Waterdeep had many magnificent buildings worth boasting about, but few places stood at the heart of as many legends as Blackstaff Tower.
As the residence of the archmage Khelben Orosan, the tower frequently received visiting nobles and renowned explorers. People from all over Faerûn constantly came to seek Khelben's advice on politics and magic, so Blackstaff Tower had neither doors nor windows.
That way, aspiring mages seeking an apprenticeship and bored young adventurers would see the tower's featureless exterior and give up. After a few cups of mead, however, Khelben would happily admit that he concealed the entrances simply because he enjoyed the air of mystery.
As the warm light of dawn reddened the horizon, events unfolding atop the tower's dome would give rise to new legends and rumors. A powerful spell far beyond the abilities of Khelben and most mortal mages concealed the strange flashes and loudly chanted incantations.
The powerful, intricate magic Khelben had placed on the tower utterly failed to detect this dangerous intruder. The unsuspecting archmage was still tallying the spoils of war on the Moonsea front.
Even if Khelben had dispelled the magic and happened to discover the mysterious intruder, he would not have believed his eyes.
Mask, the God of Thieves.
Mask was alone, drawing arcane runes on four wyvern skulls.
Once the work was done, the God of Thieves placed the vicious-looking skulls in the center of a compass carefully inscribed on the ground, aligning them with the four cardinal directions. He checked the three thick candles arranged in a semicircle once more. Good. They were still burning, and still faced the trapdoor that opened outward from within.
He picked up a small vial of spider blood and began drawing an ancient rune. Legend held that it had existed long before the mythical