The Black Tower
A slender, windowless needle of seamless black obsidian rising fifty feet above the petrified canopy. The surface of the stone is polished to a mirror finish, reflecting the gray sky of the Dead Forest with eerie clarity. It radiates a constant, humming chill that prevents frost from forming on its surface despite the freezing local climate.
The Black Tower
Oppressive and unnaturally still. The silence within the tower is heavy, broken only by the rhythmic scraping of bone on stone or the low thrum of magical energy vibrating through the floorboards.
A slender, windowless needle of seamless black obsidian rising fifty feet above the petrified canopy. The surface of the stone is polished to a mirror finish, reflecting the gray sky of the Dead Forest with eerie clarity. It radiates a constant, humming chill that prevents frost from forming on its surface despite the freezing local climate.
Arast is intellectually arrogant and possesses a cold, detached patience. He views the surrounding elven kingdoms not as enemies, but as a harvest that is not yet ripe for gathering.
History
Necromantic Security Systems
The tower is protected by a permanent Hallow effect that prevents celestial beings from entering. Additionally, any living creature that attempts to cast a spell of third level or higher must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or take 3d6 psychic damage as the tower's obsidian walls bleed away their mental focus.
The Scrying Array
Located on the uppermost floor, this chamber houses the Soul Lens. The floor is inscribed with a map of the Ithilian Forest. When Arast manipulates the lens, tiny pinpoints of light appear on the map, representing the exact locations of elven border patrols and scouting parties.
The Vessel of Stored Souls
A central column of translucent glass runs through the heart of the tower. Within it, hundreds of faint, blue wisps swirl in a perpetual vortex. This reservoir provides the raw magical energy required to animate the forest's skeletal legions and serves as a secondary fuel source for Arast's dark rituals.
Denizens
Arast is intellectually arrogant and possesses a cold, detached patience. He views the surrounding elven kingdoms not as enemies, but as a harvest that is not yet ripe for gathering.
A scarred hobgoblin veteran who manages the tower's living goblinoid garrison. He is fiercely loyal and the only living soul permitted to sleep within the tower walls.
An eyeless wraith bound to a desk in the lower levels. It spends eternity recording the names and origins of every creature that dies within the forest boundaries.
Rumors & Plot Hooks
- 1.The tower is actually the hilt of a colossal buried sword that belonged to an ancient god of death.
- 2.Arast keeps the soul of an elven princess trapped in a mirror on the third floor to use as leverage against the southern kingdoms.
- 3.Drinking the black water from the tower's cistern allows a person to see through the eyes of the undead for a single hour.
Classified Entry
The tower's foundation is anchored into a fragment of the Sun-Glass, the very artifact that caused the three-hundred-year-old cataclysm. If the fragment is shattered, the tower will collapse and the necrotic fog choking the forest will begin to dissipate, though the release of energy would likely kill everyone inside.
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