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"Oh yes," adds Zirt, feeling much better sitting in front of the fire all bundled up in a blanket. "Brigh has eight worshipers in Whistledown, or at least she did when I was last there... old Fnarglkrkngr may not be around anymore, though, so it might be seven. And really, I suppose any of them could have had some accident, either due to their crazy inventions or completely unrelated, and died. That would be very sad." She pauses for a moment, staring at the flames. "And I suppose it's even possible that someone new has started down Brigh's path since I last visited. If I had to guess, I'd say... hmm... probably young Noaewubgbrtin, or maybe his sister. Or maybe both of them. Once, when they were very very young, those two filled up Fnarglkrkngr's entire workroom with popped corn kernels covered in Bordic root powder! Oh, you should have been there and seen the look on his face... and the worst of it is that they didn't even get in trouble over it! He made some joke about it and talked to their parents about taking them on as apprentices! Of course, they were far too young for that at the time, but it's quite possible that they aren't anymore and have since been allowed to enter training with him."
Grave Treader leads the party to the abandoned temple of Brigh, skillfully avoiding the dangerous paths where the Plane of Fire most exerts its influence. The temple is about a day’s travel from the Sundered Stone camp, but its entrance is cleverly hidden behind a locked secret door in a nondescript passageway. In addition to locating the door in her research, Grave Treader also tracked down a key to the door, making entry easy. With a glance at each of the Pathfinders, she quietly says, ”Here goes…” and turns the key in the lock. Befitting a temple dedicated to mechanical artifice, the door opens smoothly and quietly, revealing a chamber dimly illuminated by luminous crystals set into the ceiling.
Intricate bronze-and-silver etchings of three-armed and three-legged creatures glimmer on the dark stone walls as faint light shines down from crystals in the ceiling. A line of alternating gold and silver triangular floor plates leads to a wide staircase opposite the temple’s main entrance. In the left end of the room, a large clockwork contraption looms over a dark pit, while at the right end, strange machinery and parts lie strewn across tables.
The etchings in precious metals on the walls appear to depict servants, worshipers, and a god. The servants, depicted in bronze, are the most numerous. The silver worshipers are placed above the servants, but subservient to a golden figure on the ceiling. Both the bronze servants and silver worshipers have squat bodies, three hands, and three legs, much like the xorns the party met at the destroyed caravan. The golden figure is more humanoid in shape, but still has three arms and three legs.
The large clockwork contraption contains a winch that appears to lower some sort of platform down a shaft. The platform can be seen about 60 feet below, hanging from strong chains.
The area opposite the winch appears to have been some sort of workshop, with work tables covered in scattered metals parts and tools.
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"Ai Lass I can offer a bit o' healin' to you and your companion here." Ebonwolf attempts to scratch Benedict under the jaw but realizing it is best to hold ones hand far away from the toothy end of beasts. It is best left to those trained to handle animals anyways.
As the group settles in for the night Ebonwolf goes about preparing a few choice saves and some bandages. Throwing a few extra herbs in the fire to create a pleasant aroma in the air. Not to much to cause anyone to fall into a deep sleep but enough to rest and relax. This is where he pulls his healers kit out and begins mixing a few concoctions and begins the healing process.
After having spent the night ensuring his wards have rested well and healed their wounds and ailments Ebonwolf Prepares himself meditating and communing with his god Torag replenishing his spells, casting one on Benedict to heal his remaining affliction from the heat.
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Looking over the etchings Ebonwolf things about his time spent deep in the mines in the temples dedicated to Torag and the other deities of the earth.
"Oi tha great big golden one thar wid tha three-legs be tha goddess Brigh herself."
Having given a brief induction in theology Ebonwolf makes his way to the winch and looks over its operation
After figuring pout the winches operation he looks over the workshops parts and pieces with Drizz'n giving the gloomy one a little guidance in where to look.
Ebonwolf can’t figure out how the winch works, but might be able to with more time.
Mordenaar makes his way up the stairs to the next landing without incident. The line of gold and silver floor plates continues across this chamber to where a pair of raised stone platforms flank an enormous metal gate. The gate is adorned with an etching of gold and silver gears around a large bronze gear. A small silver panel is built into the wall to the left of the gate. Staircases lead up to the raised platforms, but one of these staircases has collapsed, leaving rubble strewn about on the floor below. A silvery glint rises from the top of the one platform, while a golden shine emanates from the other.
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Ebonwolf will look about the rooms at Drizz'n's suggestion to see if anything Magically is out of the ordinary.
As long as nothing jumps out at Ebonwolf he joins Mordenaar on the upper level following the stairs to the left side where the silver light seems to be eminating he shouts down "Seems like we be in need o' a little intelect. Wonder whats up here has to do it." looking down from the higher ground Ebonwolf notes the directions and colors of the aarows on the floor. "Might'n that also be part of the key. Silver gears an' Silver Arrows. Golden Gears and Golden Arrows."
At the top of the left-hand stair, Ebonwolf finds a large dial crafted in silver, and he can see a similar golden dial at the top of the broken staircase on the right side of the gate. Attempting to turn the dial, Torag’s servant finds it to be quite badly stuck.
Ebonwolf’s search for magical auras reveals two faint auras in the rubble of the collapsed staircase, of abjuration and divination.
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"Fore we start man handlin' this thing I be Seein' somethin' magical in the rubble." not wanting continue without investigating the magical auras Ebonwolf starts down the stairs and stops with his first step he looks back to Dirch who seems to be a little clingy and says "Ya comin'?"
With Dirch in follow Ebonwolf begins sifting through the rubble only stopping to refresh his magical detections.
Ebonwolf climbs down the stairs and checks out the rubble of the other staircase, where he finds a a crushed chest of greenish stone under the collapsed stairs. Sifting through the shards, he finds a shiny golden ring and an interesting lantern.
Dirch manages to repair the silver dial so it turns smoothly, and Rikimaru and Mordenaar make their way up the damaged steps and determine that the golden dial works just fine. When the dials are turned, a faint sound of gears rotating can be heard within the door.
At the same time, Grave Treader moves to the silver panel next to the gate and opens it, revealing another set of gears. This mechanism is complicated, but Grave Treader provides some insights from her research that make the task of activating it easier.
Studying the room, the dials, the gates and the pattern on it provides some other bits of information about how this puzzle might work to open the gate.
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[occ] Intelligence should help with Puzzles, no? Drizz'n's Int (22) should help us here, no?[/occ]
That lantern will be helpful. It was left here for a reason, and I fear so was that ring. I don't trust that gates like this *just* puzzles. That lantern may help us uncover anything else protecting this gate.
Hhmm, I do not immediately see how these dials can be used.
The patterns on the floor appear to be related to the gears on the gate, and the dials
Rikimaru steps closer to Dirch and Ebonwolf to have a closer look at the lantern.
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Drizz'n, who until now has been taking notes in his journal, mostly for ideas on how to improve his own lab back home, says: "Rikimaru is right. It looks like the pattern on the floor tells us in what order and in which direction to turn the dials. I can read them off if you guys can turn them."
"Too bad I can't quite get this panel working though," he says, poking around at the gears inside.
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Zirt looks up from her study of the carvings, and notices that the rest of the group is engaged in the Puzzle. Hopping lightly off Gregarious, she skips over to Drizz'n and peers intently at the panel for a moment.
Poking at the mechanism, the gnome frowns thoughtfully and pulls a metal spoon from her pocket. "I think if we wedge this right in there..."
Riki scans the base of the lantern and finds that the command word 'kludge' is in fact scratched onto the underside.
Messing with the dials, the party notes that they can be turned clockwise or counterclockwise. In addition, each time a dial goes through one full rotation, it makes a clicking sound, and if you let go of a dial before turning it one full rotation, both dials rotate backward to
their original positions, as if the mechanism is resetting.
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Dirch is surprised by the ninja's compliment. Thank you, Mr. Kasuya, sir.
Dirch responds to the half-orc. Y-y-yes, sir. And, follows the half-orc to the rubble.
Dirch takes a look at the gears. This makes sense to me. The lowest gears on the gate have markings that look like the handles on the dials. And, I think we apply the sequence on the floor to these dials.
Mr. Mordenaar, sir? Would you operate the silver dial? And, Mr. Kasuya,would you operate the gold dial? And, Mr. Drizz'n, would you read off the sequence of the triangles on the floor?
With Zirt’s spoon wedged in place to stabilize a wayward flange, Dirch has no trouble discerning how to work the mechanism behind the silver panel. He moves a series of small rods, which cause a faint buzzing sound for a moment, and suddenly a bright light appears on the door, near the top of the image of the large bronze gear! With the light now illuminated, Mordenaar gives the silver nob an experimental turn, and notices that the light moves. It traces along the inside of the bronze gear, rotating at the same speed and direction as the silver dial, and seems to show that he is moving a corresponding bronze gear within the door. When Riki tries the same with the gold dial, the light moves, but in the opposite direction to how he’s turning the dial.
Grave Treader stands by as the Pathfinders work, clearly impressed with the progress they’ve made.
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With everyone in their positions by the dials and the triangles, the Pathfinders experiment a bit with different approaches. Their first attempt fails, but on their second try, Drizz’n calls out the following sequence, ”Gold counterclockwise, silver counterclockwise, silver counter- no, wait, clockwise, gold counterclockwise, silver counterclockwise, gold clockwise, gold counterclockwise, and…silver clockwise.” He holds his breath a moment, hoping this combination will work, and the mechanism emits a louder click. The room shakes a moment, and the heavy gate lowers smoothly into the floor!
Wide stairs lead up to a high chamber, where a forty-foot-tall statue depicting a woman with three hands, three legs, and a three-eyed mask of bronze towers overhead. Before the statue is a clockwork altar, and five circular bronze floor plates are arrayed in a curve around the staircase. Narrow strips of bronze connect the plates, altar, and statue. Mechanical clicking and whirring sounds echo from the chamber’s walls.
With the mysterious gate now open, Grave Treader rushes eagerly to the altar to examine it, heedless of the party's deliberations. She cries out, ”The clockwork cipher!” and reaches a hand out to touch the artifact within the altar. There is a sudden zap sound, and the crackle of electricity seems to spread from the altar through the bronze strips on the floor and into the circular plates! The room begins to hum loudly, then shakes a moment, and the five bronze disks rise from the floor! Each disk caps a tall cylinder, which contains a sort of three-eyed, three-armed metal thing, looking like a cross between a xorn and a machine! In three of the cylinders, the clockwork xorns are waving their mechanical arms aggressively! The machines in the other two cylinders appear inactive.
Grave Treader has the good grace to say, ”Oops.” She thinks quickly and says, ”I think the artifact will let us control these constructs! I’ll try to get it out of the altar!” She begins the delicate process of extracting the artifact from the altar.
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Drizz’n sighs in disappointment that someone with a name as cool as Grave Treader could make such an amature mistake.
”Do your thing,” he says to her. ”We’ll keep the constructs busy!”
He moves up and throws a
”Try moving through that!”
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After hearing the mechanical buzz and hum from the rubble area, Ebonwolf makes a good effort to get into the room. Drawing one waraxe and then his second waraxe both weapons in hand he stand by one of the cylinders. He is making ready to move again shortly to guard Grave Treader "Be safe! I'll defend ye once I can get me Orcish arse there."
Mordenaar and Ebonwolf move into position, while Drizz’n throws something really cool – and seriously icky – at one of the constructs!
A shadowy Rikimaru appears and begins moving towards the mechanical xorns! The three-legged machines literally spring into action, their stout legs lowering them, then springing them into the air! One of them launches itself almost straight up, then lands next to Ebonwolf, its metallic legs flexing to reduce the shock of its landing! It then swings a limb with an integrated hammer at the servant of Torag! The other two machines launch themselves toward the stairs, landing adroitly on the steps and clanking closer to the intruders!
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"Eep!" cries Zirt, expressing the group's dismay at the appearance of the angry-looking mechanical xorns. "Those don't look as friendly as the last xorns we met!"
Hurrying over to Grave Treader, the wee gnome attempts to help the Shoanti unravel the means of the monsters' control!
Benedict, meanwhile, glances curiously over at his mistress before grunting and taking up a defensive stance, unsure as to the nature of the sudden tension in the room.