The lift almost didn't start, with how distant and drained her magic was. It sputtered and slowly accelerated to its usual speed. Back down through the recently re-organized library, followed by the workshops, labs, training area, all had been picked up by Vel throughout the night.
Everywhere still were the signs of damage. The place had been tidied up, yes, but many small fragments of broken alembics or small scatterings of items remained. The door to the greenhouse was ajar and it seemed some of the more delicate plants had not survived the massive impact, as there was a freshly filled magical compost bag. There were also a few of Vel's harmless bees floating around, having escaped from the greenhouse to buzz about the green/bathhouse floor looking for pollen.
And when she finally entered the ground floor, he was still in his powered-down state. Not that she'd have much of a chance to approach him. As the lift reached what should have been the ground floor. It flickered once again and gave no sign of slowing. Without ceremony, it simply kept going down another fifteen or so feet, past solid stone lit by magical light-spheres, until it stopped in a dark, noticeably mustier chamber. Almost like a crypt of sort.
At first, Twilight would just have the darkness and the persistent smell of rust and decayed wood, but more magicals light came on one by one, illuminating the large chamber beneath, almost twice the diameter of the tower itself and clearly part of its foundations.
Arched pairs of support pillars ran through the chamber in an "X" shape, forming four quadrants which were separated by these pathways lined with pillars. In between the aisles and filling the quadrants, all manner of construct stood. To her left, right, and behind her, she was practically surrounded by them when the lights came on.
They were all made of wood, brass, and other metals. Many had crystal heads just like Vel where some others had more human looking appearances. Small and large, human-shaped to inhuman. To her right, a collection of identical constructs, all appearing to be warriors in various states of damage and disrepair, guarded a small path towards what appeared to be coffin-sized glass cases set into the ground.
Inside each case was a humanoid construct shaped just like Vel, save for small differences. One of them, just a torso missing its legs and waist, had his extra arms set above his shoulders and coming down from above, instead of the sides. Another, missing most of his right side from what looked to be an explosion, had an all-metal casing and a half-shattered crystal shaped like a pyramid. Yet another had a more feminine shape and a face made of now-cracked porcelain. She had beautiful hair literally made from exactingly thin strands of gold.
The wall on this side of the room also had small alcoves, each bearing a head, or some other recovered piece that could be used as a memento mori.
Finally, deeper into the chamber, the last remaining section lit up only when approached. Immediately, a large, clockwork dragon skull leered out from the darkness. Snarling with its mouth open, fangs bared and magical flame-projector exposed, it truly made for an imposing sight, even if it was just resting on a stone shelf.
Just beneath the dragon's protective jaws, resting in a vertical alcove between a clockwork dog stuck in a permanent sitting position and a magnificent clockwork horse in surprisingly good condition, loomed a large bronze sarcophagus.
Not plated in bronze, but made of a single solid piece of bronze, hollowed and given hinges. The surface of this sarcophagus was covered in magically precise etchings of a castle in the mountains, with the sun rising behind it. The etchings were also intricately blended into the mechanisms of the sarcophagus itself, which had six different locks installed into its lid.
An epitath set into the dragon's jaws reads:
"Here is interred Praal Torgeddon, Ninth Circle master of artifice and conjuration, alongside his many children, friends, and servants. Kind father to some, Cruel master to others. Tragedy befell him and all those around him when he had to face the consequences of his actions.
Gathered around you are bodies that used to contain souls, each a life stolen to power an experiment, a curiosity. They did not choose to be made, or to be immortal. None of them had chosen to be destroyed, or even made the choice to involve themselves. We were all toys to him.
Sealed within this chamber are the secrets, knowledge, and memory of a man dedicated to his craft. A reminder that perfection is not a goal for its own sake, and the promise I made when I built this tower.
I have to do better."
