"Let's give the silent option a try before we wake whatever is both up here and down there," Oliver says, nodding appreciatively at Mia's analyses, and tries her solution, starting with the one with all eyes closed.
"All right. Silent option it is"
During previous visits, Sargon dedicated most of his attention to the puzzle door in the arched palace entrance. This is his first chance to perform a more thorough examination of the well and its oddities. He concludes that the handprints are connected to some manner of magical pump or drainage system. On the other hand, the heads do not have any magical mechanisms connected to them, but the details of their eyes may be clues to some manner of mystery further down.
You try a few permutations of panel presses, but it is when you press all four handprints simultaneously that you can hear something happening. A loud, deep sucking sound emanates from down the well. Peering over the edge, you see that the water below is draining away, revealing a chamber - approximately 20 feet by 60 feet - below. With the water drained away, you see that a horizontal bronze wheel upon a short metal stem occupies the center of the slick stone floor.
"Marvelous craftsmanship, to still work after all this fell to ruin so long ago," Oliver mused as the well drained itself. "So... we're going to lower someone to inspect that wheel, I assume? I would help but I am a rather poor climber. Of course, I can lend a hand to the tug of war if desired." He offers, standing aside for the more athletic types. Or Sargon, if he fit down the well.
"I've never been that great at climbing as strange as that may sound, we have some rope though give me a moment to find a spot to tie it off and a couple of us can head down."
He offered peering over the edge with the others.
"I would throw a copper piece with a light spell on it down below but I worry it might get caught in gears... "
"Well then, let's go for it, I say!" He does, in fact, say, and takes out the rope to tie to whichever volounteer went down to inspect it.
The stone heads turn out to be very solidly connected to the rest of the well, so you are able to tie the rope around one of them, using its great weight to anchor the rope securely.
Whilst tying off the road, you peer down and examine the chamber below more thoroughly. Although the well shaft restricts your field of view, it seems like the bronze wheel is the only mechanism or furnishing to be seen. Apart from the wheel and the puddles of standing water left behind, the chamber appears empty.
"Does turning the wheel do anything?" Oliver suggests from above.
Can it be moved? It may be another mechanism for a secret path.
"Well, one way to find out." Varr said as he gripped the wheel and began to turn it.
The floor is wet, with a couple of inches of standing water. In the north wall, 5ft off the floor, is a niche with a carving of a stone head resting in it. A tiny pinprick hole in the east wall blasts a fine mist of water six feet into the room.
Varr finds that the bronze wheel will only turn clockwise. As he turns it thusly, the flagstones around the wheel begin to incrementally lower until they form a spiral staircase leading downward.
”Well made! It stands the test of time.” Varr said, marveling at the ancient craftsmen’s work. With that he led the way down.
"Well done!" The half orc grins at Varr and the others, "Now, who is wanting to go first and risk their neck at forefont or scouting? I volunteer someone else"
"Let's just all go in at once, I say. There's an old adage about never splitting the party, I believe!" Oliver says, and cheerfully begins heading his way down, keeping his eyes peeled for obvious threats.
The unfolding spiral stairs meet a straight set of stairs at the top of this room, and the straight stairs descend to the floor, which is two feet under water.
A horizontal bronze wheel is submerged in the northwest corner, attached to the floor. A second bronze wheel is in the opposite corner, 7 feet off the floor and mounted to the wall. Some runes are carved over the top of it.
Embedded into each corner of the room, up by the ceiling, is a copper statue of a large fish.
Further emphasizing these instructions, you can just barely see, beneath the standing water in the room, a counter-clockwise arrow scratched into floor around the submerged wheel.
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"Useful spell, that." Varr said to Olivert. "Well, let's follow the instructions. I'll do the first wheel, ye do the second."
Varr and Olivert tend to the bronze wheels, following the ancient instructions left behind. Varr turns the wall-mounted wheel clockwise, which eventually results in a muted clicking sound coming from the floor-mounted wheel. Olivert finds that the second wheel will now turn counterclockwise.
The party is thusly not only spared whatever trap or hazards lurk among the ancient mechanisms, but it unlocks another way forward - or rather, downward. A section of the floor sinks down and slides beneath the rest of the floor, with the water quickly draining away down the exposed shaft. A ladder, made of hand and footholds carved into the side of the stone shaft, descends down ten feet to another chamber.
He was muttering an almost silent prayer to himself as he went along with the others, worried over what his wife would think about the risks they were taking. While the others worked with the intructions and the wheel.
"Keep sharp eyes out still folks puzzles or no."
Claudia vaguely nods.
"Sound words for exploration efforts.
As i've heard of people doing the opposite and dearly paying for it."
She quietly takes in the air, trying to see if there is any sort of subtle weird odor.
Dargys nods and casts Detect Magic
I.. I uh, will keep a lookout for any potential threats...
She says as her eyes glow a vibrant green.
Claudia finds the damp air very heavy with the scent of mildew and moss within these waterlogged chambers. Although staying down here too long may torment those with allergies, you cannot identify any serious health threats. The only sounds beyond the party you can pick out come from the water draining away into the chamber below. You don't see any ripples in the thin pools of standing water that have settled upon the flagstone floor, so there don't seem to be any unseen creatures present.
Mia's spirit sense detects nothing in the room with you, nor in the one below that has just been opened. Dargys' magically attuned eyes pick out enchantments upon the bronze wheels, some of the stonework, and the copper fish statues in the corners of the ceiling. Besides being part of the mechanisms built into the walls and floor, you suspect these magics may also be tied to a potential trap that you have avoided by deciphering the carved instructions left behind by the old Kaskkari.
It becomes apparent that this elaborate well shaft served not only to provide a steady water supply for this ancient settlement but it also likely served to regulate the water in the soil, keeping the ground drier and more stable than the surrounding swamplands.
Looking down the exposed ladder shaft, you get a look at the next stage in this tower-sized contraption.
The room below - about 40 by 30 feet in dimensions - is about halfway submerged in standing water. The water is about 20 feet down from the room's ceiling, and you estimate that the water is another 10 feet deep. Three large slabs of stone (10 ft. x 5 ft.) project from the wall, each one lower by 5 ft. than the one before - creating a tiered effect. The first of these tiered platforms is just below the ladder, allowing access with relative ease.
There is a bronze wheel set into each platform, and a door in the east wall at the end of the lowest platform. A message is carved into the stone above the door.
"Some magics upon the bronze wheels... the stone work there and there.. and the statues. Probably tied to the trap we avoided."
"These Kaskkari were highly advanced, to create a pump system that both drained excess waters from the swamp as well as provide it to the people living here. Almost makes me wish we could take it with us, or at least the method, back to Haven. Surely your town would greatly benefit from such a thing?" Oliver muses, as they descent further.
When he sees the half-submerged room with only the three slates offering any sort of base to stand on, he pauses at the edge. Then, he casually takes out a coin and drops it on the water's surface below, to see if there was a reaction from something lurking below.
As there did not appear to be an immediate threat, he turns to Claudia and Sargon. "There's a message carved into the door at the lowest platform, but I can't get close enough to read it. Could the two of you give me a lift over there?" He asks.
"Water pumps would be amazing, as long as they didn't upset nature too much. Strong Green Faith followers in our community."
"Think of it like beavers making a damn." Varr said. "We're all animals, in a way, aye? It's in our nature to want safety for us and ours."
In response to Olivert's question for a lift;
"I can only effectively carry one of you on my back."
In response to Olivert's question for a lift;
"I can only effectively carry one of you on my back."
"Then is it a problem if I borrow your dragon for a while, dear Claudia?" He asks pleasantly.
Should no objection be made, he attempts to mount Sargon, and once closer, tries to read the inscription above the door.
Olivert drops his coin into the water below.
The surface quickly roils as a swarm of fish rush up to test the object with their countless sharp teeth. Once the entire hungry swarm realizes that the coin is not edible, the water subsides again. Hopefully that was just a copper.
You see evidence that the other two are mounted on hinges and may dump anything of significant weight placed upon them, yourselves included. Considering that ancient Kaskkari laborers had to maintain this complex somehow, there has to be some mechanism that would lock them in place.
"Well. I'd say those friendly fellows are quite raveous. I believe some kind of Piranha? Small fish swarms that are infamous for devouring even large creatures to the bone in seconds," Oliver states before he and Sargon fly off. "Perhaps this isn't the place to go skinny dipping after all," he grins wryly.
A more thorough look at the stone plates forming their stairway follows and he frowns. "Those designs are not stable. Traps, most likely, designed to drop unsuspecting looters to their fishy deaths below. But there would have to be a way to lock them, or the kaskkari themselves would be unable to pass..." He muses, his sapphire blue eyes searching the room. "Perhaps the arrangements of the eyes of the heads outside are a clue of sorts? Some of them had three eyes, and we have three slabs. Though what the arrow-circling pupils of those mean, I wouldn't know. We cannot exactly turn the slabs, I believe?"
Should he find nothing, he would now ask Sargon to ferry him across to that the inscription on the door could be read.
Olivert's magic reveals to him that the inscription is a very direct bit of instruction: “Warning: all three wheels must be turned before opening door.”
If possible, Sargon spews lightning several times to try kill the piranhas.
"Well, Fish Fry anyone?"
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The water roils and hisses as Sargon subjects it to volleys of lightning from his throat. Many, many small piranhas float to the surface as the powerful current overcomes them.
However, a trio of especially large specimens also floats to the surface, slain by Sargon. These piranhas are the size of small dogs, and they possess long fins almost akin to feathered wings. They almost certainly would have been able to leap high out of the water. You just hope that Sargon's breath weapon got all the big ones that were lurking in the water below.
Oliver nods appreciateively at the slaughter, then shares what he reads on the door. "It says we need to turn the wheels of each platforms in this room before opening the door. However, the platforms themselves are unstable and will drop us if we stand on them. So... does anyone have a good idea on how to turn them? If Sargon holds, one of us could hover above the platform and do it manually. Or perhaps someone has magical abilities to do it from range?" The healer suggests.
With the threat of the piranhas neutralized, you can safely take another look at the stone platforms. While all three platforms host bronze wheels, the top platform appears to be mounted stably - that is to say, it would not dump you into the water if you stood upon it.
"Well, that is another reason why it's good to have a friendly wyrm about." The dwarf mumbled. Then, louder "Nay idea on my end. Whomever he carries would have to be fairly light."
"Suppose I'll start with the first one and work my way down. Sargon, could you start us there?" Oliver asks his lended mount, flying to the first wheel and turning it.
Should nothing seem to happen, he would fly to and turn the others as well.
Oliver steps gingerly upon the first platform...and finds it remains steady beneath his feet.
He walks over, grabs hold of the bronze wheel, and tries to turn it, but he finds that he cannot make it budge. Up close, you find that these are somewhat larger than the bronze wheels you found in the rooms above, and they afford hand space for multiple people to turn them at once.
"I have spell that grants one a strenght of bull, may help here."
Mia, having been a pensive about being underground again, and more than a little upset at the potentially needless fish fry, gets an idea as she tries to distract herself.
Oh, I could potentially help. I could turn into a small representation of the element of earth. I should be able to move easily through the stone pillars without toppling them over then. Or, I could try to become one of air, though the earth would be able to move the wheels much easier. I would rather try the earthen form. Since it would probably be more useful through the rest of this place.
Try as he might, the not particularly muscled - if very pretty - bard of sorts cannot get the wheel to turn by himself. "Any kind of help would be greatly appreciated! Do what you feel works best, Mia," He calls back with a grin. "As for the others, I don't suppose someone slightly more amiable to brute strength could take over? Unless you all just enjoy watching me fail dashingly, which I wouldn't blame you for, but this endeavor might then take quite a while." He adds, looking at the group expectantly.
"Oh, and I suppose we shouldn't be surprised if succesfully turning the wheel makes the platform drop us into the water, so there is that, perhaps."
Sargon can try helping, 15 strength score.
Once you assemble the muscle needed to get the first wheel turning, you find that it rotates slowly in a clockwise direction. After about three full rotations, you can hear a grinding of stone and a dull click of metal coming from the direction of the next platform down.
With a quick examination and cursory testing, you find that rotating the first wheel has locked the second platform's hinge, located within the wall, into place and turned it into a stable surface.
"This is amazing work, the genius put into it. If we had such options for haven..." the ideas boggle
"It would require some serious engineering, to be sure."
"Perhaps. But for now, never change a winning strategy!"
Oliver remarks, and proceeds to assist turning the second wheel. And then the third should nothing go awry.
The wizard and his rat work to turn a wheel as well, "Come plague, exert your self."
The rat strains but squeaks something rude.