Black Tower 3

Black Tower 3 is located at the top of the Black Tower in The Wizard in the Tower mission map, after Black Tower 2.
==Enemies==
*Infernal Warrior (560 Gold, 64 XP, 40 Energy, 8 HP Normal, 9 HP Hard, 10 HP NM)
*Gluttony Demon (700 Gold, 80 XP, 50 Energy, 8 HP Normal, 9 HP Hard, 10 HP NM)
*Soulstealer (770 Gold, 88 XP, 55 Energy, 9 HP Normal, 10 HP Hard, 11 HP NM)
*Loquax Demon (840 Gold, 96 XP, 60 Energy, 10 HP Normal, 11 HP Hard, 12 HP NM)
*Faustus (2600 Gold, 208 XP, 130 Energy, 1 HP All) *Locked until all others are defeated*
==Transcript==
===Initial===
No further attackers await you on the stairs, and you make your way up the remainder of the tower's height unmolested. Perhaps the wizard's forces are depleted, you muse, or else he now understands the folly of throwing them at you piecemeal -- and intends to have all his remaining demons attack you at once.
As you approach the final landing, and hear the myriad grunts, growls, and hisses of demonkind up ahead, you realize that the latter is the case.
With one final glace around you to make sure your compaions are prepared, and the words of a protective spell hovering on your lips, you ascend to face your foes.
You emerge at the edge of another large hall, this one encompassing the entire length and breadth of the tower. At the far end, flanked on either side by a horde of fiends, is a throne. Upon it sits a man in elaborate robes, an ornate headpiece on his brow.
"Adventurer," he says, his voice surprising you with its softness, "you've-"
His voice breaks off, and his eyes widen in evident shock.
"You!" he gasps.
"Yes," Brachus says. "I've come for my vengeance. I-"
"No! Not you, wretched fiend..." The wizard points a pale finger towards you. "That crest... You're a Kasan! A descendant of the Dragon-Rider!"
There's a sharp intake of breath at your side, from Hugh or Brachus -- perhaps both. It's the first they've heard of your ancestry, and even in the midst of this confrontation you manage an inward smile. They didn't realize what illustrious company they were keeping.
"His descendant..." the wizard says. There's a strange lilt in his voice, expressive of an emotion you can't quite fathom.
"Yes, I'm a Kasan. And I've come to-"
"Do you know who I am?" he asks.
"What?"
"My name! Do you know my name? Are you here by chance, or..."
"I was told that evil lurked in this tower. That men and women had been slain trying to root it out."
"Then you don't..." The wizard sighs. "If I'd known a Kasan was in West Kruna, I would have opened my doors to you. My portals would still be intact, my demons unslain..."
"You know my family?"
The wizard's words seem to swirl around your mind, far more unsettling than any of the denomic horrors you've faced this day.
"My name is Faustus."
Now it's your turn for your eyes to widen. You can feel your companions tensing around you. That name is known to you all. Even today, when the mere utterance of the Kasan name is frowned upon by those in authority, the depiction of its crest forbidden, every man, woman, and child knows of those who were part of the Dragon-Rider's tale.
Words of denial dance on your tongue. Faustus was a human, not an elf or one of the other long-lived races. The wizard would have to be over three hundred years old... But you know full well that such things are possible. There are many ways to cheat death, countless zombies, wraiths, vampires, and other undead beings who have seen the passing of centuries.
You stare at the wizard, as he in turn stares at you. Your gaze roams his features, taking stock of each inch of his face. A portrait of Faustus hangs in the gallery of your family keep, alongside those of the Dragon-Rider and his other comrades from the days of the Drake War. The face of the man sitting before you is paler, so pale that it's almost blue. And it seems frailer, almost desiccated in its gauntness. But for all that, you know he's the same man.
"How?" The single word is all you can manage. But it's enough, your meaning clear.
"So much magic passed through my hands in those days..." Faustus' eyes seem to glaze over as he reminisces, and an azure glow flickers across them -- veiling them from your sight."So much power... The essences of mighty monsters were given to me, that I might work my sorcery upon them. Potent artifacts, eldritch treasures in troves unseen for centuries came into my possession whenever the Dragon-Rider needed me to enchant his weapons, or fashion some new device with which he might battle the drakes.
"And each time, I would keep a sliver of the power for myself. Just a sliver... For I had to be strong, and become stronger still. The Dragon-Rider needed me. The kingdom needed me. Against enemies as powerful as the dragons, we all had to do what we could. So I siphoned power from every weapon, every wonder, and drew it into my body. And with my magic, with his courage, we triumphed."
There's a moment of silence. Even the demons are silent, quelled into noiselessness by their master's words and manner. You open your mouth to speak, to say... something. But no words come. The magnitude of this meeting overwhelms you, a million thoughts do battle in your brain.
At last Faustus continues, his azure gaze distant and unfocussed -- as though looking upon the past instead of the present. And when he speaks it's as if he's addessing the universe at large, no longer even aware of your presence -- locked in a soliloquy that's been trapped inside him for lifetimes.
"The Dragon-Rider was content to live out his days, and go to the grave when the time came. But I pleaded with him to reconsider. The kingdom had survived the wyrms, but what other horrors might the future hold? With all that we'd seen, we knew full well that countless dangers lurked in the shadows. West Kruna needed us. We had to protect her.
"I had learned how to extend my life with the magic I absorbed, to live on long after my years should have claimed me. I offered to share the secret with him, that the kingdom might always have its greatest hero. I would gladly have surrendered my own immortality in exchange for his. For then I could have perished knowing that the kingdom was in safe hands. But he refused.
"Others tried as well. There were many who couldn't bear to see the Dragon-Rider pass from this world. Mina von Richten, the vampiress, begged him to accept her bite, to become one of her kind. But she too was refused, her beauty and charm as useless as my arguments and entreaties.
"With the Dragon-Rider gone, I knew that I had to endure. I had to live, to grow even more powerful, so that I could be ready for what might come."
"This tower," you say, finding your voice at last. "Why take it, and being Brachus' demons here to plague the land?
The azure glow fades from his eyes, and he focuses on you once more.
"Months ago, an enemy sought me out -- a young mage who discovered that I still lived, and wished to make my power his own. I defeated him, slew him, but he left me near death. To think... A wizard less than a tenth of my age had almost killed me. Almost undone everything I had worked for. I had to ensure that I remained safe, that nothing could harm me until it was time to emerge and play my part. That's why I opened a portal to that demon prince's realm, and took his minions to be my thralls. With their energies I could secure this tower, and bide my time in its sanctuary."
"The demons you brought here killed innocent people," you say.
"I wished no harm to the villages and townspeople. Once I learned what had happened, I erected a powerful ward -- one which would make them tremble, and keep them away. But then they sent adventurers, men and women who wouldn't be dissuaded by such measures. I had no choice but to slay them, before they could plunder my tower and attack me. I couldn't risk my life, not when I knew that the time was so near at hand."
"Near at hand?"
"Don't you see?" He rises from his throne, and his eyes blaze with blue energy. "You know what King Crenus is doing. Building his armies, hardening his subjects, filling his coffers with gold, amassing iron, grain, and everything else a nation needs to wage war. He believes something is coming -- a threat too great for a soft and unprepared to survive.
"And when it comes, we'll be there. We'll defend West Kruna side by side, as I did with your ancestor. Whatever enemies arise, we'll destroy them together. That must be why the fates brought the two of us together."
There's such a force, such intensity in his words that you're almost persuaded in spite of yourself. But you thrust such foolishness aside. The man is insane, his mind and spirit broken by arcane forces and a toll of years no human should have endured. He consorted with demons, and brought a horde of fiends to West Kruna. He ordered the deaths of innocents. Justice must be done.
All this flashes across your mind in an instant, but Faustus seems to understand your decision. He cries out, more in anguish than in anger, and his minions attack.
===On Completion===
[New Brawl boss unlocked!]
It's only as you stand above the wizard, see the crimson spreading across his torn robes, that you appreciate the enormity of what you've done. Faustus... One of the Dragon-Rider's companions. A legend, a hero like your ancestor. Now he's bleeding his life out upon the stone floor, mortally wounded by your hand.
His eyes meet yours. The azure light is now gone from them, replaced by piercing clarity. His limp hand makes a feeble yet frantic gesture, beckoning you. And so you crouch by his side, willing to offer him whatever comfort you can as he slips away.
He mutters something, the words stolem by the weakness of his rasping breath. His eyes flash a silent plea, and you lean in closer, bringing your ear nearer to his mouth.
"The threat..." he murmurs. "It's here."
His hand grasps your jerkin with a sudden burst of strength clutching hold of it, pulling you towards him.
"It's... here!" he hisses.
This his hand falls away, and his head lolls to the side.
*
The flames atop the pyre burn blue, and green, and purple, and red... Dancing tongues in dozens of shades and hues. Such eldritch energy lay within Faustus' body that it's enchanted the very flames which consume it.
Soon he will be ash, and his secrets will be forever hidden. No one need ever know that a hero from the Drake War, one of your ancestor's friends, was twisted and corrupted by his arcane avarice. Let the kingdom remember him as he once was instead, and believe that some anonymous demonist was slain in the Black Tower.
Tessa clasps your shoulder, then moves away -- going to where the others are tending their wounds, eating and drinking to replenish their exhausted bodies.
For a long moment you're alone at the foot of the tower, watching the colorful fire. Then someone appears beside you.
"So you're a Kasan," Hugh says. "I knew that picture on your shield reminded me of something. Never seen it before though. Man can get flogged for just drawing it."
"A descendant of the Dragon-Rider," says Brachus. "A human whose name and deeds are known even among my people. It's high blood that flows in your veins."
"You've come here to knock Crenus off the throne, haven't you?" asks Hugh.
"That's not something you should speak of too freely," you reply.
"Course not. But I want to help."
You turn to him, that pronouncement managing to win your attention from the magical flames devouring Faustus' remains.
"I know you've had your problems with Crenus' men, but-"
"Sod my problems. That bastard is ruining the kingdom, treating his own people like dirt. If you're against him, I'm with you."
"Thank you. But we don't really need a cook. And you... Well, you're not much of a fighter."
"I believe we may be more useful to you now," Brachus replies.
He clicks his fingers, and a spark of magical energy flashes forth.
"You said he didn't have any magic in his body."
"He didn't I had to... Take certain measures."
"Promise you won't get mad?" Hugh asks.
"What did you do?" you ask, advancing on him.
"I... We... You tell him!"
"While you were gathering wood," Brachus says, "we ate one of Faustus' kidneys."
You grab hold of his tunic, and yank him towards you.
"You ate his kidney?"
"It was his bloody idea!" Hugh wails. "Said it would make it so we could help you!"
"There's no need for violence," Brachus says. "What good is a kidney to a dead man? It would just be another pinch of ash on his pyre."
You sigh, and release him. Hugh gasps in relief.
"There was enough power in the organ to rekindle some of my own energies," Brachus continues. "I can now work spells in this body. Allow us to accompany you, and we shall use it to aid you in battle."
"What's in this for you, demon? Hugh may despise Crenus, but our politics are no concern of yours."
"What else is there for me? My minions are slaughtered, my palace overrun. Nothing but death awaits me in my own realm."
For several seconds there's no sound other than the crackling of flames.
"A good cook's more useful than you might think," Hugh says "Can't fight your best without decent food in your belly."
Some minutes later, when the pyre has finished its work, you leave the Black Tower behind. Tessa Tullian walks at your side. And so do a man and a demon, alternately babbling from the same mouth.
Category:The Wizard in the Tower