The stairs groan and sway a bit under your weight, but it holds. The hallway where you saw the eyes is pitch black. For those of you with darkvision, it is roughly ten feet wide and fifteen feet high. A few ancient tapestries line the walls and lay crumpled on the floor. 

The hallway curves as it continues into the darkness. Fiorello is unconscious in the atrium, Cordelia and Kyo are tending to him. What do you do?

Tony is gonna take the lead here and start trudging in. He will be moving slowly forward ready to Dodge at a moment’s notice.

Jean frowned and quickly followed Perspicacious.

(It's been a minute, huh?)

Dashing after the eyes in the darkness, the four of you (Tony, Jean, Perspicacious, and Amaruve) entered the darkened hallway expecting a fight. All but Perspicacious were caught unaware when Sagacious' spell slammed into you. The hallway liquefied for a just a moment, and suddenly you found yourselves thrust into memory.

Jean, you remembered a fight that you lost... miserably

Tony, you relived the worst night of your life

Amaruve, you experienced the old scar of your family's disappearance

And Perspiacious... Your experience was unique. (Because you passed your save-) You had a face-to-face encounter with the Archmage, the director of the Intervexus Academy.

You come back to yourselves in the hallway, all a bit more shaken than you were a moment before. After searching a bit deeper, you find no sign of Sagacious or the owner of those blank white eyes. Unwilling to leave Cordelia, Fiorello, and Kyo alone in the atrium, you decide to head back there and regroup.

(You can take time for a short rest, if need be. I highly encourage you all to figure this out via in-character talk! Remember, there are those glass informational panels surrounding the tree if you need an idea for what to do/where to begin in this dungeon!)

Tony grinds his teeth slowly as he growls into the air, “Oh. You got balls, pal. Gonna take those first...” Tony heads back into the room and slams the Loung Knuckle into the wall, punching a hole into his extravagant lounge. He walks in without a word, heads to the bar, uncorks an amber bottle of alcohol and starts chugging.

Jean silently went back to the others, her cheeks red with rage and shame.

While they are recuperating, Perspicacious speaks to the others about the vision she had. They all knew, or worked for the Archmage in some capacity. Or used to. And she figures it was their right to know.

"So.. I had a sort of vision of the past. I saw myself, walking with Sagacious at first. He was being a prick as usual. Then he left, and I saw myself in front of the Archmage. It was back when I met Vasht, when they offered me the job of Director. I remember it well. But what happened next, was not my memory. After accepting the position, I... well that is the Perspicacious in the vision, left the Archmage's office. But he... he kept talking to me... as in me watching the vision! I don't know how it was possible. In the moment, I wasn't really shocked, because I was so angry. He told me he knew about what happened to us. He may have even planned it. Some of this, maybe all of this... is because the Archmage willed it. Now he has us bouncing from world to world to correct something.. something that is failing. He called it the... the world something. World Lattice. That's it. And he said people like the Pretender, and Sagacious are viruses within it."

She pauses a moment to collect her thoughts, and let her anger, which had built up from the memory of the conversation, subside a little.

"Anyway, I don't know what options we have. Sagacious has something the Archmage called an Instrument of Order, some sort of staff or something that might helps us control the leaps. I figure we have to take Sagacious down anyway to help the children so might as well try. I don't think we can trust the Archmage anymore. But I don't know that we have any other choice now."

The tiefling settles back down in to a seating position near the center of the room, thankful to have all of that information of her chest. She absently taps at a nearby glass panel.

Amaruve shakes his head, regaining his senses... He did all he could... He returns to the party, but he doesn't want to talk about his experience.

Jean frowned. "I had a vision too. Of I time I royally screwed up thanks to being pigheaded and not getting help. Mind you, it was a literal life or death situation for me, but meh."

Tony, having drank enough liquor to stagger even him, stumbles out of the lounge... Which the DM has informed me will have consequences, so let’s see what happens.

(as to that...)

CON save, if you please, Tony

Oh goodie gum drops: 18

(Nothing sinister!)

As you exit the lounge, Tony, the alcohol in your system suddenly ceases to exist. That includes the chemicals soaking your brain. The human goblinish body isn't designed to handle a sudden neurological gearshift, and the instant sobriety hits you like a sack of wine bottles. Silver lining: you have nothing to throw up, so there's no mess to accompany this learning opportunity!

After Perspicacious completes her retelling of her experience with the Archmage, the lights on the ~6ft rectangular glass panels surrounding the tree flicker to life once again. A series of swoops and swirls move between them in subtle patterns.

"Huh..." says Cordelia. "Looks kind of like a screensaver..."

Tony buckles to a knee, “Ha! Limitless booze and no hangover! This thing is -hurk- great!” Tony makes his way over to the tree beside Cordelia, “So, if we’re done with the heart-to-heart and all that lovely junk, what’s the deal with this tree?”

Cordelia sighs from her seated position on the floor. "I really don't know. It looks to be about as old as a tree can get and still live, though. Look at the base. It obviously used to rest inside a fountain, but its roots outgrew that container a couple of millennia ago. Also-" She pauses and looks down at the inert device in her hands. "The stardust isn't functioning. It shorted out the moment we passed through the gate- I can only assume that it was yet another weapon in the eyes of this place. I would investigate our situation further, but without Dusty..." She winces and places a hand to her head, "And with this bastard still trying to mess with my head, I don't know how useful I'm going to be here."

Kyo walks over to Cordelia and places a comforting paw on her shoulder. He shakes his head (causing his floppy hood to fall over his eyes) and says, "I have more bad news: I've been trying to call Vasht for a little guidance, but he isn't answering. Either we're in a blind spot like that city in the boiling seas, or my connection to him is a 'weapon' to this place, too."

(JC- the stardust is a device that Cordelia has carried since the beginning. It works a little like "Ziggy" in Quantum Leap, informing the group of their likelihood of success in each new world)

The glass panels begin to cycle gracefully through images of a new, pristine version of the castle. One of these is the very atrium in which you currently find yourselves. Sure enough: Cordelia was right about the tree. The image shows a brightly lit and beautiful indoor courtyard with a young sapling resting in the center of a large fountain pool. 

That soft torrent of voices issues from the panels once again: "Travelers, welcome to Castle Laputa! Can we send an attendant to assist you?"

(Of course, it was very accurate in stating that Tony increased your chances by 200%)

Tony shouts back, “Yeah, why dontcha send someone, cause we’re clearly getting nowhere!” Tony still seems to be bitter about the vision.

A humanoid figure appears in the glass, then bows deeply. "Of course. We're sorry to learn that you have felt bereft in our care. Please, travelers, await an attendant."

You hear a cracking and rustling from the base of the tree. A bundle of vines stretch, then break as a ten-foot humanoid construct rips its ways from the embrace of the vegetation. It rises to a stand, then rotates its head on a swivel. A blue light appears at its brow as its vision lands upon you, then it begins to move ponderously in your direction. 

It's... a little faster than you might expect something so large to be. "It's a guardian of Laputa," breathes Fiorello. "I cannot believe my eyes."

It's about thirty feet away from your little circle. It's moving pretty quickly.