Shadows of Time, Part 1 (Sunday-Monday, Neth (XI) 17-18, 4707 AR)

When the heroes used speak with animals, they learned for the price of a few bird snacks that Ironbriar used the messenger ravens to communicate with a "snake lady", in addition to the fact that the birds quite enjoyed their chances to fly to the snake lady tower. When the ravens were released, they flew unerringly north at full speed. Bruthien's familiar followed them and saw the ravens swoop under the Irespan to the north to circle around one of the tallest towers under the ancient stone bridge - the Shadow Clock.

Underbridge was a part of Magnimar known for its lawlessness and sociological turmoil. The Shadow Clock was one of several failed attempts to bring order to this ramshackle region. Known most commonly as "the Shadow", Underbridge was Magnimar's most dangerous slum. Nestled in the perpetual gloom under the Irespan, this district was a haven for criminals, smugglers, and even a few monstrous predators.

The Shadow Clock

Hidden beneath the grimy, blackened goliath that was the Irespan, the lesser works of men huddled like weeds at the foot of the great trees that were the ruined bridge's stone supports. Near one of these supports leaned a decrepit and sagging clock tower, a dying structure of weathered stone, wood, and rusted metal supports that teetered to an unlikely height of over 180 feet. High above, near the tower's roof and barely 5 feet from the Irespan's stony belly, a tangle of scaffolding sat near a section of the structure that had fallen away. The tower's clock face was frozen in time, defiantly (and falsely) proclaiming it to be 3 o'clock, while above, a stone statue of an angel, her wings crumbling, leaned precariously, almost as if she were preparing a final leap from her decaying perch.

The Shadow Clock was a minor marvel of engineering. The locals in the region half expected it to collapse any day, and several Underbridge taverns had longstanding betting pools on how many structures the clock tower would crush and how many people it would kill when it finally fell. The tower itself was made mostly of limestone, with a tangled skeleton of wooden supports buttressed here and there by iron bands. The stone walls were etched by wind, rain, and grime. This pitted surface seemed to make for a relatively easy climb. Inside, it was much more dangerous; the crumbling wooden steps were known as the "Terrible Stairs" to the locals. After the tenth unfortunate death when someone tried to climb these stairs several years ago, the city ordered the tower closed.

Yet the locals of Underbridge knew better. The whispered stories that someone had moved into the clock tower. Many claimed to have seen a serpentine shape slithering out of the gap near the roof, slinking through the night sky into regions unknown, while others told of a shadowy bulk twice the size of a human sometimes seen lurking in the darkness at the clock's base. No one had dared enter the tower to confirm these rumors, yet most who lived in Underbridge did not doubt their veracity.

The Flesh Golem's Lair. The air inside the clock tower was dusty and dry. Swaths of rubble and mounds of plaster lay in heaps on the stone floor, particularly in the southwest corner. A single wagon sat to the northeast, and six partially collapsed offices lined the northern and eastern walls, their doors hanging askew and their ceilings caved in. A wooden staircase wound up into the cavernous space above. High overhead, four immense bronze bells hung from sturdy crossbeams.

The collapsed rooms were once used as barracks, workshops, and storerooms, but nothing of value remained here now. The heroes found that, despite the place's general appearance of ruin, a fair amount of foot traffic has been through the area - the floor bore several Medium humanoid footprints and a pair of enormous misshapen prints that defied easy classification. This second pair of prints had been left by the room's guardian.

A thing of horror, a monstrosity dwelt in this area. This misshapen monster was a thing from a child's nightmares - a flesh golem. A jumbled mass of body parts incorporating as much cow and horse as man, the golem's considerable girth was topped by an idiot head that leered and drooled like a grotesque baby. Its face was cruelly stitched, the lips sewn partially together. It was dressed in straw and dung-covered rags that gave off the sickly sweet smell of decay. A trio of what appeared to be carved pumpkins hung from cords on the golem's belt, but a second glance revealed these to be horribly bloated human heads with a sick yellow tinge.

The golem was at rest here in the clock tower, bidding its time lurking in the northwest corner of the room, remaining unseen. When it noticed intruders, it remained motionless and hidden for a while before moving to attack once Fen came more than halfway into the room.