The Sorcerer's Palace

The Palace of Glass is a beautiful building that was built over the course of six long years. The entire structure is actually made of spars and struts of resonate silvered iron. The entire framework of the building reverberates with magic power, each strut and brace an integral part of the building. To it's architect and financier, the palace is nothing more than an artifact and a spell of immense and slow power.

The palace is seven stories tall, with three towers that line up with the sun every solstice. The central tower is the tallest, flanked by the two minor towers, each five stories to the central's seven. The towers remain transparent through the day, and glow with the inner light of the palace at night. The lower floors are more reflective, and only become transparent when subjected to strong light, such as a Daylight or similar light generating spell.

Inside, the structure is much different. The floors and walls appear to be fine marble, and carefully laid tile. Tapestries and wall hangings of great beauty abound, and the view through the transparent towers is amplified by the magic of the palace. The stars are much closer, and wisps of glowing gas can be seen floating through the aetherium of space. This is the meeting parlor of the wizard, where he entertains dignitaries and the like who should be suitably impressed by a wizard of his magnitude.

His private chambers lie in the base of the eastern tower, a full suit of rooms enough for a dozen people. The western tower is devoted to his laboratories and research libraries. both of which are extensive and well guarded with various wards and barriers. Guests do visit both, generally to allow the populace to know that there are no abominations or unholy spells being researched in the palace.

Kewl Powerz
The Palace of Glass is impervious to scrying and divination. Attempts to do so are refracted from the surfe to a random location, generally in the city. A few attempts have met with aether glare that left the scrying wizard dazed and sunblind for a few days afterwards.

Spells are also refracted and deflected by the outer layer of the palace. The entire structure is inpenetrable to magic and spells. Summoned creatures, demons and other incorporeal creatures are affected by the geometry of the building by becoming disoriented, and drawn into the basement level where they are trapped within specially grown spirit trapping crystals. These crystals can be used in summoning spirits, but doing so automatically causes the spirit to be hostile.

Spells cast from the Central Chamber are magnified in power. Combat spells are much more powerful, but generally useless as they cant be cast against someone unseen. So, no fireballs or lightning bolts out of the clear blue. Summoning and binding of spirits is much easier, and divinations and scrying attempts are greatly magnified. This is also a function of the design of the palace.

Weaknesses
The palace is still made of glass. A mob of angry peasants could shatter the walls with rocks and slings, destroying the power of the palace. The palace has a wall to prevent this, along with standing guardians, usually summoned wood elementals pleasantly disguised as topiaries and decorative foliage. A tree cut into the shape of an elephant might get up and walk across the lawn to get a better look at a suspicious subject. Children are often brought to the edge of the lawn in hopes of seeing some of the greenery wander about.

The palace is a place of power, and as such has given Emet a strong sense of vulnerability when he leaves it. He has slowly developed a case of agoraphobia which he refuses to abmit. Since almost being killed by the evil sorcerer Henner the Black, his trend to isolationism has grown stronger. No one doubts that the wizard is still untainted, but they wonder at his sanity. As of late, he has been visited regularly by members of the The Upright Order of Civic Minded Guild mages.

Plot Hooks
The Meeting Place - As a standard benefactor, the wizard employs the PCs as his hands in creation, even moreso as his fear of leaving the palace increases. On rare occassions they are treated to feasts in his palace, but only after being magically decontaminated.

Oceans Eleven - The palace is a repository of lots of wizards gold as well as priceless wonders of antiquity. The Grandfather of Thieves desires some of these wonders for himself and the PCs have to penetrate the defences and find the loot and escape before being eaten by the lawn.

Lost - Emet has dissappeared, and it is up to the PCs to penetrate the palace and discover what happened to the wizard. Did he summon something to dangerous and was eaten, or did he just fall down and cant get up?

Apprentice's Brooms - Apprentice mage students are allowed to enter the palace and mayhem ensues when someone touches somthing he ought not to. Can range from horrorific released demons to slap stick hillarity ala Bedknobs and Broomsticks.