My knees were sloppy, and could barely hold my weight as I cascaded through the air. It would seem the ring I just found can activate certain mechanisms. I could feel its power humming around my finger.
The platform I stood on was going at a steady pace, keeping my hair billowing in the wind. After a few moments, my breath began to get impared, and I could feel my muscles tensing. It was clear now that my energy was being used to power the floating platform. The ring was only a conduit.
It took several more moments before I reached the other side of the massive pit. My legs were ready to cramp up as I tumbled off of the platform when it came to an abrupt halt.
As I laid there, I took a moment to regain my energy. My body was still heavy from the cursed sphere pendant that hung chained around my neck.
I could hear a strange buzzing, and a steady thumping rhythm. I couldn't imagine it to be anything other than an ancient mechanism still powered by some eternal magic. Were my hopes of finding a working machine coming true? What is its function? How does it operate? And what I really wanted to know…. How much can I get for it?
The steady sounds easily lulled me to a rest, and I found myself waking in a freight some time later. I struggled up to a seated position. My stomach growled in anger, and demanded a hard ration. I reluctantly agreed as I found no debris in my surroundings to build up a fire.
As I crunched down on a couple of hard tack pieces, I could make out a faint light coming from two torches on either side of a distant door. It was difficult to see what was in the courtyard with me. I decided to attempt to light my way using my Earrings of Firelight.
I plucked the earrings from a bag on my chest, and grabbed the ends. Like before I could feel my energy tingling its way into the charm. With a few long, gentle, breaths my surroundings were lit!
I needed a few moments to take in the full scene. Dozens of pedestals with different fusions of crystals encircled a massive, carved, crystalline statue of a woman. This one, three times bigger as the previous two, and carved in full color out of an amazing assortment of stones. She posed confidently with several tools in a tight fitting jumpsuit. Sporadic mechina was scattered about, and looked integrated into her body.
Searching around, I found each pedestal had a plaque with the types of stones used in the amalgamation, and several other notes about its uses. I wrote down each one into a ledger I keep on the side, so I can better identify the crystals in the future.
Traveling from sign to sign, each had their own unique, ornate design to them. The most impressive being of course, the one used to label the overpowering statue.
“Meka, Chief Contraptionist, and ruler of Tresoro,” read the golden signage.
The rest of the plaque was inlaid with an assortment of stones, with a bumpy texture. It was so inviting I couldn’t help but run my fingers along it. I felt a tingle when I made contact with certain ones. They all differed, but I found the gems were aligned in a diamond pattern around the lettering.
I tried all sorts of combinations, gestures, and humming in hopes of interacting with the oddity further. The order seemed to matter, the sensation building as I went from stone to stone, with a large black stone being used to reset.
It was a delightful game, and one that seemed to offer rewards at the end as well. The sensation continued to build to an almost unbearable level. I took a shock that made me yelp, and thankfully that seemed to be the final one, as the entire inlay plate sank into the stature revealing, yet another book.
This one was in the best shape of them all so far. Its pages must be magicall protected from the elements, it wasn’t even dusty like the rest of the compartment. At first glance there wasn’t a title, but when held at the right angle to the light, “Stone Splicing Records'' shimmered along the top. The author's name stood alongside it, simply centered, “Meka.”
A decent sized lock held the covers together, but nothing a small pop cap won’t take care of. I try to keep a small hammer, and nail on me to set them off, you never know when they will fix your situation.
The loud bang echoed through the chamber. I'm sure it alerted everything with a heart beat that someone is down in these depths, however, the lock came off. As I skimmed through the pages, it was as if I could breathe the air from this lost time.
The writing itself was challenging to comprehend. There were a lot of specific terms used that I am still unfamiliar with. Although there were some foot notes scribbled down in the margins that carried some clues to the wording. They were few and far between in the dense tome. It will take some serious studying to gather much spell work from this, but the information inside im sure is invaluable.
Flipping back to the front, I found that there was a section that was written more as a journal. I explored more, and found a clean separation with several blank pages preceding an experimental notes section.
The journal started with a font of rage, calling for any assistance from the heavens to obtain contact with High Priest Ptha. Communication had been nonexistent over the past few years, with visits from the Metris the Cleric of Mol withering to a stop too.
Several curses were tossed towards Ptha for bringing dragons to the sands, and disrupting the harmony created by the stones. The dragons did bring power, but it was too easily thrown into chaos with their temper. The amount of attention put towards their care, and the requisitioning of their food, caused the freakish weather events to return. Tresoro is an intense heatwave as Meka writes her words.
The entries skip forward what looks like a few months, the head contrapsionist makes a new entry about furthering her stone studies. The stones seemed easily controlled, and useful. Much like the priests of Pazmoltae, she seemed determined to find a mixture that would work.
Meka, and her followers, were unable to control the harsh landscape with the stones alone. It was not until machinery was incorporated to help boost,or hone the stones power toward their will.
More time passes, and the area around Tresoro seemed to be improving. The weather was noticeably cooler, and they were able to prevent more sinkholes from forming.
The Cleric of Mol managed to make an appearance, riding in on his crimson dragon mount. Special preparation had to be taken to keep the dragon happy, feeding it a mountain of meat while the cleric had a council with the contraptionists.
Close inspection was taken of the mechanisms powered by the spliced stones. An air of cockiness graced the pages, as Meka described the cleric’s actions.
*****
"He stood there in front of my machine dumbfounded. It sat there still, and silent. My craftsmanship offered little in cracks, or seems, and Metris was stunned when I revealed the controls with a simple touch of the finger.”
******
A picture of the sunstone ring, I found in the large crystal box, was sketched beside this passage. The book continued with Meka bending the environment to her will. The effects were slow to take form, but after many hours Metris was left mystified.
A vast wealth, and care for her people was offered for the machine, so the Priests of Pazmoltae may study it in depth. Passing on its power to the rest of the desert. To my surprise Meka did not refuse the offer immediately.
******
“I wanted the dragon, and my people to be cared for. So far there hasn't been a problem in my life that I was not able to solve with some mindfulness. I surely am better suited to control the dragon’s power with my contraptions. Besides, I am already building a secondary stabilizing machine.
The look on Metris’ face when I countered could not be bought! However, he begrudgingly accepted. I waved to his caravan as it crested the horizon with the key to powering the machine, wrapped around my finger.”
*****
There were just a few sketches left in the journal section of the book. Machina being positioned, and theroized around the dragon creature. Some of the sketches began getting pretty intricate, and gruesome. With a single phrase written “test subjects will be hard to find.”
I closed the book, and tossed back my head to take in the words from an ancient life. The light from my earrings was brighter than the torch light, but still did not unveil what laid above in the darkness. As my eyes focused back to the chamber, I noticed something shining above me in the statue.
Once again a treasure had appeared after my thorough inspection. It has occurred too often to be a coincidence, and I believe otherworldly forces to be at work. However, I still made the climb to capture the treasure. Most of the other trinkets have proved to be useful, so hopefully these are too.
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