Title

"Heresy is an engine. I am the tuning-fork thrust into the cogs of eternity."

Tuesday, June 25, 2024

Bonaventura! E6 "The Infernal Engine"


Lindion walked back and forth, her hand working tirelessly as she recorded every important detail she could find on this stone mural. She did not know when she would return, nor did she find any means of capturing the grandeur other than her words. As she scribbled endlessly, Father Collins examined the grand picture at the end. He discovered a cleverly hidden crack running the whole length, right in the middle of this image. This seemed to him, and the others, that this was actually a door. Thomas knew this was far too heavy to open and thus surmised it must be some kind of clever mechanism. He was about to turn the stone "handle" they had found when Father Collins suggested allowing him to do it from a short distance away.

He summoned forth a spectral hand, an exact replica of his own skeleton that moved as his own hand moved. As the group huddled in the next hall the hand floated forth, gripped the bit of stone and turned it fully to the left. The hall rumbled as the stones in the ceiling directly above came crashing down. They would have killed anyone foolish enough to try and activate the door. This led to the next problem; what exactly did they need to do to open the door? Once the dust settled, the hand turned the nob again, but nothing happened.

Thomas set about to learn how this door worked. He managed to dislodge the bit of stone from the wall and revealed a mesmerizing clockwork gear system that engaged two separate sets of gears. He surmised that one activated the deathtrap while the other (he hoped) would open the door. The only other obvious mechanical bit on the door was the empty eyeholes that appeared to hold some kind of complex tumbler set. So, the logical step was to find a key and thus engage the handle to open the door.

Meanwhile, Father Collins and Lindion had retreated to the broken door further up beyond the hallway and investigate. Father Collins wiggled through the opening and found a few small treasures. He found many treasures, but one scrap of parchment was of particular interest to Lindion who set about deciphering it right away.

While these two were hoarding treasures, Mayflower had, through some truly inspiring words and rallying Arthur to help break down another door. Combining their strength, they broke down the door. Inside was more bones, a almost fully intact skeleton and a strange device. While Mayflower dismembered the skeleton and donned his rusty chainmail, Arthur picked up the dual pronged item and showed it to the others. It was, to their shock, the missing "key" they had been looking for. 

Sliding the complex metal key into the holes, they hear a clicking sound. Thomas then turned the gears and the humongous doors opened out. Stepping across the threshold, they gazed upon the ancient ruins of a humongous device, bigger and more complex than anything Thomas or anyone else had ever seen. Father Collins, almost intuitively, realized that this was something far more dangerous. This was a War Engine of the old world, a weapon so terrifying in its destruction all knowledge of them had been erased.

But then, as they stared at this wonder, the chilling screams of the Ghoul could be heard just down the hall. They glanced around but realized that there was no easy way out. Turning to face their foe, they readied weapons and braced for an attack.


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