"Guys, this is taking too long. Does anyone have a better idea?" Mavec asked as he charged the door.

"Bait shoot lock!"

"No!" A chorus of voices came as Bait's plan to fix their situation was shot down.

Starting to feel better, Alvec took a quick look at the door. They could probably power it with their spells entirely. The problem was that it would be a real drain on their resources, and there was no certainty that this was, in fact, the final chamber. It seemed like a risk. How, then, did this door normally open? He laughed so much that his wounds hurt.

"Mavec, the answers lying on the floor," Alvec replied.

Mavec took a moment to look around, and it dawned on him what Alvec meant. "Leave it to Alusai to make a door that's only easy to open if you have a lot of constructs. We don't, so, options people?"

"We've still got a little charge with my elemental protection spell. I say we make a daisy chain and connect the door and that electric trap." Alvec said as he tried to stand up. He was met with two hands firmly planted on his chest.

"Let them sort out the details, I'm not done healing you," Sarbie said.

"Ok, if Echo bites the poles, and we grab his tail and then go arm to arm, I think we can stretch far enough!" Naya said. Reluctantly, everyone but Alvec and Sarbie lined up, and sure enough, Naya had been close. Illaria took the final spot and used her blade as the final conductor of the electrical current. It took only a few moments for the remaining bars on the lock to turn green, indicating a full charge. The mechanism spun and disconnected from the metal doors, which pulled apart, allowing the group access. The emergency lights of the passage beyond kicked on. Following the lights through the hallway, they arrived at a well-prepared workshop.

Mavec could see so many tools of his trade strewn about. Something seemed off to him, though. While undoubtedly a "good" workshop, it lacked the finery he had expected to see in Alusai's inner sanctum. This looked more like something he'd find at the academy. It was well-funded but meant for general usage and not specialized work, like the sort he'd need for the external gyroscopes. As he carefully examined the room, he found a vial full of a bright red and reflective liquid, like a ruby mixed with mercury. A small yellowed label on the vial read ferrous mercury. Something in one of his pockets vibrated. A look of confusion swept Mavec's face as he reached into his pocket and removed the sample they had taken from one of the intruders. As he moved it closer to the vial of red liquid, the sample did its best to compress against the glass as far from the other liquid as possible.

"I think this is that same material the Lochmaster had coming out of his wounds. Called it the spark of life, whatever that is, the intruders don't seem to like it at all." Mavec said.

Alvec came to stand behind him, observing the reaction of the intruder. "Vato really may have been on to something. We have to find that recipe." Alvec said.

"Yeah, problem is, I don't see anything that looks like a book of patents and formulae. This is his tomb; it's here somewhere, just not this room." Mavec said.

"Are we sure it's not here?" Alvec asked.

"Certain of it. This room is well equipped, but it doesn't feel right." He waved his hands around the room. "It's too... too basic. This isn't a legendary clocksmith's final resting place."

"I'll take your word for it. This seems to be the last room, though. Think we're dealing with a false wall scenario?" Alvec asked.

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"Bait think so. Look at dah pipes. Too many. If no more rooms should be fewer pipes." The goblin said as he pointed to several water pipes running towards the edge of the room. They were well disguised in the rafters of this room, with a paint job that made them nearly seamlessly blend into the background.

"Do goblins have really good eyesight?" Mavec asked as he squinted up at the ceiling.

"Yes, dat why we shoot good." Bait replied.

The group combed the room like last time, searching for a lever or something to open the way. Unfortunately, this wasn't like Vato's lair. This was Alusai, the master clocksmith. Nothing here would be easy to find if he didn't intend it to be.

Mavec took a moment to carefully examine the room. His eyes combed over every tool hung upon his walls and every work surface until something finally caught his eye. Two of the tools were swapped. A specific wrench in a set was hung up where a pair of pliers should be, and vice versa. He took both off and quickly returned them to their rightful positions. It didn't cause anything dramatic, but he swore he heard a distinct click from one of the workstations. He walked over to it to find the table's surface lifted slightly. He slid his fingers beneath the lip of the table and pulled it up, revealing a disassembled clockwork contraption. The pieces were all in a pile in a small container. He took them out and carefully examined each metallic gear and rod. One final puzzle. He lost himself in the work as he puzzled through Alusai's last great challenge. It was difficult to solve, like a puzzle where you couldn't rely on the edges to help you solve it. Many of the parts were the same size, and only the wear patterns on the gears gave Mavec the clues he needed to click them all into the proper place.

With a satisfying whirling sound, the wall on the far side of the room opened up, sliding entirely into the ceiling. A strange light shone down the hallway. The oranges and reds of industrial flames poured out with an intense heat behind them. Everyone but Alvec braced themselves against the furnace blast of hot air.

"What in the Shattered Facet is going on in there?" Mavec asked.

"I don't rightly be knowing, but it does feel like the Shattered Facet," Illaria said as she drew her blade again and moved down the hallway. A literal roar ahead of her caused her to hasten her steps, breaking into a full sprint. The rest of the party chased after her. When they arrived in a large circular room, they found a creature that stood easily twelve feet tall, humanoid in shape, with a gnarled second mouth on its distended belly. Flames belched from it, and a fire roiled inside it like hot coals.

Mavec couldn't believe it, a slag fiend in Alusai's lair of all places. There was an old myth among clocksmiths that slag fiends would come eat your constructs if you weren't a good practitioner of the craft. Alusai was a goddamn master; one being here was an insult to his memory or condemnation of whoever had trespassed on his tomb.

Its second mouth crunched something before spitting a molten orb at Illaria. She brought her buckler up in time, and molten slag collided with it. The force spun her to the ground and ripped the buckler away. It came to a rest in a molten metal pool feet away.

"These things resist electricity?" Mavec asked aloud.

"Nope, let's light him up," Alvec said as he stood beside Mavec. The two traced the same motions through the air as electricity crackled around them dangerously. Two azure bolts streaked through the hallway and struck the creature square in its bloated stomach. The fiend moved towards Illaria and bit at her with both mouths. The jagged fangs looked sharp enough to pierce her chainmail with ease. Thankfully, she was quick, and her blade blazed a sunset's crimson red as she interposed it between herself and the fiend. Successfully sliding herself backward, she slashed as hard as she could, drawing out a thick oozing magma-like blood.

A salvo of lead slammed into the creature's chest at the same time that yellow bolts of lighting struck from ceiling to floor. The creature inhaled sharply, breathing a torrent of flame at the group. Alvec quickly countered racing a wall of ice into existence between themselves. A cloud of steam filled the room as the two opposing elements vied for dominance.

"Anyone got a clear shot?" Alvec asked as he waved his hand in front of his face, trying to clear some of the steam from his view. Mavec smiled wide; none of the living things in this room did, but Piccora was a masterpiece in her own right, and she could see the heat source clear as day.

"Line him up," Mavec commanded as his clockwork familiar darted through the steam. She bounded off the uneven rubble of the melted ice wall and vaulted high into the sky. Mavec felt the robotic certainty that Picorra was in place and immediately slammed the final lightning bolt through her. A flash of blue light, which lit up the whole room as it refracted from the fog, struck the fiend dead center and with a misshapen explosion of lava, not unlike a volcanic eruption, its thick, viscous magma-like blood splattered all around it, sizzling into flakey pig-iron as it cooled on the floor.