Dionysus After a few minutes, you are so high, you can see the whole continent. The pegasus gently evens out its flight & suddenly begins to descend.

• Sue sags in relief. "Wow. You know, if you drop me, I bet I wouldn't taste good at all."

Sue s/all/aaaaaaaaa/

Dionysus It doesn't respond, but its descent becomes gentler.

• Sue relaxes again, gradually.

Dionysus You land outside a small village, a quanit little mud & thatch sort of village in a gentle hill-land.

• Sue looks around. "Here?"

Dionysus The pegasus does not respond.

Dionysus Manny apparently could not keep up.

• Sue gets off, presumably, and looks around.

Dionysus A lot of innate magic here. A plume of smoke curls up from the village. A few people are going about their business there.

• Sue goes into the village, trying to figure out what the pegasus wanted him to see.

Dionysus People look to you, & mutter in Berellian, <Another one?> or <Did the little thing escape?> <Does the gnome know?>

Sue "What gnome?"

• Sue pulls in some more air. <Hello.>

Dionysus One looks surprised, <Hello. Are you... the gnome's slave? Have you gotten free?>

Sue <I am no slave. What gnome do you speak of?>

Dionysus He frowns, <The one in the caves. If you are not his slave, how did you get here?>

Sue <A pegasus brought me. I am supposed to see or do something to prove my worth to it.>

Sue <Is slavery legal in this country?>

Dionysus <Of course not.>

Dionysus He sounds offended.

• Sue frowns. <Then why is this gnome allowed to keep one?>

Dionysus <Because none have yet been able to stop him. His cave is full of dangers. /Machines/.> He spits the word.

Sue <I thought that machines were also illegal here.>

Dionysus He nods, disdain rolling off of him, <Of course. But no druid has answered our summons, & we are unable to do much to stop him.>

Sue <Ah! The pegasus may have sensed my talents and brought me here to deal with this criminal. If I do not return, please send word to the druid Guideau Toutant that I have been captured or killed by this rogue machinist.>

Sue <Er, also, could you please tell me where his cave is?>

Sue Guiteau

Dionysus He frowns, stares a moment, then says, <Up the hill there, & half a day's journey through the forest along the ravine, you will find a shallow gully where you can walk down. The cave entrance is there."

• Sue grimaces at the thought of walking through these forests for a day. He brings the issue to the pegasus. "Someone is keeping machines and a slave in a cave nearby. Can you bring me closer?"

Dionysus It kneels.

• Sue climbs up.
• Sue gives directions.

Dionysus It flies up, not nearly as high as before, & lands near to the indicated cave--you see it as it swoops over once, then lands. As it breaks the canopy before you land, you may or may not think it's going to slam you through the branches, but it somehow evades them all.

• Sue dismounts and creeps up to the cave entrance.

Dionysus Roll rogue.

Dionysus You arrive at the cave opening without being noticed.

• Sue peers inside.
• Sue takes off his pack and investigates his tools. Book, harp, antivox, revolver. He eyes the revolver for a moment, then equips the anivox before reshouldering his pack.

Dionysus Roll awareness.

Dionysus All you see is the dark of the cave & a short way inside. Just rough stone & trickling water.

• Sue creeps along the inside wall, listening for the clank of a machine or the muttering of a gnome.

Dionysus You find that your eyes are useless to far in, but you can see something faint ahead of you on the void scale.

Dionysus Roll hearing.

Dionysus You don't hear it until it's quite loud, but the whir of some machine reaches your ears as a large section of rock starts to move underneath you. Roll dodge to jump forward or back out of its way.

Dionysus Forward or backward?

• Sue leaps forward, rolling inadvertantly onto his side.

Dionysus You are on the edge of a very deep pit.

• Sue scrambles to his feet, looking around in terror.

Dionysus The pit is very narrow, but very deep. You can probably jump it.

• Sue frowns, then takes off his pack and tosses it over. For the record, the revolver isn't loaded.

Dionysus Good.

Dionysus Do you jump?

• Sue jumps once his pack is safely across the pit.

Dionysus You make it across.

Dionysus You are now near to three doors, two of which are void laden. The third is very dark.

Sue Are they decorated in any way? Can I tell what the void is doing on the first two doors?

Dionysus It is there to prevent magic or faith from working on said doors. They are blank metal slates for doors, each with a simple iron knob & lock.

Sue Is the void-dark door locked?

Dionysus Do you try to open it?

Sue I mean, is there a visible lock on every door?

Sue Or can I not see because it's so void-dark?

Dionysus You probably can't tell, due to the lack of light & lack of void-light from it.

Sue Okay. I'll test the lock on the first door, and then the second door.

Dionysus Both are locked. As you touch the second door, you hear a clamoring.

• Sue jumps back and looks around. If it is coming from behind the second door, he moves behind the hinged side of it.

Sue Er, from behind any of the doors, in fact.

Dionysus It is coming from all around, & you hear gears grinding as metal spikes fly from the walls... & explodes in midair, releasing a foul smelling gas.

Dionysus Which fails to affect you.

• Sue stares at it for a moment, then realizes what it is supposed to do. He presses his ear up against the second door and listens for activity.

Dionysus You hear pounding & a strange rasping noise.

Sue Does it sound like machinery?

Sue If so, he tries again to open the second door.

Dionysus It does sound like machinery.

Dionysus Roll stun/wound.

Sue The closest thing I have to something applicable is badass karma from the relationship with Aurelia.

Dionysus I think you just blacked out.

Sue ok

Dionysus You awaken some time later in a room with another athak. At first, you can only make out his back, then you realize, it is Mux. He is chained to a chair in which he is sitting.

• Sue blinks painfully. "Hello, Mux."

Sue Good thing I left instructions with the villagers!

• Sue tries to sit up and look around.

Dionysus "Sue," he says quietly. "I didn't want to tell him who you were, but..."

Dionysus He blushes in the athak way.

Sue "What's going on? Where are we?"

Dionysus "I do not know where we are, but we are captives o fthe vicious gnome Katzenheim."

Sue "We - we're in a cave somewhere in Berellia."

Sue "Why on shem would Katzenheim make his home here? And why would he make you his prisoner?"

Dionysus He sighs, "So it goes. It isn't so bad, sometimes. He puts me in a box to travel. This is not a home so much as a base of operations, for now. A few weeks in each Empire as he collects his songs.... I am his Engine."

Sue "The famous composing engine?" He shakes his head. "A fraud? But this place is filled with deadly traps - including the one that caught me, apparently. Was composition the one thing he couldn't automate?"

Dionysus "You recall my music? How... well, how I made it merely written, unplayable? He... he was obsessed with that, but he could not do it himself, so... When I left for the surface world & found a fan, it turned out to be one dangerous fan. He has dragge me along since, keeping me hidden. When we travel, he puts me in a box." The last is stressed, plaintively.

Sue "Why don't you call out from the box?"

• Sue isn't sure he wants to hear the answer to this.

Dionysus "Sound doesn't travel beyond it. I've tried. It is like your antivox--it can null sound."

• Sue rubs his head. "We need to get out of here, if we can. Where is Katzenheim now?"

Dionysus "In the next room, fixing the gas traps."

• Sue checks himself. Is he chained, does he have any of the things he carried in?

Dionysus You

Dionysus 're chained by the left ankle to the bedpost.

Sue Is the bed bolted down?

Dionysus It is fused to the floor.

Sue Do I have any of my things?

Dionysus Your pack is on the other side of the room, which you can't reach.

• Sue points to it. "Can you reach that?"

Dionysus Mux stands up & tries, but he is just out of reach. "Katzenheim is very precise."

• Sue sits on the bed and thinks. "How do his void-machines work? Are they fully automated?"

Dionysus "Some are, others are not. The doors are inert--they just block other powers. His box, though, he has to throw a switch."

Sue The following represents a use of counting karma.

• Sue starts pacing through the room, counting things. "7 bolts on the door. 8 links on each chain. Four pegs on the bed, each leg fused ... wait, that one isn't. Or that one. He is precise - he only fused the chair and bed legs to the floor that he intended to put chains on.
• Sue starts pacing through the room, counting things. "7 bolts on the door. 8 links on each chain. Four pegs on the bed, each leg fused ... wait, that one isn't. Or that one. He is precise - he only fused the chair and bed legs to the floor that he intended to put chains on.

Sue "

Dionysus Mux nods, "I... That looks right."

Sue "But he doesn't think things through." He climbs up on the bed, pulling his chain behind him, placing it across one of the fused legs. He starts pulling on one of the unfused bedposts. "Here, give me a push. I doubt he made the bolts on the floor strong enough to hold up a bed tipping over."

Dionysus He walks over & starts to help.

Dionysus After a moment, the bed starts to tilt & lift. Mux stops, "Slower! He'll hear us!"

• Sue slacks a bit, but says, "I need him here in a moment anyway."

Dionysus Mux sighs, then continues.

• Sue keeps working on his Will Turner-esque plan.

Dionysus The bed eventually tips over, ripping the bolts out as you expected.

Dionysus The door swings open, & in gnomish, <What are you doing?!>

Sue Regardless of its making a horrible noise, Sue scrambles to get his chain out from under the bedpost and runs for his pack.

Sue s/noise/noise or not/

Dionysus You reach the pack before Katz figures out what's going on. Mux cowers in the corner, terrified.

• Sue throws open the pack's flap, grabs the object on top (either the revolver or, if Katzenheim put it inside, the antivox) and aims it at the gnome. "I trust you know what this is?"

Dionysus Roll a d2

Sue even, revolver, odd, antivox

Sue Oh well. It's still unloaded.

• Sue aims the revolver at the gnome.

Dionysus He stares, then says, "It's a revolver pistol. Quite well made. Where did you get it?" Pure curiosity.

• Sue smiles, but doesn't lower it. "Yes, it's lovely. I traded it for an airship ride in Madziar. Now please, unlock the composer, unless you want to see it demonstrated on your forehead."

Dionysus He seems torn a moment, then sighs, "Dead men can't build, they say. But I would love a demonstration." He starts toward the chains on the chair, though.

Sue While he works, Sue says, "I'm afraid it's too late for you to escape. The Berellians have been aware of your activities for some time. They sent me here to test my worthiness. I will do my best to have you deported rather than executed when we leave, however."

Dionysus "But I still need a song." The chain comes undone, & Mux sags with relief.

Sue "Mux, please take Mr. Katzenheim's keys and unlock my chain."

Dionysus Mux scurries over & does so. Katzenheim grunts, "Just Katzenheim, my lost engine pal."

• Sue shakes his head faintly. "I admire your determination, but you couldn't possibly have won. Mux told me all about your composing engine."

Dionysus "Of course. Now, granted, you can shoot me dead here & now, but if you do, the traps will get you on the way out. The easy ones on the way in were nothing."

• Sue nods. "Yes, you're quite right. Mux, would you please get the box?"

Dionysus Mux goes to the other room, & Katz says, "We can make a deal, of course."

Sue "Here's my offer. We're going to take you out in the box. Before that, you're going to tell us how to bypass all of your traps on the way out. If we die, no one will ever open the box and you'll eventually die of starvation."

Sue "A bullet would be relatively merciful, I should think."

Dionysus He scowls, "And after we get out?"

• Sue shrugs. "As I said, we will attempt to have you deported to Maraddon, where you may help me build an interplanetary shuttle."

Dionysus His eyes glitter momentarily. "An... deal."

Sue "Excellent. So, about those traps?"

Dionysus He explains all of them, from the thaumasine shower that obliterates void beings to the void laser which would null any magic to the rock crushers, pit traps, & wire traps. He also explains that the entrance to the cave snaps shut if you try to leave without doing the right footwork.

Dionysus His traps are insidious.

• Sue takes notes.

Sue Once he's in the box, do we have any trouble getting out?

Dionysus Not really, if you follow his directions.

Dionysus That final offer there basically sold him. I was gonna have him fight a desperate fight.

Dionysus You return to the pegasus?

Sue Yes.

Sue Is it annoyed?

Dionysus It kneels for you & Mux & the box. There's room.

Dionysus It doesn't seem to be.

• Sue is impressed. He lifts the box on first, then climbs on. "You're sure this is okay?"

Dionysus It stands up & takes flight. You rise quickly, reaching your former height of seeing the whole continent.

• Sue clings, forgetting about the box.