The second floor for the magical Tower of Erlathan, something that I'm just making up as I go I suppose. This floor has a puzzle on it that would need to be completed to move on to the next room. It is relatively simple, explanation and answer are at the bottom of the description.
Upon stepping through the archway, you immediately notice a short pedestal in front of you. It is surrounded by four vine-draped pillars and arches, with potted plants placed around the pillars. The pedestal seems to emanate a soft glow, lighting up the center of the room, and some kind of magic circle drawn around it on the floor.
The room itself seems to be the exact same size as the first floor, only with a much lower ceiling, perhaps thirty feet high. The walls are adorned with pots for more plants and lanterns on all sides of the room, and two small wall mounts holding objects on them.
On both your left and right are desks with objects on them and fine elven style chairs in front of them. On the opposite side of the room are two identical statues of robed figures holding staffs, with a slightly larger statue holding a book in an alcove embedded in the wall.
If you look behind you, you notice that similar to the first floor, the arch doesn't connect to the wall.; and that looking through it from behind just shows the room you're in as is, but looking at it from the side you came out reveals the steps down to the first floor.
Upon inspecting parts of the room:
- The pedestal seems to have a slot in it.
- The desk on the left has what looks to be a lever that would fit in that slot, along with a crystal that appears to be an arcane focus, a map of an unknown land, and a blank scroll.
- The two wall mounts immediately left of the entrance to the room have a small bell-shaped tool that looks to be used for snuffing out the lanterns and some short sticks that seem to burn endlessly at one end.
- The desk on the right has a quill and inkwell along with a scroll. Written on the scroll is:
I went out shopping today. First I stopped at the fish market and made sure to get two fresh fish for dinner for three silver pieces. Afterward I manage to get a fresh loaf of bread at the bakery for just a single silver piece. My last stop was the alchemist's shop, where I bought three crystal vials for two silver pieces.
The Puzzle
The puzzle has to do with both the lever, the lantern, and the scroll.
- If a player simply inserts the lever in the pedestal and pulls it, the magic circle will activate and zap them, dealing 2d8 lightning damage.
- The players must light and put out the appropriate lanterns before pulling the levels. The answer to the lantern order is hinted at in the scroll.
- Reading the scroll indicates that the writer bought something, paid, bought, paid, bought, paid.
- Starting at the lantern closest to the wall mounts near the entrance and moving clockwise, the players must light two lanterns for the fresh fish, put out three for the cost, light one for the bread, put out one for the cost, light three for the vials, and put out two for the cost.
- After lighting the correct lanterns, pulling the level would cause another set of stairs with an archway at the top to ascend out of the floor between the statues, looking similar to the stairway on the first floor.
You can consider rewriting the note to make it easier and more evident which lanterns would be lit and which would be put out, using days and nights or maybe angels and demons or some other concepts of light and dark.
