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Q. How can I navigate the Paper Maze?
A. This one is pretty easy to figure out - if you've already opened the gunk-encrusted cabinet in the
Medical Wing Hallway, that is:
> recall lodestone of centrality
"TO CREATE MISUBA'S LODESTONE (to locate the center of a labyrinth): Prepare
an environment of earthy influences. Place a silk thread within the bound, and a
labyrinth symbol upon the gestalt shelf. Begin with the Mithraic Sealing. Pour a
sample of viridigris over the silk, and then lay a shard of elemental earth onto it.
Strike a chime in the mode of recension. Now lay elemental fire upon the labyrinth
symbol (not into the bound!) Finally, the Minor Animus will bind the lodestone to
potential motion."
But it's difficult to execute because there are a lot of steps involved. I'll leave the gathering steps
out in the open this time, as they're not not much of a spoiler. The 'labyrinth symbol' you are looking
for is the clay tile you should have already found in the Junior Quarters. For 'earthy influences',
you need two stone chips placed on the gestalt shelf to make the environment earthy enough :-\ (Note: I tried
using the brick bound in the Pyrics Store to obtain some earthy influence, but it doesn't seem to help at all.
Neither the bound itself nor the bound with a stone chip on the gestalt shelf is sufficient to be able to execute
the ritual successfully. You need two stone chips, so any bound will do. Odd that. Seems to be a small flaw in
the game, because I never found another use for this particular bound, and 'earthy influences' would appear to
be the obvious use). Then we also need viridigris, the recipe for which can be found in the Observatory Alcove,
South:
> recall viridigris synthesis
"THE SYNTHESIS of VIRIDIGRIS (the lower oxide of orichalcum): This process is quite simple.
Place orichalcum and vinegar into a retort; apply the Hermetic sealing. Heat until the vinegar
just begins to boil, and then invoke the Phlogistical Catalysis."
That was simple enough to make. Next, we need to find a chime that makes a sound 'in the mode of
recension'. Hmm. If you remembered to look through the oculus in the East Side Hallway:
> recall facts
> recall musical theory
"...and H - yes, there's an H - is the mode of recension..."
> find h chime
> take it
> find elemental earth
> take it
> perform gold ignition
I trust you can find the other items. Then head for the Nave to perform the
lodestone of centrality ritual: Click here to show/hide
ritual steps
> put granite on shelf
> put sandstone on shelf
> put silk cord in bound
> put labyrinth tile on shelf
> recite mithraic sealing
> pour viridigris on silk cord
> put elemental earth on silk cord
> strike chime
> put elemental fire on labyrinth tile
> recite minor animus
> take lodestone
> take all from shelf
Now we should be able to make our way through the Paper Maze:
> go to paper garden
> e
> swing lodestone
You hold the silk cord by one end, and set the stone swinging.
The stone circles oddly for a moment, then leaps to one side. You turn down the path it
indicates. Soon the pendulum tugs the other way, and you follow it further. After just a few
moments, the maze opens up into a wide clearing.
Click here to show/hide spoilers concerning what you find in the centre of the Paper Maze
Paper Maze, Center
You have found the heart of the hedge maze: a circle of paper screens. A single opening to the
west leads back to the labyrinth. You also notice an open hatchway which leads to a crawlspace
below.
The dragon Pneuma is a mandala of alchemical runes inscribed on the screens. But the runes
look unexpectedly lifeless.
A fragment of paper lies by the hatchway.
If this is your first dragon, it's very likely not what you expected at all (I was expecting to
have to fight a powerful creature... or something :-) Anyway, it's very important that you do the
following with all the dragons you encounter, because you need the resulting info to figure out what's
wrong with the marcher:
> x dragon
Circles of grey-glimmering runes cover the inner screens. This is Pneuma, one of the marcher's
four dragons. Pneuma is responsible for light, warmth, and the flow of air.
Something is wrong, however. You've never seen a dragon before, but by all accounts, the circles
of runes should be rotating, eternally reading themselves. The color is wrong too. Pneuma can't
be dead (or you'd be suffocating in the dark), but it clearly isn't working correctly.
You wrack your brains, trying to recall the Sergeant's lecture on the theory of dragons.
> recall lecture on dragons (obviously, you only need to recall this
lecture once)
A marcher is built around four incredibly complex alchemical constructs, called dragons.
("Because they'll bite you on the arse if you're careless," runs the joke, but in fact nobody knows
the origin of the name.) Pneuma regulates light and air; Baros regulates stability and gravity;
Aistheta manages navigation; Syndesis binds the rooms of the marcher together and to its
destinations.
The dragons are the Retort's vital organs. Constructing each one took months of work by a crew
of trained rectors. The idea that they've gone wrong is deeply disturbing.
It's also very important to investigate a bit further, to figure out exactly what parts of the
marcher aren't functioning correctly because if this dragon's impairment:
> x dragon through oculus
The oculus reveals Pneuma as a web of occult relations running throughout the Retort. It doesn't
look good.
Sophic lanterns are everywhere, of course, drawing meager streams of phlogiston. Deep beneath
the marcher, the nexus points that supply air and warmth all seem healthy. However, the control
paths that rise to the marcher proper are another matter. The air-pumps in the airlock and
exoscaphe bay have no power at all.
Note that last sentence. We need to restore Pneuma's functions before we'll be able to pressurise
the Exoscaphe Bay (and Exoscaphe Dome!) and the Airlock.
Return
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