As Xander regained consciousness, he found his eyes unable to focus. Attempting to gaze upon the seemingly pure-white room, he started blinking rapidly in hopes of fixing the issue. After an unreasonably long time, his vision finally cleared, but the room he found himself in was no longer pure-white. It was certainly not his brand-new state-of-the-art laboratory. This room had carved stone walls and floating light sources, which did have a certain style to them - something to consider for his next base. Although the room appeared to be a lab of some kind, the lack of any people was odd but not unwelcome. Xander decided to investigate the lab and determine what was being studied and why he had appeared there. He began to wander around the large room and examine the various apparatus. He recognised some instantly, and a few were easy enough to work out based on context. The strange metal sphere under a tripod must be equivalent to a Bunsen burner given the heat it was emitting. The remaining devices weren't immediately understandable, but Xander was confident he could work them out given an hour or so. As he continued to meander from counter to counter, he spotted something that piqued his curiosity. On a small stand with what might have been a microscope aimed at it was a small metallic bracelet with a stylised "X" on the face. Recognising his former favourite panic button, he retrieved it from the stand and slipped it onto his wrist, where the "X" flashed once, and the device adjusted to a snug fit. Turning away from the counter, Xander finally turned his attention to the door. Since whoever this lab belonged to was experimenting on his equipment, he decided to confront them and introduce himself. Walking over to the door and grasping the handle, he attempted to open it, but instead, he sighed as a loud whine started to emanate from the handle. Releasing it, Xander started counting the seconds. After reaching thirty-two, the door opened, revealing a group of five diminutive figures wearing what Xander could only describe as archaic metal armour with some sort of glowing red filigree inlaid around the edge of each plate, a bit ostentatious for his tastes. Shaking his head, he gave up on the line he had been preparing and instead settled for something classic.
"Take me to your leader."
As the guards escorted him away from the laboratory, Xander focused on examining the rest of the strange place he had appeared in. The corridor that the lab was connected to stretched off into the distance ahead of them, with multiple identical doors spaced evenly on each side. Glancing behind him, Xander saw that it was mostly the same. However, instead of reaching a corner as it did ahead of them, the corridor behind terminated three doors down in a large pile of rocks and debris. Once they turned the corner, Xander emerged from the stone corridor into a massive chamber that stretched out before him like a vast and bustling city. Ornately carved stone pillars were spaced out evenly throughout the space, their intricate designs seeming to tell stories of their own. Sunlight shone down from the circular opening in the ceiling, casting a warm glow over the busy scene below. The floor was covered in detailed images, each one seemingly more intricate than the last. But what drew Xander's attention the most were the numerous market stalls set up throughout the chamber, their colorful wares laid out in neat rows and piles. swarms of people, most the same size of his escort bustled between the stalls, haggling and trading in a cacophony of voices and sounds. The sheer number of people was enough to cause Xander a headache, but he couldn't help but marvel at the energy and vitality of the scene before him. A sharp jab in his back caused Xander to realise he had come to a halt. Deciding it was best not to irritate his escorts, he offered a small gesture of apology and resumed walking, making note of how lax the security seemed to be.
Since having exited the market chamber some twenty minutes ago, Xander had started to get bored. Sure, the architecture was impressive, but there was only so much carved stone he could take before wanting to replace it with something more to his tastes. He had begun working out how he would redesign this place if he were to take over. So far, he had concluded that the floating lights could stay, but pretty much everything else was terribly overdone and inefficient. It would be best to replace it all with reinforced metal wall panels with touch screens evenly spaced along them, pressure sensors in the floors, and a substantial number of defences and cameras placed strategically throughout. Just as he was moving on to redesigning the guards' armour, they turned a corner and reached a large metal door polished to a mirror shine with intricate depictions of great battles and adventure. On a metal plaque attached to the door was a message in an unfamiliar language, which he was able to read perfectly.
"Here reigns the great gizmologist Bolt Bevelgear, ruler of the Tunnel Carver set."
Well, maybe not perfectly. Xander corrected his previous thought since there was absolutely zero chance anyone would be referred to as a "great gizmologist." Besides, if the term meant what he assumed, only he had the right to be referred to by that title. As Xander was distracted by his completely reasonable annoyance, one of the guards walked up to the door and pressed a combination of images on its surface. This caused the door to begin to rise upward with a whirr of gears and belts, revealing a moderately sized entrance chamber containing chairs and tables ranging in size from small enough for Xander's hosts to large enough to make even Ultimax seem small. Xander felt another jab in his back and made his way to an appropriately sized chair, taking note of the door on the opposite side of the room, which was no less ornate than the one he had entered through, which was now closing. The guards remained outside. Xander sighed as he settled into the chair, certain that Bevelgear would waste his time in a petty power play. He reached into one of the many pouches on his suit and retrieved his Neural Pad, which consisted of a small semi-sphere and a rectangular pad. Attaching the semi-sphere to his temple and tapping the pad, he switched on the screen and began mentally dictating his experiences so far and what he would say to this Bolt Bevelgear.
After about forty revisions and fifty minutes, Xander heard the whirr of the door opening. Standing up and returning his gear to the correct pouch, he walked over to the door and adjusted his combat suit. Once the door had fully opened, he strode confidently into the somewhat impressive audience chamber, taking note of the rows of guards flanking the ostensibly purple marble path leading up to an overly engineered mechanical throne upon which sat who could only be Bolt Bevelgear. He was wearing armor that, by comparison, made the throne look plain. He could almost be called intimidating if not for his height, tired and wizened expression, and the pairs of oversized gears around his shoulders and upper arms. Though they were laughable, Xander appreciated how they matched his name. He stopped before the throne, hands clasped behind his back, waiting for Bevelgear to speak and hopefully give him the last pieces of information he needed to finish preparing his response.
“I must admit I know not what to make of you, having made your way past some of the best gnomish security widgets, to make it into our gizmatics chambers, only to give yourself away by tripping the simplest runic wards, then having the gall to demand an audience! You appear to be rather inattentive and incredibly egotistical, but that is hardly the important part. So I ask you, for whom are you working and why are they spying on us?”
Xander stood there, his eyes flickering with interest as he took in the grandiosity of the audience chamber. The rows of guards standing tall on either side of the purple marble path leading up to the overly engineered mechanical throne on which Bolt Bevelgear sat were impressive, to say the least. Xander could feel the gears of his mind whirring as he quickly considered the significance of the "runic wards" mentioned by Bevelgear.
As Bevelgear spoke, Xander maintained a calm and collected demeanor, carefully assessing the situation before responding. He knew he had to correct the gnomes' misconceptions about him if he was going to make any headway in his negotiations. Xander took a deep breath before replying with a smile on his face.
"Lord Bevelgear, I can assure you that I am no spy. My name is Count Xendrix, and I have come here of my own accord. I have no master but myself. As for why I am here, it seems that my method of transport was less than perfect. But despite this, I believe that our meeting could be fortunate, assuming, of course, that we can work together."
With a flick of his wrist, Xander withdrew a palm-sized orb from a pouch and dropped it behind him. He then gracefully sat down upon his newly formed throne, causing it to levitate up until he was seated at equal height with Lord Bevelgear. Xander looked down his nose at the gnome, giving him a challenging look.
"You may recognize this bracelet from your laboratory, sorry, I mean your gizmatics chamber. Seeing as you find my supposed inattentiveness to be a flaw, I doubt you failed to notice my sigil upon its face. This being the case, why is your set tinkering with it as if it was your property, and has any more of my property found its way to these halls? Please be aware, 'great gizmologist,' that if your answers are unsatisfactory, it will cause irreparable harm to our future dealings, which I can assure you would be a great loss for you and your set."
Xander's words hung in the air for a moment, leaving Bevelgear looking flustered and taken aback. But as the gnome regained his composure, he gestured to one of the guards and continued speaking, explaining the difficulties that the objects that had appeared without warning had caused his people.
"First of all, in regards to your 'property', I hardly think you can hold us accountable for examining the random assortment of objects that have appeared without warning throughout our home. Especially considering that two teams of gizmologists have been seriously injured, and three labs have been rendered unreachable while trying to ascertain their origin and purpose. And that's not even mentioning the number of mining tunnels we've had to close due to instabilities these objects have caused."
Gesturing to one of the guards who proceeded to leave the chamber, Bevelgear continued. "As for your suggestion of cooperation, you are more than welcome to assist around our city, and in exchange, we will provide food and board until you can return to where you came from."
As Bevelgear stopped speaking, the door opened, and Xander, hearing heavy footsteps, dismounted his throne and returned it to its pouch. A black-haired gnome strode into the chamber, passed him, and knelt before Bevelgear. Raising her head slightly, her face showing barely a trace of emotion, she addressed Bevelgear.
"Lord, I am here as you requested. Why have you summoned me, and who is that?"
As she said this, she glanced at Xander with a mix of annoyance and worry.
"That," Bevelgear stated simply, gesturing towards Xander with a mechanical gauntlet, "is Count Xendrix and the reason for my summoning. You are required to help him with his work and to guide him around during his stay."
The door opened once more, and this time a group of five people in identical uniforms and armour walked inside. All of them had skin like aged parchment and long, well-cared-for beards. Xander noted the respectful look on the face of the black-haired gnome as the group entered. He couldn't make out much of their faces or features due to their armoured heads and their almost ornate beards. But judging by their build and style of armour, which was lacking what he now realised were the runes he had seen on the armour worn by the guards here, they were most likely an envoy from outside the tunnel carvers. Xander waited to see why they were here and if he could use this to his advantage.
"Lord Bevelgear, we are here on behalf of Great King Stal the third, Lord of many peaks, Guardian of the holds, to demand an explanation for the egregious lack of metal deliveries these last months," one of them announced while the rest just glared, waiting for him to respond.
"Greetings, envoys. My apologies for having delayed you so long, but we just received an unexpected visitor which required my immediate attention." As he said this, he briefly glared at Xander, who returned the look with a nod.
"I will explain our circumstances shortly, but I must inform you that Count Xendrix here is largely at fault, if unknowingly, for your missing shipments," sighed Bevelgear heavily before continuing. "But as he has agreed to assist in rectifying the situation, I request that you delay any repercussions until after we have repaired our infrastructure, at which point I will personally ensure he will be sent to you."
As he finished speaking to the envoys, his gaze stopped briefly on the black-haired gnome still waiting to be dismissed. But before he could say anything more, Xander stepped forward and cleared his throat.
"My apologies, Lord Bevelgear, but if you wish for the current problems solved in a timely manner, then my assistant and I should get started," he spoke purposefully as he strode over to the black-haired gnome and lifted her to her feet, noting the flash of annoyance on her face. Before leading her to the door, Xander turned once more to Bolt Bevelgear and with the most self-assurance he could muster, stated, "Thank you for your time, Lord Bevelgear. I will see you once everything is under control." Then barely waiting for the door to open, he slipped through to the ante-chamber.