By the gods! It's full of stars!
- Daffyd ad Whyz, viewing the orrey in the modron cathedral
Hearsay
Hidden deep in the heart of Regulus, there stands a tower that's apparently in defiance of all the laws around it. It seems too slender for its height, and it reaches far, far into the sky. But inside, it's a vast place, far vaster (wider, taller, deeper) than the outside would indicate, with its vaulted ceiling disappearing into darkness. There's something in there that the modrons've been working on for years, and to look upon it is to go mad. It's said Primus uses this place to keep track of the goings-on across the infinite planes, and that's why it's sent modrons everywhere — if Primus sees something it wants changed, it sends modrons out to rectify it.
Description
the Modron Cathedral rises out of the central gear of Regulus, not far from Primus's Tower. It's, surrounded by lesser buildings, resembling nothing so much as a huge church steeple rising high into the sky.
The Modron Cathedral isn't nearly as tall as the tales would have one believe, nor is it bigger on the inside than the out. Because of some tricks the modrons've played with perspective, it only appears that way, but if a body were to go over it, measuring the whole thing, it'd measure up just right. It's an illusion using the natural laws of the place, something modron hierarchs are adept at.
Modrons're constantly buzzing across the place, keeping it polished, adding fixtures, taking some away, and guarding the place against intruders. Those who'd come in must have a pass specifically for the Modron Cathedral from the Central Office of Processing and Requests, and even then they must have an escort of at least two pentadrones per person.
Inside, the building's absolutely huge. The stone walls support vaulted ceilings that spring into the sky, their upper reaches lost in shadows from below. Balconies on hundreds of floors ring the open space in the center, and modrons of one rank or another constantly move along these balconies on errands that normal folks can't even guess at.
The central feature of the place is the Orrery, a gigantic model of gears that're constantly spinning and moving about. Modrons occasionally perch on the Orrery, swabbing or scuffing one surface or another. There's symbols on the spheres that rotate about the central point, a needle that rises into the steeple of the Cathedral. The symbols, if a body can get close enough, are those of the planes, suggesting that this is a working model of the multiverse!
Special Features
Those who watch the Orrery long enough might be able to decipher its meaning. Sure enough, it's a model of the multiverse, incredibly detailed and infinitely complex. Those who concentrate on a particular feature or place on the Orrery find themselves drawn closer in. If they focus in the correct way, it's possible to use the Orrery as a giant scrying device, seeing what transpires on the planes outside the Cathedral.
A body who knows how can focus on a particular place, viewing from the top, bottom, or side. While no sounds come through, a body can read the lips of a creature viewed in this way. One can also observe the movements of an army or a vast horde of creatures as if from a vantage point high in the air. In short, using the Orrery as a crystal, one of the few limits to what it can see is the user's imagination. 'Course, powers can block someone from viewing their realm, if they're aware of the intrusion. Also, extremely powerful creatures (such as pit fiends, balors, solars, and proxies) radiate an area of fog that keeps anyone from watching their movements. Additionally, people who're ordinarily protected from scrying are invisible to the Orrery.
There's a couple of disadvantages to using the Orrery to look for someone. First, unless the user knows exactly where a person is, she's going to be looking for a long time across the infinite planes. Second, unless a body's already comprehended the infinite vastness of the planes, using the Orrery can drive her barmy. A first-time user has to make a Wisdom saving throw DC 25 to retain ther sanity: after that, she can use it whenever she pleases (when the modrons'll let her) without worrying about it. If she fails her check, she's driven barmy for 1d6 years, with a 25% chance of permanent insanity until a remove curse followed by a heal spell are cast on her. She'll have no memory of using the Orrery when she recovers, and if she tries using it again, she must make another save.
To use the Orrery for scrying, a body's got to make a successful Intelligence check DC 20. It takes a minute to concentrate on the place, a minute to get one's mind into the place desired, and then a minute for each dimension traveled, that is, to adjust height takes a minute, length rakes a minute, and depth one more. Thus, it's at least a minimum of 5 minutes to establish any decent vantage, and then additional minutes to skim across the planes.
A body's got to be careful when scrying across the planes — if he's watching from a perspective that matches his height and normal perspective, he's liable to find out one of the other special features of the Orrery: teleportation. A cutter who matches his own height'll suddenly find himself standing in the place he watching. This is fine for those who were watching some place fairly harmless, but absolutely deadly for those who don't know the dangers and were watching, say, factols or other creatures who usually don't bear spying too well.
Some people come to use the Orrery expressly for transport purposes - the chant among the bloods who know of it is, that it's one of the ways the modrons get to the places they need to be. For those who've got an understanding with the modrons, that's fine. For those who don't — well, they've got to get past the modron guards and concentrate long enough on the Orrery to find the place they need to be without anyone catching them. Those who are caught are usually killed, no questions asked.
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