Mechanisms Part 2

[Log begins, Kelliara calls- another bit of the orrery's been found!]

In the center of a vaulted hall.
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Dark and silent, a ruined orrery occupies much of the center of this chamber. A sigil in the shape
of a small, rectangular monolith is on the ground. A ruddy farmer with a sharp pitchfork stands here,
 eyeing you warily. There are 2 cabalists of jherza here. Doyen Kelliara Olahri is here.
You see exits leading north, east, south, and west.

Kelliara turns her gaze from the orrery, incline her head politely to you. "Conduit," she offers in
greeting. "How fares your leg?"

You have emoted: Eleanor's step isn't quite as ginger as it was last month, though she still seems
to have her cane in hand for support. "On the mend. The worst wound -would- have to be in my leg."


You have emoted: Eleanor glances up at the looming machine that dominates the room. "Getting quite
familiar with this old beast now. You said we've found another bit?"


"I will leave the installation of this to you, I think," Kelliara states, handing a No. 8 Delosion
subversion sprocket to you.

p mechanism
You are not entirely sure what this complex, folded piece of metal is, but it certainly looks state
of the art.
It weighs 3 ounce(s).

You have emoted: Eleanor peers at the component, squinting as she turns it over in her hand.
"Curious thing, this."


Nodding, Doyen Kelliara Olahri says, "Found in the possession of the Ankyrean Qeddwyn in Delos."

You have emoted: Eleanor grins toothily. "That'd be right. Under the cushions on the couch, I
imagine." She limps a circle around the orrery, cane tapping against the stone. "Now to find where
it goes. Great big jigsaw."


The orrery remains still and impassive, a dark, jagged silhouette against the slightly lighter
shadows behind it. Numerous gaps in the plating offer access to the innards, though none of them
stand out as particularly superior spots.

"Close," Kelliara replies wryly, watching your progress about the machine with interest. "A
paperweight."

You have emoted: A chuckle echoes out from behind the machine as Eleanor, currently eclipsed by its
bulk, responds, "That's even better." There is a resounding, echoing 'CLANG' which sounds like she
might have tapped something with the end of her cane. "Show your secrets you uppity thing, I have a
bit for you." The grumbling seems like the sort of good-natured prodding one would exact upon an old
friend.


There is a sullen, deep-down rumble, and the stone of the chamber shifts uneasily. The orrery
remains still and silent, almost threateningly so, but a few flakes of rust fall to the ground like
sycamore seeds.

Kelliara runs her gaze over the machine, a slight frown forming on her features. "Have you any clue
as to its purpose?" she asks curiously.

You have emoted: Eleanor narrows her eyes a little. "Fine, have it your way," she tells the
contraption. Rounding the side of it, she comes back into view. "It looks like a part that would
allow a directional switchback- transference of angular momentum, I think." She squints at the part
again, then lifts her cane, pointing at a cog-heavy hollow near the center. "Which would place it
thereabouts, I think, where the main tracks sweep through."


Kelliara folds her arms and shifts her weight from one side to the other, silently watching you set
about your work.

You have emoted: Eleanor approaches the orrery, lifting her chin to try and get a better vantage.
"Alright, I think I've got the spot. Give me a leg-up, would you? Not quite tall enough, myself."


Kelliara grunts in moderate annoyance, stepping closer to you, and linking her hands together and
around shin height for you to put her foot into.

You have emoted: Eleanor gives a nod, her expression grateful. "Thanks," she says- she sets her cane
down against the machine and then, holding onto a handy ridge with one hand, steps with her good leg-
 the boost is enough for her to reach up and slot the component into a promising-looking notch. That
done, she hops back down stepping back to peer upward into the machine.

You put a No. 8 Delosion subversion sprocket into a towering, ruined orrery.

You say, "Now if that's the right spot, it should..."

A loud, resonating THUNK echoes through the chamber.


Kelliara gives a single satisfied nod. "Try the switch, Conduit."
Three of the four rings creak ominously, showering the two below with flakes of rust. There is a
quiet ping as the orrery spits out a notched screw, narrowly missing the Cabalist and ricocheting
violently from the floor.

You have emoted: Eleanor neatly dodges the screw, leaning on her cane as she looks down at it. "Now
that's just rude," she comments.

"I assume that will need to be set back into place also?" Kelliara asks, pointing to the screw.

You say, "No, it's just making a point, now."

You have emoted: "Uppity thing," Eleanor grumbles.


There is a quiet scraping of metal as section of machinery housing the newly inserted component
shifts, rotating a half-turn about the central axis and filling the chamber with the demented
screech of rusted metal.

Kelliara winces in pain.

You have emoted: Eleanor stoops to pick up the screw, though the gesture becomes a startled scuttle
back as the orrery shifts.


Grimacing, you say, "The good news is, that's what I expected it to do. The bad news is, augh, my
ears."

Stillness. Silence. The screw is now nowhere to be seen, and the orrery is a dark, curving
silhouette once more.

Scowling, Doyen Kelliara Olahri says, "Indeed. Such noise is most unpleasant."

Cheerfully, you say, "On the bright side, I've heard worse things. Recently, too."

You say, "I don't know if all the bits are in place, but if you want to try it, I don't think it'll
hurt."

Kelliara nods her head emphatically.
Kelliara reaches into the depths of the ruined orrery and yanks on a large, brass switch expectantly.
The orrery responds with a sad little clunk and no further sign of change.

You have emoted: Eleanor takes the traditional Cabalistic step back, but no explosions or sudden
movements seem forthcoming.

You say, "...hm."

Doyen Kelliara Olahri asks you, "Have you any idea as to the Orrery's function?"

You have emoted: Eleanor is quiet for a few moments, both hands resting on her cane as she peers up
at the silent machine. "I've got my suspicions. I had a chat with Him of the Wind. Little pieces of
information coming together."


Doyen Kelliara Olahri asks, "And what suspicions might those be?"

You have emoted: Eleanor squints downward, as if trying to look past the floor. "If only it was
running," she murmurs to herself. "I'd bet good money I'd be able to see why they cracked it that
deep." She seems lost in her own thoughts for a moment, but then she shakes herself, coming back to
the topic at hand. "Well. All these plates it has." She gestures upward with her cane. "The one with
the map business going on, that's easy enough to figure out. Sapience and whatnot."


You have emoted: Eleanor sets her cane back on the ground, leaning her weight on it. "But the others.
 I heard theories that they represented the other land-masses about. Polyargos, Asper, all that."
She shakes her head. "Highly unlikely that that's the case."

Doyen Kelliara Olahri asks, "And why might that be?"

You say, "A few reasons. First, none of the other plates have the same demarkation of land masses
and whatnot."

You have emoted: Eleanor nods to the great, sweeping tracks that loop around the Orrery. "And
secondly, they hardly change their position in relation to the continent, now do they? But those
tracks are clearly designed to move."


Doyen Kelliara Olahri says, "True enough."

You say, "So. Something that is related to our continent, but not in a fixed location in relation to
it."

Kelliara creases her brow in a frown.

You say, "I'm not entirely certain, but by the number of them that there are..."

You say, "Well, you ever listen to a Sciomancer or Ascendril rattle about their arts?"

Doyen Kelliara Olahri frowns and says, "Not since a Sciomancer attempted to use me as some
experiment or another while I was an Omega."

You say, "Well, they like to bang on- at length, let me tell you- about how they draw their arts
from elemental planes."

You have emoted: Eleanor squints up at the plates arrayed around the machine. "Fire, air, water, all
that malarkey."


Doyen Kelliara Olahri asks, "You think that this details locations of these planes perhaps?"

You say, "Location or... some other important quality. Perhaps."

You have emoted: Eleanor squints at the looming contraption. "I'm not entirely certain- seems
there's a few more plates than just those that'd account for the elemental planes- but it's a
working theory I think."


Doyen Kelliara Olahri says, "There are...six elements, no?"
Doyen Kelliara Olahri says, "And the plane of Chaos also, perhaps."

You have emoted: Eleanor makes a thoughtful sound in the back of her throat. "Something like that.
It's pretty much a given that the Ankyreans knew something we don't, of course."

Doyen Kelliara Olahri frowns and says, "Indeed. I would very much like to converse with one who
worked in the Conclave of Magic."

You say, "I'd offer to dredge someone up for you, but last time that happened... well, let's just
say they're keeping an eye out for me."

Doyen Kelliara Olahri says to you, "There is a specific Ankyrean I would talk with. But...she is out
of my reach. For the moment."

You say, "Oh?"

Kelliara nods her head emphatically.


Doyen Kelliara Olahri says, "She is long dead."

You have emoted: Eleanor shifts her weight, leaning more heavily on her cane. "Do tell."


Waving a dismissive hand, Doyen Kelliara Olahri says, "I speak of Yrtez."

You have emoted: Eleanor fails to cut off a brief bark of laughter, raising a hand to cover her
mouth as she composes herself.

Kelliara scowls miserably.

You say, "I'm sorry. That was rude, but- of all the Ankyreans, her?"

You say, "She'd be the most closely watched and the least willing."

Doyen Kelliara Olahri says, "Know you another Ankyrean who created the Atabahi?"

You say, "...Er, pardon?"

Kelliara waves a hand dismissively at you, her attention clearly elsewhere.

Curtly, Doyen Kelliara Olahri says, "At any rate, the piece is set into place. My thanks for your
assistance. Be well, Conduit."

Kelliara inclines her head politely to those around her.

You say, "Indeed. Take care."

[Kelliara legs it.]

You have emoted: Eleanor exhales slowly, glowering up at the only other occupant of the room, now.
"Yrtez indeed," she mutters. "What 'magic' has to do with you, I don't know."

You have emoted: Eleanor considers the orrery for a few moments. "Don't imagine you were any of her
business." She observes a while longer, then- slowly- reaches up to the goggles atop her head. "I
wonder." Sliding them down over her eyes, she squints through them at the machine and then limps
forward, resting her hand against the arc of one of the metal tracks. "Shame you're not alive," she
comments.


Alive or not, the machine burns in your enhanced vision - residual essence, very old, but still
lambent enough to shine, trapped in the metal like a bevy of stars.

Quietly awed, you say, "But you still have it, I see. You must light up like noonday at midnight
when you're running."

You have emoted: Eleanor looks downward, peering at the stone beneath her feet.



The machine has no comment on this.

You say, "I wonder if it would be an entirely terrible idea to arc some extra essence through and
see how far down it can go..."

You have emoted: Eleanor peers upward again, still squinting. "More than I have onhand, I think,
even if I tried."

You say, "Well. Something to think on."

You incline your head politely to a towering, ruined orrery.

[Elea heads off. The end!]