The Master of the Crooked Tower

[Kenshin]

The following missive is sent to all of the arcane schools, various noble Houses, merchant organizations, craft and artificer guilds, as well as to the Tower of the Masked Mage (temple of Vhaerun).

Salutations citizens of Sshamath. I, Guilhem, arcane adept and a magister of the Seventh Circle send this message to you in order to clarify a number of misrepresentations and untruths that have emerged in the wake of the momentous events of the cycles just past. Rumors and insinuations have been spread by those with an agenda against the established order of this city. Some of these wild tales even have me in the role of an assassin, striking down a high priestess with a poisoned dagger. Is it even remotely plausible to anyone in command of their reason that I, a master of magical energies, would stoop to kill with a dagger?! But then such falsehoods are not disseminated primarily as an attack on my person but rather to create doubt in the minds of the citizens of Sshamath about the leadership of their city. Make no mistake, the servants of the Spider Queen would see us all slaves to the whims of matrons who are in turn beholden to their capricious goddess. One need only visit cities like Mezoberranzan and Ched Nasad to see what is in store for this city should the temple of Lolth succeed in restoring matriarchal rule to Sshamath. Valued segments of our society such as the duergar artificers of the Darkspires would become little more than chattel, followers of Vhaeraun would be persecuted as heretics, arcane practitioners would be returned to servitude under matron mothers, and all forced to tithe to the temple. Are we to surrender the rule of law and instead have Handmaidens dispensing their arbitrary 'justice' based on dogma?! I say, no! And yet, we must tread carefully, the temple of Lolth has emerged with renewed vigor with many new adherents flocking to it for 'salvation' in the aftermath of war. The city needs time to heal, it is an ill time for renewed divisions and discord among the populace. Allow the Lolthites a bit of rabble-rousing but be watchful for their schemes and viles and defang them when it becomes necessary. Over the last three centuries Sshamath has become the greatest city of the Underdark. (I say this without any disrespect to those citizens who do not share our blood.) Our wealth is not merely measured in gold and trinkets. Our achievements in mastering the Weave and in unraveling the mysteries of the world we inhabit stand unparalleled in the lands without sun. This thriving metropolis, which we all now call home, is uniquely progressive and eminently worth protecting. I ask that you bear this in mind as we forge ahead to create a better tomorrow for ourselves.

Regards,

Guilhem, Master of the Crooked Tower

[Aelcar]

*As he reads the missive, he nods slowly* del'heen ... I have traveled far, visited those cities and more ... I cannot but agree. I did not come here just to see this place reduced to the state of the others I had to leave in disgust. This ends now, one way or another ... *He walks away, disappearing at the edge of the last circle of faint red light produced by a magical lamp*

[Storm Munin]

Lilith nodded and smiled as she watched Velvelin crumble the copied leaflet and feed it to the flames of a nearby torch.

"Well, it seems the frail mage have finally mustered the courage to stir in his bed.
Lets hope he encourages a young fool or two to do something stupid before caution make them wisen up. Mark my words dear, this could be profitable and amusing to boot."

Leisurely the pair of blackguards made their way through the revitalized bazaar towards the temple grounds. Perhaps the Ulath'alar might give them something devious to do, Lilith mused as she playfully twirled a handfull of his hair around the fingers of her left hand.

[Winddancer]

after reading the missive she stares at it for a moment longer

Oh this brings back memories indeed... Almost faded from my mind...but still there...

Her hand goes almost instinctively towards her belt, touching the ceremonial dagger with the red ruby spider.

I wonder how this will play out...

She grins pulling up her hood and wanders off in the shadows

[Kenshin]

The structure known as the Crooked Tower, one of Sshamath's many arcane spires, rises next to an artful villa and a cluster of ruins that once served as home base to House Shaizar. Ardent followers of Lolth, the Shaizar fought desperately to the bitter end of the short civil war that saw the fall of matriarchal rule in Sshamath over 250 years before. The sprawling compound had to be taken by siege and was thus subjected to heavy bombardment before finally being overrun by the attackers. It lay in ruins for over a century after the war until it was purchased by an Imaskari consortium. The Imaskari planned to redevelop the area as an enclave for their people but gave up halfway through the construction when it was discovered that the porphyritic granite that served as both building material and foundation for the project had strong anti-magical properties. Subsequently, the abandoned site featured a half built tower that was considered as something of a monument to the folly of foreigners by the citizens of Sshamath for another 100 years. It was a year after the arrival in the city of the mage, Guilhem, that construction recommenced on the spire. He had, after making discreet inquiries, purchased the land from the Imaskari trade guild and after some months of consultations with a number of master craftsmen, duergar and svirfneblin work crews were hired to finish the tower. In addition to using the plentiful granite columns and blocks from the neighboring ruins, new materials were also brought in and incorporated at significant expense into the existing structure as well as the upper floors. Additionally a comfortable villa was built near the spire and the two structures were surrounded by a low wall that, at the time, seemed more decorative than functional. Only the passing of years revealed that, in fact, the building had not been, and likely never would be, finished. Through means both mundane and arcane crystalline forms incorporated into the various building materials were "encouraged" to grow. While the growth of the crystal incorporated into the villa and the walls was actively shaped and trimmed, the crystal on the outer walls of the tower was seemingly allowed to grow organically. In time the spire lost its elegant and slender appearance and, from a distance resembled nothing so much as a gnarled finger pointed toward the roof of the great cavern.