floors and ceilings, too, not just walls. In the case of ceilings, if worst came to worst and they were was pretty high up, I could stand on Ilzo’s shoulders and work the pick axe. Va’lyndra opined that it wouldn’t be needed. She knew a spell that would let her see magic traps, even if her identification spell was hindered.

We entered through Ilzo’s hole, and Va’lyndra cast her spell. Then she rushed off, trying to look at as much of the building as possible before the spell wore off. She located a magic staff leaning against the wall in a corner and a metal door with a spelled frame in the basement, each time warning us to stay away. She got through most of the house, except for one of the spires. Ilzo hefted his pick axe and set to work in the basement, Leopold and I searched for valuables, and Va’lyndra rested.

I pulled my ball of twine from my backpack and tied it around the magic staff, careful not to touch it. Then I dragged the staff out of the building and a little to the side, where nobody would walk. Va’lyndra could analyze it later.

I practiced for a little while, before going downstairs to help Ilzo. We had to dig through solid mountain, and it took us three hours to get around the magic door, and into the room beyond. I ran to fetch Va’lyndra, so she could look for magic before we entered. I fetched Leopold too, for he’s proven to be very capable when it comes to old buildings. He might see something the rest of us missed.

Va’lyndra found a book. It was clearly magical, otherwise it wouldn’t have survived all these years. There wasn’t anything else of value in the house. We returned to camp. I dragged the staff behind me, still cautious. While Va’lyndra analyzed the book and the staff, I stole some time with Olivia.

Va’lyndra discovered that the book was enchanted with a simple spell to prevent rot and moisture from destroying it. I suspected that the book held valuable information, most likely spells, otherwise it wouldn’t have been protected like this. The staff was a spellcasting focus, like so many other staves we’ve seen before. It was more ornate than her old staff, so she decided to keep it. Leopold and Va’lyndra wanted to remain in the camp to study the book, but I insisted they use time while we rest to do it. Now was the time to go check out the next building!

There was a rusted metal front door on this house, but no magic, so Ilzo kicked in the door. We found a small pile of old coins that Leopold and Va’lyndra eyeballed with considerable interest, but nothing exciting. The last house was a total disappointment to everyone.

We went back to Olivia and told her that we had completed this quest. It was getting late, but the next quest site was only about half an hour away, so we packed up and moved.