Icefall and Nalyr turned their attention to the tower after surveying the forest. The tower was quite tall and appeared to have been built out of a dark, almost obsidian-like stone. The tower had seen better days however, as bits had fallen from above and the stones were chipped. Telling from the large fragments of stone around the tower, it had apparently once been part of a larger keep, most likely a watchtower and a small fortress. A sense of ancient and strong energy encompassed the entire hill as various vines and kudzu covered the stone remains.
        Circling around the tower and climbing over the remains of a few of the fortress walls, Icefall soon came to a door made of solid oak set into the frame of the tower. The star mage gently touched the door, uncertain of its stability, but the door held firm. Carefully she turned the metal handle, which was oddly warm to the touch as she opened the door. Nalyr gave a few anxious hoots, wanting to know as much about this strange place as Icefall did.
        Inside the doorway, the two saw a long staircase spiraling up high into the tower. The stairs were made of the same black stone as the tower, but had been inset with carved oak on each step. Icefall cautiously created a mage light to follow her as she entered the tower and moved to examine the first step.
        The carvings had been made with care and a delicate hand to read an inscription set in an ancient tongue. The star mage recognized the language as being one that she knew a little bit about and could make out that the step said something to the effect of, "To reach the stars, one must take the first step". Curious, Icefall bent to look at the second step, which also had been inset with the same ancient language and it appeared to read, "The strength to move forward is harder than the strength to move back". The star mage studied all of the steps she could see without actually stepping on them and they each in turn had a message carved into them along with various bits of ornamentation. The stair railing, which followed the spiral staircase, was also made of oak and carved to look like twining vines, similar to those actually creeping up the tower’s sides.
        Icefall went back to the first step and looked at it again as Nalyr called to her attention. The star mage listened carefully to the owl and nodded approvingly. "That’s a wonderful idea." The mage smiled at her friend as he began to fly up through the center of the tower towards the light of what looked to be an open door at the top. A few minutes later, the owl called back through the opening, letting Icefall know about the stability of the tower top.
        Gently, Icefall set her foot on the first step, intending to go up to meet Nalyr, who had confirmed the tower’s safety. The step made no sound and Icefall noticed that none of her footsteps had made any sound in the dark tower. There is more to this place than what it seems... The woman continued up the stairs, her mage light slowly following her as she examined each step’s message. She took note of the fact that this tower was probably once used quite often and yet the stairs looked brand new. Icefall could feel the air of magic around the entire place, old magic.
        At the top of the staircase, Icefall studied the doorframe, which had been decorated similarly to that of the stairs and railing. The detailed carvings were on either side of the doorframe and had different messages inscribed on them. The inside message read, "The world beyond". The star mage then stepped carefully out onto the tower top and turned to read the ancient inscription on the other side, "May the stars guide you." Icefall doused her mage light and then turned to look out at the view from the tower top. Her breath was taken away by the sight.
        The view from this point was incredible. The star mage could see out past the tall trees of the forest in all directions, not realizing that they were up so high. Icefall couldn’t remember seeing the tower from outside of the forest, but then thought about all of the protections on the place and determined that it had been obscured in magic. The hills stretched out in all directions for miles on end without any farms or villages to be seen.
        Icefall then looked up to see a perfect view of the clear night sky. The stars looked so close and bright as if she could actually touch them. Directly above the tower stood the Northern Star, shining proudly. This is so beautiful. Whoever had built all this knew what they were doing. This would be a perfect spot to take up to study the heavens. Is this why the stars led me here? The Northern Star sparkled brightly as if responding to the mage’s private question.
        "Well Nalyr, this is definitely an area to study. It could take a while, but I think we can fix this place up. What do you say?"
        The owl hooted happily, reflecting Icefall’s positive feelings as well. The star mage sat down on the floor and lay back to gaze up at the beautiful stars before ultimately falling asleep.

************

<---