Written by Sara Cate Galasso
Standing at the base of the tower, you catch your breath, craning your neck upwards to see in the orange light of a setting sun. It’s taller than anything you’ve ever seen. Its jet black surface gleams in the waning desert light. You have crossed miles of harsh, endless terrain to be here, bested clever foes and beaten dangerous mythical monsters just to stand in this very spot. A breeze ripples through your worn travel cloak, and you think of the stones; the stones that are going to change your destiny, if you could only manage to get inside.
Pulling at the chain around your neck, you reveal the rusty skeleton key hanging from it. Clasping it in your fist, you think of all you have been through to get here, just for a chance to touch one of those stones. You feel along the side of the tower for a keyhole, the stone warm under your hands. You locate it, and carefully insert the key into the keyhole and turn. The tower rumbles. The sand around its walls shift and move, and a small tunnel reveals itself. You enter. The air is cool in the dark, a respite from the desert heat. You walk the long corridor, no sound but your own footsteps echoing against the stone, and that faint rumbling from within that never stops. After what seems like ages of brushing off spider webs and swatting away bats overhead, the narrow tunnel opens up into an enormous room.
Several stories up sit the pillars: seven marble columns, each with a single gleaming stone atop it and a large hole cut into the floor in front of them. The stones seem to gleam in the dim light, pearlescent white and ethereal, each with different golden numbers etched into their various faces. The Stones of Destiny; pick the right one to wield, and you could be granted power unlike anything you’ve known. Choose incorrectly and your life could be over in an instant. You aren’t afraid, though. You’ve lost so much already. There’s nothing left to fear.
You climb the old stone steps as quickly as your feet will take you, and stand in front of The Stone of Twenty. You’ve heard that this stone carries the most power, but can also cause the most destruction. No matter. Reaching your hand out to touch it, you hold your breath. This is it. Once you pick up this stone, one of the numbers on its face should glow, revealing whether you become unstoppably powerful or stopped dead in your tracks. Your fingers hover inches from it.
Suddenly, you feel something touch the back of your neck. In your surprise, you recoil, and fall forward onto the pillar. Your weight causes the pillar to topple to one side, onto the pillar next to it. In a domino effect, you watch in horror as each pillar and its stone tumble over and roll into the square chute on the floor to disappear. In a matter of seconds, they are all gone.
You look above you and see the bat that startled you, hovering above your head. It smiles, pointed teeth catching the faint light.
“Looks like you just rolled a nat one, mate,” it screeches, and streaks off into the darkness.
Are you as obsessed with dice—er I mean, “The Stones of Destiny” — as our unfortunate hero? Do you dream of achieving the perfect roll every time? Is your very life at stake every time you toss your precious polyhedral predictors? Then it sounds like you need the Alcove Dice Tower!
This compact dice-rolling tower holds over 40 standard-sized RPG dice, and features an injection molded core with 3 ramps to ensure random rolls, every time! Plus, it has the same footprint as the Alcove Tower, so it won’t crowd the tabletop when you are busy deciding your own destiny; whether you play board games, Pathfinder, TTRPG, D&D, Magic: The Gathering or all of the above! A strong magnetic closure and fold down dice-catching tray create the perfect storage solution, ideal for holding your entire collection of purdy number rocks. So go on, buy another set! With the Alcove Dice Tower, your destiny is in your hands! (Just watch out for talking bats).
