The Royal Artificery Society - IC

[Prehysterical]

There are lots of moving parts to this problem and Bolten realizes that approaching sewer installment will probably be better handled one step at a time than all at once. Fortunately, some considerate soul ensorcelled pens to make copies of the map. Bolten waits patiently to get his own copy before taking his leave. On his way out, Bolten spots the unmistakable face of Shandara. Even with drow being such a rare sight in the city, she stands out with her frail frame. A part of Bolten always worries about what would happen if a stiff breeze knocked the dark elf off of her feet... They had worked together previously on a commission from a nobleman for a spectacularly decorated clock, where her experience with gems and fine golden links had come very much in handy. It also felt like Shandara was one of the few people Bolten felt comfortable sharing a workshop space with. They were both naturally quiet and could work without disturbing the other. Bolten gives her a clear nod and a small smile as he leaves.

Back within the sanctuary of his small home on the edge of campus, Bolten stares at the schematics. It seems like one of the biggest problems facing them is how to install the piping network without wrecking most of the district. "Just magick it away" is the obvious answer, and Bolten knows that spells exist that can soften rock to the consistency of mud, but decently powerful magic such as that is not readily available. They need something more... consistent. Digging right under the surface is a bad idea; the buildings would collapse without sufficient stone to support them. There has to be a way to make that hole like an incision, like a burrowing mammal...

...Like a drill. Bolten is reminded of the hand drills that he has seen, capable of drilling through wood, iron, or even stone. What if they made something like that, but bigger? He begins workshopping a design for a mobile giant drill. Nothing too fancy or to scale, just concept work. At first, he only puts wheels on the bottom in a traditional style, but modifies his design to make a more triangular wheel arrangement that rings the frame of the drill body. That should help push the drill along in tight spaces and make it less prone to shift. The drillbit would need to be powered by clockwork, of course, and that clockwork needs to be isolated in a encased frame to stop dirt and rock fragments from interfering with the gears. Bolten looks at the giant drillbit and remembers that it will have to be made of adamantine to properly pierce the rock. Some mental calculations reveal the cost of such a design and Bolten winces with a hiss before biting his lip and blowing out a sigh. A growl of frustration has him shake his hands in the air. Time to step away from the idea for a bit.

Bolten goes to his forge and works on the blade that has been his project for the past several days. The blade is tempered and shaped, but now it needs an edge. Sparks fly as Bolten presses the blade to the grindstone and spins the wheel, losing himself in his work. As he works, however, an idea slowly germinates in his mind. Struck by inspiration, Bolten sets aside the blade and takes up some rock fragments left over from the smelting process of his iron ore. Bolten uses the grindstone on the rock fragment, pulling it back to see where part of the rock has been worn away by the grindstone's abrasion. He hums to himself as the raw ore of the idea begins to take shape...

He runs back into the other room and begins sketching out new designs for drillbits. The conventional drillhead is not suited for this sort of work; what would be better is for a series of smaller drillbits to work in unison to grind and pierce rock in different parts of the tunnel. Along with arrays of more traditional drillbits on the face of the machine, Bolten also jots down drillbit designs that look more like a wheel or a grindstone with adamantine teeth or spikes attached. Same basic idea, but would bring down material costs significantly.

Of course, there is still the issue of how to steer this thing. A driver seems like a necessity, but there was no conventional way to drive such a thing. Perhaps some sort of arcane sensor on the front where magic could be used to see what's ahead? And that didn't solve the problem of maintaining direction and straight lines underground. His first instinct is to use a compass, but at the depth that he is thinking, iron deposits might pose a serious problem.

At a loss, Bolten puts his head in his hands as he leans on the table and takes a deep breath. Focus. Don't think about what you can't do; think about what you can do. Make like a clock and tighten up, lad. With renewed purpose, Bolten takes hold of some schematic paper and takes another look at the proposed size of the sewer pipes. Whatever he made, it had to make a hole of at least that diameter. Bolten puts ink to pen and begins drawing schematics with more exacting measurements for all of the parts that would be needed just to make the base drill body, clockwork "guts", armored casing, wheels, and drillbits. This is where the real work begins...