The Mages' Conundrum Guild

A truly terrifying yet delightful experience.

When one searches for information regarding the Guild, they might find themselves frustrated with the lack of information. Members swear themselves to near secrecy, historically only revealing bits and pieces about the Guild either on accident or through magically persuasive means.

Overview

The Conundrum Guild established itself noiselessly at an unknown time. Its exact birth can only be estimated through the lifespan of its founders, who, possessing average human lifespans, offer a span of approximately 113 years between March 10th, 1652, and November 11th, 1765. The building was never established in a single place. Flickering images of a looming, mausoleum-esque have appeared in multiple cities worldwide. Mages who entered the building have reported seeing vastly different views from the windows. While one might have entered from overcast, drizzly London, their view from the Guild was one of vast, sandy dunes drenched in sunlight.

Members of the Guild are highly secretive and never reveal themselves. Their purpose is vague, but the general understanding of the Guild is that it exists to perplex.

Location

Locating the Guild can only be successfully done by a trained guide. Guides are now reserved for academic and government use, as the magical tourism boom of the 1980s threatened to overwhelm the Guild and resulted in over 13,000 missing persons reports.

Interior

The inside of the Guild has never remained the same for any one person. Many have compared it to a kaleidoscope, constantly evolving and fracturing. The number of rooms within the Guild has not been confirmed, though, through collaborative reports, over 20,000 unique rooms have been cataloged thus far.

Hall of Portals

Notable rooms include the famed Hall of Portals, a ten-story hall lined top to bottom with various portals. Self-propelled ladders have been reported to carry travelers to their desired portal but have also been reported to burst into flames spontaneously. Several mages have fallen to their doom due to this quirk. In 1992, a gnome by the name of Hills Bemembore entered the blue portal on the floor in the far left corner of the room. Much to his surprise, the portal directly above on the ceiling spit him right back out. Bemenbore has been in a state of free-fall for over 30 years, and yet, he has not aged a day, according to the most recent observations. This suggests that the portals offer some kind of immortality protection charm. Bemenbore has refused all rescue efforts and claims to live a happy, fulfilled life. Visitors lucky enough to stumble upon the gnome sometimes offer him books or other forms of entertainment, which have remained in a state of free-fall alongside him. A report made in 2022 counted over 600 books, scrolls, magazines, and diaries, and 98 posters of the famed singing sorceress Matilda Merryweather.

The Pit

Another notable room is the Pit. Perhaps the most feared of the rooms in the Guild, the Pit offers the visitor precisely 11.1 inches of ledge surrounding a seemingly bottomless pit. Those who have fallen in have not been heard from again. Visitors must make it to the other side of the room to exit, but those who have successfully made the journey claim to have felt a near-insatiable desire to leap into the Pit at the halfway mark. The room has become a testament of willpower to a cult following of successful visitors, many of whom choose to tattoo their iconic phrase "I SURVIVED THE PIT" across highly visible parts of the body, most notably upon the forehead of Brontus McBront of Wales, age 87.

Membership

Rumor states that mages can only join via invitation from another established member. Unfortunately, any further information regarding this process has been sworn to secrecy. Visitors often report the feeling of being watched during their time at the Guild, almost like a zoo animal.

Purpose and Reception

The purpose of the Guild was never formally established. However, its cryptic existence is loosely tied to the general desire to create. While some mages may opt to take up pottery or painting, the Guild is thought to exist for those mages who wish to create things beyond the physical realm. Riddles, mathematical equations, languages, and so on. Critics of the Guild are intent on outing it as a "bored mage's poor attempt at making themself feel more important than they are." These same critics have received packages filled with dung-scented glitter, molded banana peels, and occasionally, a simple note reading, "I'm sorry for your contempt of joy."