20 - 06/09/2025 : The Mystery Cube

As the Book Club prepared to enter the Mage Cube, Soul clarified their objective. Their only required tasks were to steal the materials for the legend lore spell that Allomir kept a stock of and to steal his Scroll of Secrets to put into Soul's custody. Snow asked if Soul was alright with Allomir dying, which Soul clarified would be fine, as the wizard had long gone mad and would be dangerous if he ever left his self-imposed captivity. As a means of added protection, Soul gave Ezri a pair Reflective Lenses, enchanted sunglasses capable of casting Counterspell.   As the students entered the mage cube, they were immediately accosted by a magen, a construct servant made of magic. Once the welcoming party was dealt with, the party began exploring cube. They first found a lounge, which had enchanted wine that had long been left out, leaving the room filled with noxious fumes that left Adeline and Snow poisoned for a time, while the quarter-dwarven Ezri was able to withstand the vapors easily. Continuing on despite their discomfort, the Book Club encountered a room of jail cells, which were likewise guarded by magen. Once the wardens were dealt with, the party parlayed with some of Allomir's prisoners. The first was a centaur who had mistaken the group as a rescue party from her court. While at first Ezri assumed she was speaking to her, it turned out to be Adeline she had mistaken for one of her kinsmen. When questioned about her Court, the centaur was reticent to share the details with outsiders, but agreed to tell the party if they freed her from her captivity. In another cell, the mages met an imp who likewise made a deal with the party, promising his services in espionage in exchange for freedom.   With their deals made, the party continued on their way to the library. While there were many books in this hall, few were of significant note, aside from several tomes color coded to the different schools of magic that were held behind rune-protected glass. Snow attempted to open this casing and see what kind of protections it had, setting off a Glyph of Warding that electrocuted the whole party, including unsummoning Eo Nee. Ezri quickly recalled her familiar, who was quite upset with Snow for this slight, and the party decided to come back for the books later. Further in the cube, the group found a wine cellar guarded by two magen, who once again engaged the intruders. These guards managed to bring significant harm to the party, who took the opportunity to rest in the wine cellar, with Ezri and Eo helping themselves to some of Allomir's stock.   Continuing on their investigation, the Book Club's progress was blocked by a locked door. Not one to let locks stop her, Snow broke down the door, allowing her and her companions into Allomir's private quarters. However, they found the room guarded by a Vrock who was immediately summoned to attack them. While the demon was intimidating, the party's skills in defense and offense proved to overcome their adversary. The trio began searching the wizard's room for useful treasure, especially something to put in the chest for the Cloud Giant that had imposed a quest upon them on the way to Soul's Tower. During their search, the master of the cube returned to his quarters, alerted that intruders had entered. He immediately attempted to dispose of the party himself, but with the training they had gained from the Academy and with Soul's glasses protecting them from a party-wide Cone of Cold, the younger mages triumphed once more.   With the master of the mage cube defeated, the party had free reign to explore, especially after claiming Allomir's medallion, which acted as his master key to the structure. First returning to the jail, the students happened upon a prisoner they had missed before, one of Allomir's apprentices, a young man named Avron who had been imprisoned in the height of his master's descent into madness, for the sole crime of having a relationship with the apprentice of one of Allomir's rivals. Having been imprisoned for some time, he longed only to return to his family farm and live a simple, quiet life. After freeing him, the party freed the imp, and with Adeline's suggestion, Ezri had him spy on Deumion for her. Freeing the centaur next, they learned that the Court that may have ties to Adeline was known as the Court of Stars. The group also found a final captive, a Hezrou kept in a special cell, which they decided to leave be and not take their chances fighting.   Finally, with a tip from Avron, the party returned to the lounge, where they found two secret passages, each connecting to teleportation circles, but one of which was only an exit. With Snow holding the master's amulet, she led the way through the gauntlet of wizardly traps which posed no threat to her. At the end of it, they found the wizards prized scroll. Taking their treasure, along with the arcane components they came for and a demon's skull to send to the Cloud Giant, the students finally returned to Soul's Tower, leaving the Mage Cube abandoned forevermore.