A lobby

The door had not even finished clattering to the floor, when she ran through weapons raised. She let out a mighty battle cry as she held her shield in front of her and fell into a defensive stance. The battle cry slowly faded out as she realized no enemies were attacking her. The lobby appeared to be deserted.

She willed her heartbeat to slow as she scanned the room. She strained her ears and sniffed the air. She employed all of her honed warrior senses and came up with nothing. There were no enemies lying in wait.

After a few more moments she realized that the room was not completely empty. There were several crates and chests lettering the floor filled with various sundry items. She spotted trinkets and travelers clothes and knew for certain that this was the right place. These items were clearly loot that the wizard had stolen from travelers on the road. She took a tentative step forward and stopped listening for any sounds of clicking or hissing. She took another step and tapped the floor in anticipation of a hidden switch. But there was nothing. As far as she could tell, there were no traps in this room either.

She reached into her bag and pulled out one of her various magical items. A Volo's eye. This item would allow her to detect any invisible creatures in the room. But after a few moments appearing through it, she saw nothing. She stashed it back in its pouch, and finally eased herself into a more relaxed stance.

Once her heartbeat had almost returned back to normal, she had time to reflect. She realized that she was a little disappointed. No guards outside the tower, no magical locks or traps on the door, and no one waiting to ambush her here in the lobby. Either this wizard was as powerful as they said and had no need of these things, or he was one of the biggest fools that Trina had ever heard of.

She quickly dismissed these thoughts and **** herself to refocus. 'Remember your training,' she told herself. 'Don't let yourself get lulled into a false sense of security. That's probably what the wizard wants.'

With a deep breath and determined nod she continued on into the lobby of the tower. It was then that she noticed something slightly interesting. Not one staircase leasing upstairs as she had expected, but two. They let off from the main support column in the center of the room. One veered off to the left and the other to the right. The tower must be divided into multiple sections and rooms she decided. This could be her first real test. One of the staircases could be a trap, take her to the clutches of the wizards minions, or lead her straight to the mad mage himself. She stood in front of the stairs and began to ponder her next move.