Krumar mouth agape that the suits of armor listened snaps to and begins to walk down the hall away from the big thing coming to eat him

Dab steps through the door, then flattens himself against the wall and white-knuckles his halberd while watching the hall.  As soon as everyone is in, he'll make it a point to close the door...

Krumar watches Dabbert hide and follows suit doing his best not to make any noise. He finds a corner in the room where he can't be seen by the hallway and stays put.  

If Syl notices the armor react to his command, he doesn't show any sign.  He is too busy hiding the narrow hall with the others. 

In his mind's eye, he pictures a huge, carnivorous potted plant pursuing them, dragging itself along inside of its pot.  He shudders.

     The party rushes through the south door, slamming it shut behind them even as they hurry down the hallway to the east door.  They find this door unlocked and quickly move through it as well hoping the two closed doors will offer some protection against whatever large roaring thing they had heard coming towards them.  Even as this second door slams they hear another roar echoing through the stone chambers and in that roar they almost hear one desperate word...  Wait.  But no, they each think that must have just been their imagination.  Right?

     This newest room is also very hallway like but perhaps a bit wider.  And different than the previous portions of this floor of The Tower.  This room is still made of the same large, heavy stonework.  It is still illuminated from unknown sources.  But this is the first room that is... decorated.  Not counting the stereotypical vague message scrawled on the wall of the very first room on this level.  This room the party now finds themselves in has tapestries on the walls which seem to depict various battle scenes (DC12 History check and you'll recognize them as scenes of High King Vaire's taming of the country and bringing it under unified rule) a nice, thick, red carpet running down the center of it to the far wall and against that far wall a chair.  Or, more precisely, a throne.

     It's not very far from one end of the chamber to another, perhaps fifty feet or so, but the far end seems a bit hazy, perhaps?  You can see the throne but it's not until you... or you or you or someone amongst you... take a few steps forward before you hear a voice from the far end call over "It's alright now, no harm will come through that door.  You may approach in peace," and then after a blinking of your eyes or two it is easier to make out that at the far end of the room, sitting comfortably upon the throne, is High King Vaire.

     "Come, come," he summons and waves a beckoning hand lazily.  Each step confirms to your eyes that it is indeed the High King but... Perhaps not live and in person?

     You have all known of the High King because he has ruled Vaire forever, seemingly.  You have heard tales, seen pictures in books or paintings or even perhaps tapestries before.  You all saw him in person just yesterday at the feast.  And now, there upon the throne, he is again...  But is he?  For there is a fog about him and he is just a wee bit translucent.  Definitely more so than... well, more so than people be.

     "It is not often visitors get this far," High King Vaire says as you warily approach.  "You are to be commended.  More than you would imagine spend a few hours in the first room and give up.  All the more credit to you for solving the puzzle.  Even them many are satisfied with their rewards and scamper off without braving coming further inside.  You are brave souls indeed.."

     You are all within ten or fifteen feet of the throne now and still there is that eerie fog that seems to cling to the High King.  The throne and the carpet and the murals and all seem as normal as could be but the King has a... ghostlike appearance, perhaps?  If one were to believe in such things.  To the left of the throne, your right as you face it, there is a grand archway of stone with designs etched into each and inlaid with gold and silver.  The designs are decorative only, think celtic knotwork and such, but is the work of an artisan and very skilled.  Beyond the archway is an equally grand spiral staircase leading up.  There is a stone pedestal about ten feet in front of the arch, centered before it with similar carvings and decorations.  Atop the pedestal is an indentation... 

     "You have proven yourselves wise and brave to have made it this far and now you have a decision before you..."  The High King lets that float heavily in the air for a minute as he looks at each of you in turn with a smile and an assessing gaze.

     "You can return home, of course," he offers.  "You will find your way out is not littered with any dangers or distractions as the way in was.  You can return home and be feted as returning heroes.  You will forever be amongst the few that have entered The Tower and you will find that in itself brings advantages and opportunities.  One such opportunity is to enter my service.  I always have use for wise and skilled pioneers to tackle tasks a bit too unorthodox for Vaire's regular forces.  A group to put down and squelch the types of terrors it is best most people of our land never even know exist, yes?  A group to put the fear into the fearsome, a group of Shivers to hunt down the beasts..."  High King Vaire pauses to let that sink in and give you all a moment to consider it before he moves on.

     "Or perhaps you want a tower to call your own?" he suggests/asks with a tilt of his head.  "You still have the sapphire, I presume?  You will find, if you wish, that it fits the pedestal there quite nicely.  Merely set it in place and a portal shall open in the archway, but only for an hour or so.  Once that time is up the portal closes and you will be where you are, if you take my meaning.  What is on the other side of the portal I do not know.  Only The Tower knows.  This may be my Tower, after a fashion, but it is The Tower and it is very much it's own as well.  Yes, yes, it is confusing.  Even to me sometimes.  Suffice it to say that there are many magical towers and this one is more or less the center of them all, perhaps?  The hub?  When it gets the opportunity it will send people to other towers that are in need of...  New management, let us say.  I know very little about where the portal may take you or what the tower there may be like, I'm afraid.  I found my tower and I've never felt the need to go exploring others."

     High King Vair clears his through, straightens up a bit to a more regal pose and takes a moment to pass you all over with an appraising gaze once more.  "Finally, you could go up the stairs and see what is next," the king states is a more regal demeanor than before.

     "What is up the stairs is for you to discover yourself.  Or not.  All I will say is that things do not get easier the higher you go...  Now then, take your time, talk amongst yourselves and decide on what you do next..."  High King Vaire then leans back a bit and waits...

---

OOC Info Dump:  

Choice 1 - Go Home

     This option is the one where we will actually spend most of our time in Vaire, if not all of it.  I'll just plain be making a lot of shit up, sometimes trying to weave in your backstories and home areas perhaps, often just jumping from one shot adventure to the other.  At least early on this is likely to be very "Monster of the Week-ish" that way 'cause I'm a new DM and barely know what I am doing :)  Maybe you'll choose to work for the High King and be his Shiver team.  Maybe you'll just wander around town to town, up and down the dial. ((Bag of Holding to the first to name that reference! lol.  No, no... too easy what with google and all.  Nevermind.))

Choice 2 - Open the Portal

     This option will transport you to... do you want to know?  Somewhere.  The adventure I have chosen for this option is one of the Adventuer's League adventures.  I know very little about AL personally, never played any of them or anything, but I believe basically they all (or at least this one?) is like the same world events of the official adventures but you are not on the Sword Coast so you're tackling them from a different angle and such?  Hell, I could be totally off base on that.  But they seem easy enough to run and could be fun and if you go through the portal that is what we will do...  I'll adjust some things but it'll largely be the adventure as written with me bringing in stuff from your backstories or Vaire where I think they can fit and such.  Previously it sounded like some of you like idea of not knowing what is next so I won't reveal which adventure this is unless you all want to know.  You'll just be stepping in and eventually figuring it out (perhaps) by events.

Choice 3 - Climb Higher

     This option is mostly a redo of level 2 of The Tower with me adopting a new theme for the level, making a few new random rooms and finding a new adventure to tempt you with.  You will, of course, eventually find the stairs again and ((SPOILER ALERT)) a new version of High King Vaire will be there to make a very similar offer to you - Go Home, Take the Portal or Climb Higher.  There IS a top of The Tower and something different at the top... if you choose to go that route.  How many levels first?  Not telling.  Is it worth it?  Who knows.  I don't think it's any more or less worth it than any other choice so...  Choose :)  Mainly I just want to assure you that it is not an endless climb...

SOOOOOOOO.....  

     Talk amongst yourselves.  In Character or Out Of, here or on Discord, whatevs...  Decide what you all want to do.  If you have questions for me or the king, feel free to ask.  You may or may not get answers.  I may or may not know answers.  We can find out together.

     In the meantime... Level your asses up to Level 2 (Oh, hey!  You completed level 2 of The Tower and advancing to level 2!  Ha, I hadn't thought about that...)  Also remind me if you are actually wearing your ring or not.  If so you are getting attuned to it (or finding out what it does if attunement not needed) so let me know so I can tell you.  If you are not wearing it, or don't have one, then remind me that too?  ((Actually it is Dabbert with no ring, Syl with 2...))

And it's late, I'm tired and probably forgetting something but...  If so I am sure we'll figure it out and make some stuff up to cover for it :)

Dabbert squints as he examines High King Vaire, and listens intently as the High King lays out their options.  Some are more plain the others, and the warrior has a little trouble deciphering some of the High King's meaning, but he thinks he understands it well enough.  He shifts from foot to foot, his eyes dancing from the King to Nefire to Krumar, Syl and Raevyn, then Jaylan.  He inhales, holds it, exhales slowly and looks at his feet.  

"I uh..."  He says, taking his sweet time with his words.  "I don't know about this portal thing.  I can't leave my folks behind like that.  And Rebecca has taken a bit of a shine to me.  We can go home if you all want.  Or go higher.  I don't know if I'm ready to go somewhere else, though.  

Your Majesty..."  He says then, addressing the High King.  "If we go to uh...'there'...do we ever come back?  Do you even know?"  

Jaylan plays in his mind with the idea of going elsewhere... that would end the pursuit of his enemies... but now... he cannot leave without clearing his name. He waits for the King's answer before giving his opinion. 

     “If you take the portal?” High King Vaire asks.  “It has happened.  Not often.  Honestly though, few go through the portal.  I think most people of our country are pretty happy with it, yes?  It’s not trouble free but I keep it far less troubled than the rest of the world…”

     “Most who enter The Tower do not make it through the first room.  Of those that solve the puzzle, most take their rewards and return.  So few have even had the choice to go through the portal.  I think perhaps a dozen or so have ever made that choice. I know of three who returned.  They were from the same group and returned on the same ship.  I could give you their names if you wish but I’m afraid you would need leave to track them down and thus your choice would be made…”

Raevyn was more confused than ever, and was piling up more questions than answers. She couldn't help but wonder why the big hoopla for a lottery to have adventurers chosen to participate in a tradition and come to the tower just to just be given the option to leave at every crossroad? Of course it's always an internal choice but... Unpursing her lips, Rae reaches into her pocket to pull something out. She looks down to the golden object now held in the palm of her hand. Was the ring essentially just a participation trophy? She blinks. Was everything they just experienced a figment of their imagination, like a vision or a dream, where they'd wake up in bed if they chose to go home? Feted as heroes? Enter his service? A group of Shivers? A network of towers? The doctor's mind raced, trying to make sense of things.

However in the end, there was a decision all the same. Raevyn would have to ground herself back to the basics. On one side, she can be a healing hand of hope, the other, a shepherd of death. She is a Plague Doctor. Raevyn will go where she is needed and provided a purpose. Thus she remains still and silent at this time, listening to the information provided, and for the other's choices.

Krumar coughs and speaks up "Portal to my own tower....Where I would be the ruler? As tempting as that sounds, I'm not sure how that would work out. I am not really the ruler type but I can play you a fine ditty. I am all for leaving and being a hero." Krumar fiddles with the ring on his finger that he found earlier.  

Syl scratches his head.  

"So, you say a crew left through a portal, then later on came back on a sailing ship?  Implying then that this portal opens up to another land, across the sea somewheres?"  Syl's brow furrows.  "Where exactly are these lands?  I've been out for three winters at a time, crossing the frigid north and the chasing the sunset.  Never come across no foreign lands."

"That said... do these towers come hand in hand with kingship?  Or is there some other tower king there already, such as they might need to be deposed or otherwise extirpated from said towers?"

"And speaking of kings... are you the real High King?  Or are you some sort of... conjured... imaginary... alliterative representation of the proper High King?  Also, how many fingers am I holding up?"  Syl puts his hand behind is back with two fingers up.

Also, in post 133, Syl put on both his ring and the one he borrowed from Dabbert.

     The High King chuckles at the insolence of Syl and waves off his final question.  "This is me, but not all of me," he explains.  "I do not mean to be evasive but it is difficult to explain.  It is as if a part of me always resides here.  A small part.  The rest of me is aware of it and it is aware of the rest of me but the whole me is largely unaware of this part until it needs to be."

     "Confusing, yes?" Vaire asks with amusement.  "The way I myself understand it is by likening it to your peripheral vision.  You know, the very edges of what you see.  Your focus is not there, nor does it need to be.  Yet you can still react to some pretty small movements you barely see, yes?  So, in many aspects, this..." He pauses and uses his hands to indicate his more or less spectral body.  "This is a visible manifestation of my brain's peripheral vision..."

     "As for your fingers... I am not omniscient.  I am also not here to play childish games..." There is some sharpness in his tone at this, but it quickly fades.

     "I am no mapmaker nor have I explored beyond the shores of our own islands," King Vaire answers kindly enough as he shifts upon his throne.  "I've not even stepped foot upon the Tri-Isles or the Abandoned Island.  Those that returned have claimed nowhere in the world is sailing from one land to another as precarious as it is here and once returned they never set sail again, to my knowledge."

     "I'm afraid I also do not know all about the towers.  Even my own here has mysteries it keeps from me," he answers with a bit of a grin.  "I believe it is safe to say that each tower could use better custodians.  And yes, likely as not the current tenants will be reluctant to vacate.  Ownership does have it's privileges, as they say, but burdens as well.  What these are would depend on the tower, I would think.  I suspect no two are alike..."

((Syl's rings added to his character sheet...))

"Speaking of this Tower of yours sire..." says Jaylan " What was that thing that were chasing us? I do think that the Tower is getting to me but I would have swore that he was calling to us for wait for it... Also... the Skeletons? what's about that? and... kitten skeletons? I mean no disrespect Sire but... your Tower is a little bit insane... "

((OOC: Jaylan has his ring aorund his finger since they got it if I remember correctly )) 

     The king laughs and leans forward a bit.  "Jaylan, correct?  I am sorry....  As I said, I am not omniscient.  Even about the ways of The Tower.  I no more know how many fingers Syl there had up behind his back than I know what you have seen when I was not there.  I believe The Tower tries to hint at what you may find beyond the portal but not having explored the portals myself that is only..."  The king pauses and does a bit of a double take.

     "Kitten skeletons, you say?  I am not quite sure if that is cute... or disturbing..."

     "Sorry, but yes... The Tower communicates in it's own way and I'm afraid I am not privy to it all."

((And Jaylan's ring added to his character sheet...))

Nefire stares at the High King and listens to his reasoning as to why he looks the way he does and it honestly confuses her more than anything.  So she focuses on the choices ahead instead.  

"Let's do the portal!  Let's see what is beyond.. not for another tower, but to see another world, see what else can be out there.  We all know Vaire and are comfortable here, but we're we chosen for something more?  This could be it!  And if we can make it back?  Even better!"

     The High King lifts his hands in a "there you have it" kind of gesture and smiles at Nefire, and the group.  "A brave and bold one here, I see.  You could of course split the party and choose different pathways, but I would not recommend such a course.  Not if some are going through the portal.  There is no knowing just where it takes you, friends... companions at least... would undoubtedly be very welcome company."

When the topic of their rewards from the first room comes up, Syl will pull Dabbert aside.

"Eh, one thing.  This ring?  It turns out it isn't dangerous.  Might be useful.  Mine is, plenty so.  This one that was meant to roll to you it... how do I explain this right?  It can be used to get the drop on someone if things get rough... draw quicker with a blade, that sort o' thing.  I'd be happy to keep it if you've got some pathos as regards magical thingies.  But I'll get plenty of leagues out of my own and well... this can be yours if you want it back."

He slips off the ring and holds it out to Dabbert.  He holds it back for a second... "Last chance."  Then he holds it out, pinched between two fingers, ready to drop it in Dabbert's waiting palm if he will only reach out to take it....

Back to the matter at hand, Syl raises a concern.  "The man... er, the King says the tower is giving us a hint about what lies through them portals.  If so, then the other tower is some sort of zombie casino, or maybe a sorceress with a predilication for undead kitties."

"Not that that is necessarily a problem.  But the overriding theme here, if am picking what is being laid down, is undeath."

Dabbert squints at Jaylan.  

"Wait, what?  You thought it was calling to you?"  He says about the strange sounds in the hall before they found the High King.  He then shifts his focus to what Nefire said and punctuates one word she said.  "If."  

Dabbert steps aside with Syl then and looks at the ring as the salt dog explains it to him.  He reaches out gingerly and accepts it, holding it between two fingers.  

"I uh...how do you know this, though?"  Dabbert says, eyeing the piece of jewelry.  "I do appreciate you holding on to it for me, Syl.  That is very kind.  But uh...I am always skeptical of things like this found in strange places...and there is hardly anywhere stranger than this."  

Dabbert continues to turn the ring over in his hand as the lot of them address the High King.  Finally he looks at Raevyn and is struck by a random thought as everyone talks about the skeletal cats.  

"I uh...have a confession.  That little girl was cute.  In a strange way.  But maybe I just have a soft spot."  

“Thank you Sire” replies Jaylan to the king’s words 

Then he turns to Dabbert “Not me in particular but it sounded like if was telling us to wait… and if you are right Syl, and the portal will take us to someplace full of undead, as playful and cute they might be, I’d rather stay at home and help the Kimg. Don’t get me wrong, it’s tempting to explore new lands… but not if they are full of undeads…” 

Krumar listens to the others debate what to do and nervously thinks about changing his vote...."Ok ok...so none of you want to leave the tower and be welcomed back as heroes of the tower, showered with gifts, money, maybe more? You'd rather climb the tower where the levels will undoubtedly become more dangerous and harder to escape or go into a portal that will take us to.....who the bloody hell knows?"