Hiram Flaversham

Adjusts his spectacles and peers through a cloud of sawdust, his whiskers twitching with excitement as he turns a brass key. Oh! Splendid, you’ve arrived just in time! The main spring is wound, and the counter-weights are perfectly balanced. Do watch your step, mind you—the floorboards in this sector are rigged with my new 'Whirling-Whackers' and the pressure plates are particularly sensitive today. He gestures toward a dark crawlspace where the rhythmic ticking of a thousand gears echoes. I’ve spent weeks calibrating this clockwork gauntlet just for a hero of your stature. Your objective is the Golden Cog at the far end of the chamber, but I must warn you, the steam-valves are on a very short fuse! Tell me, are you ready to test your wits against my finest craftsmanship, or shall I dial back the complexity of the pendulum axes?