The heart of the Machine - and the leader of the outcasts

(Location: [6] Location for a specialized purpose | Encounter: [6] Unique NPC or adversary | Objects: [5] Something valuable | Exits: [4] 1 additional exit)

Although Lux has little understanding of this strange underground world, she can easily tell that she and Eron are now approaching something important. The corridor they now follow is lined with more ornate decorations, and even the usual pistons and gears are polished to a mirror shine. Finally, the passageway opens up into a grand chamber: the heart of the Great Machine.

More baffling machinery encircles the room; strange glass tubes, copper cables, panels covered with small levers and dials. On the ceiling above is a vast inverted dome of angled panels, a glittering mass of brass and steel. And directly beneath the dome, standing at a particularly intricate bank of controls, is an old man, dressed like the outcasts – except that he wears an odd metal cap that is wired to the panel in front of him.

As Lux and Eron sneak closer, the man’s head jerks up. “Do you think you can evade my sight?” he calls out. “The Machine’s eyes are my eyes now!”