The Tower in the Shadows

Winter had passed and Ranus Goldwind was glad.

Standing on the bow of his small trading ship, he watched the trees on either side of the river pass. The mountains on either side watched over everything. Snow-capped, as always, they dominated the area. At the moment, they sailed in sunlight.

The Shadow Way mountains were as stunning as they were dangerous.

They were navigating an estuary of the Shadow River. Typically, no Nescan trader would be using any of these river estuaries, for they were known to run through monster-plagued valleys and had been abandoned since before the fall of the Old Empire.

His family and friends had called him foolish for taking this route to the land of the Skaald people. But he was young and hungry to make his mark. His family was one of the wealthiest in the Nescan City States. As such, his name carried weight. But he was the sixth child out of seven and needed to be respected, not just for his name.

His family respected two things: gold and more gold.

At nineteen years old, he had plied the route between Nescan and Tyboon, occasionally going to the coast. His ship, the "Traders Bounty", was his sixteenth name-day present and the warning that he had to pull his weight or be kicked from the main family. His four older brothers dominated these routes and he was lucky to get the scraps he was as they each sought to dominate the routes.

This forced him to stay alert for new opportunities. To this end, he frequented every shitty tavern along the routes listening to the sailor's gossip and looking for an angle. Then, about this time last year, he had heard the first story.

The story was about a Devnear raider who was found piloted by a group of Skaald women. They were heading down this every waterway towards Tyboon when the city's river milia stopped them. The women were escaped captives destined for Ostrul slave markets. Somehow, they got free of the raiders and escaped with their ship.

It was the how that had piqued his interest. They spoke of coming across an Old Empire watch tower deeper into the valleys. They spoke of the raiders being driven to use it as a storm caught them. As the story went, the building was intact and they sheltered in it. Then, something started killing the raiders and, in the confusion, the women were able to escape.

This was another fanciful story for the river traders and sailors to tell each other. Ranus had wondered since he was a child if the routes were still navigable and the women's story hinted that they were.

He did not put much thought into it until late autumn when another story reached his ears. A mining expedition from Tyboon went into the mountains, seeking new veins to tap. Nothing new; it was a regular event. This one went much further than the others. The tale spoke of the group finding an Old Empire watch tower fully intact and being killed by something within. His tale was known because the last surviving member of the expedition got back to civilisation half-mad and starving. No one put much stock in the tale, but it added to the lack of interest in going deeper into the valleys.

Ranus heard the tale of the "intact Old Empire watchtower" He could not explain why, but he was intrigued and started investigating. As winter began, he used his family name and contacts to look in several libraries. Ten days into his search, he found an Old Empire map of the area and used some of his limited savings to have it copied.

With map in hand, he traced the possible route the raider would have taken. Sketching a crude version, he found one of the women on the raider in Nescan. After some convincing, he managed to get her to tell him the route they had followed. The map was correct as she pointed out a few things she remembered.

When he asked about the tower, she went pale and started shaking. Her new husband, who was there, was unhappy about this, but Ranus managed to calm the situation. She, in the end, pointed out the rough location. She told him it was on a slight rise, almost a small hill next to a floodplain. She then told him what had really happened in the place.

He thanked them and left their tiny home. He could barely contain himself; there was so much to think about. Back home, he unrolled the Empire map and checked it against his crude one. On the river bank, the location of a watch tower was marked next to a flood plain.

He was sure that the route was open and could be sailed to the lands of the Skaald. This would cut nearly forty days from using the sea route. But his mind and eyes were still drawn to the tower.

Stories.

That was what had led him to this point. The story the woman had told him had only deepened his interest. He loved stories. When growing up, his family's servants regularly told their young charges tales to keep them from causing trouble.

Old Helg told the best as they were the scariest. Ranus remembered that one night, well past bedtime, he found the old woman drinking alone in the kitchen. She saw him and scolded him to return to bed, but he begged for a story. She realised he was going nowhere and relented. She told him stories of something he had only heard vaguely about at that point in his young life.

Dungeons.

He listened as she told him about them—their power and danger, the adventures searching for them and the monsters awaiting them. To those brave or insane enough, the wealth and magic that could be obtained. He listened entranced for hours, and something was born within him—the hunger for adventure!

His family would not hear of it and blocked him from his dreams.

He spent many years learning about them, including that only eight were now within the lands that once made up the Old Empire, no new ones had appeared since Adrill's Folly, and the ones left were the centres of powerful kingdoms.

He had to know the hunger born within him as a child reared its head.

First, he planned and organised a venture to follow the route to the lands of the Skaald, but that was his cover. He really wanted to investigate that tower. He knew he would need something from the family vault.

His grandfather was a bit of a hoarder. One of the many things he collected was an Old Empire sensorium crystal. These crystals were used to detect different types of magic in an area. If they encountered a dungeon, they would glow a deep purple, according to the books he had read. The crystal itself was valuable because you could not just tell if there was magic present, but it also gave you an idea of how strong it was.

During a family get-together, where his brothers would openly mock his attempts to become a trader, he had an opportunity. He was able to secure the crystal without anyone knowing it was gone. Honestly, he doubted they would even notice it was gone.

They had all laughed at his plans to travel the Shadow Falls River to the Skaald lands. He gritted his teeth and endured. He prayed he would have the last laugh.

His ship and crew were prepared with respectable cargo, which used up his last savings and little on-hand money. Getting a crew was hard, but there were enough desperate sailors to man his ship. His old navigator, Dusk, was still with him and got things moving with fewer hiccups.

This had all led him to today.

Standing on the bow, he was looking for the tower. According to his map, it should be around the bend they were approaching.

"What's got you all worked up, boy?"

Dusk had walked up behind him while he was focused on the river ahead. He was the only person Ranus would allow to call him boy.

"The joy of youth, of course. Something an old man like you has forgotten."

Dusk snorted and then started laughing. Ranus joined in as the two had known each other for fifteen years and were as close as family.

"People rarely reach my age these days because they do not listen to their elders. So, I ask again an earlier question: What are you up to, boy?"

Dusk was not fooled by his explanations of the desire to reach the Skaald lands by this old route. He knew Ranus enough to see there was another reason. Dusk was far along his Path and was older than every crew member. His age extended by his body improving as he advanced.

"Well, we are about to find out."

Dusk looked at him and raised an eyebrow. The meaning was clear: get on with it. Ranus turned back to the river ahead as they passed the bend. He could barely contain himself as there it was. Ranus point ahead.

"That is my real destination on this journey."

Dusk looked where Ranus had pointed when he spoke. There was a break in the trees and an intact Old Empire watchtower sat on a small hill.

"Tan and Tama, guide us!"

That was a favourite saying amongst the river workers of the city-states for both surprise and shock. Calling on the God and Goddess of seas and rivers.

"An Old Empire watch tower still standing?"

Dusk was confused and thrown as Ranus turned and began issuing orders.

"We are beaching on the flood plain for the night. Set to it, lads!"

He headed for the stern and relieved the sailor manning the rudder. Turning the ship, he redirected it to the flood plain. There was a clear line of sand that the vessel would ground upon.

With a shudder, the ship hit the sand and several crew jumped, carrying mooring lines to tie to the nearest trees. Within ten minutes, the ship was secured. Ranus had jumped from the ship and was wading to the shore. Dusk was soon behind him.

"Vic, check the girl over and then camp the crew down for the night."

Ranus called to a man standing on the bow, winding some rope.

"Ai, captain!"

The crew was soon about their tasks as Ranus walked from them to the tower. Looking back at Dusk, he noticed that he had armed himself. Ranus was armed but had been since the afternoon when he knew they would reach the tower. Ranus knew enough about the man not to ask how he was armed so quickly.

"Right, boy, what's going on? There is no reason that building should still stand."

Dusk waited until Ranus stopped a few steps from the door that marked the building entrance.

"Stories, old man. Stories."

Ranus looked at the building with hope in his eyes and a dream burning in his soul.

"What stories?"

Dusk was confused, for he had never seen Ranus like this.

"Last year, I heard two strange tales. Each had one thing in common: this watch tower."

He reached into a pouch on his belt and pulled out a crystal.

"Ranus, you're not making any sense. What is going on?"

Dusk's concern was evident. Ranus turned and looked the older man in the eyes and smiled.

"You are about to find out."

He walked towards the doors and grabbed the handle. He stopped and took a deep breath. Then he opened the door and both looked inside.

The room had a table, chairs and serval other types of furniture. There was no sign of anyone living here, but the window shutters were all closed, making details hard to see. The door on the other side of the room was open, but it was too dark to see anything more.

Ranus reached his hand and held the crystal in the room. He closed his eyes and focused a little of his mana into it. A soft glow emanated from it. The light grew brighter over a few heartbeats and suddenly, the white turned to a deep and vibrant purple.

Dusk watches all this from behind Ranus. He says nothing, awaiting an explanation. Ranus pulls his arm back and closes the door. Turning, Dusk sees that the younger man is crying and shaking.

"Come, we have a long journey tomorrow."

Ranus moves to leave, but Dusk grabs his arm.

"Speak! What is this place, Ranus?"

Ranus looks his friend in the eye and whispers the answer to him.

"It's a Dungeon."

He took a moment to compose himself.

"Let's go. We have a lot of work to do and I need to send a message."

## ## ## ## ##

The winter was brutal. There were no visitors and there was even a hint of monsters or creatures to make into minions.

The only thing that kept me from going around the bend was thinking and implementing a fix for my Puck issue.

I had created a series of small tunnels running up the stairwell that branched out to chosen points across the floors. These tunnels were small and only Puck could fit into them. The exit/entrance points were hidden by thin stone flaps with little hinges. It took weeks to figure out how to make them work while hidden from view.

Puck used them now and again but was currently happy to fly about the third floor "playing" with the boars. Larry had been its target for some time and his pleading look convinced me to seed Puck deeper into the dungeon.

Spring was well and truly here and the snows were gone. I could feel the plants growing again up my walls. Seeds and pollen carried by the wind fell in the open area of my tower.

Nothing of interest was found.

"Maybe I should do more experiments with minion designs?"

My limited CP was the factor that was stopping me. True, I eventually had some success with the brown spider, but that was not a sign that others would be.

"What to do?"

"Maybe it's time to open the door and shutters again to see if we can attract anything."

Suddenly, an alert appeared as my front door was opened. I could make out the arms owner and another figure, what I thought was a man outside.

An arm was now in it, holding a crystal. I had such a sense of déjà vu it was not even funny. The crystal glowed white.

I suddenly felt something probing my aura.

No, that was the wrong word. It was more like someone running their hand along your skin. That was the closest I could come to explaining what I was feeling.

The crystal changed colour to purple and the arm withdrew, closing the door behind it.

I waited.

And I waited.

Nothing else happened.

"Ok, that was weird."