Hall of Wonders

The Hall of Wonders puts Gond’s magnificence on full display. This building is a museum as much as a religious site. For 5 cp, a visitor can enter to view—in long aisles and even hanging from the ceiling—a gallery of holy relics ranging from the pragmatic, such as ordinary locks and mechanical lock boxes disguised as furniture and other household goods, to the scholarly, such as precision water clocks and orreries.

Rumors

Because the Gondsmen are given to ostentatious displays of wealth, rumors persist of a treasure vault hidden beneath the temple and guarded by mechanical monstrosities.

Tourism

More impressive inventions loom large amid the collection, such as a steam dragon (a steam-operated engine for moving heavy objects), a steam-operated mechanical orchestra, and mechanical scribes that can be linked in sequence to make many copies of exactly what a person writes as he or she pens it. One of the most popular displays among seafaring Baldurians is the collection of nautical tools, such as a gold filigreed, coral-carved astrolabe and one of the first farseers (telescopes). Small signs indicate the purposes and ways to use the items. Since visitors are not allowed to touch the inventions, numerous Gondar acolytes circulate throughout the Hall of Wonders and readily demonstrate the items’ uses.

To exit the museum, a visitor must leave through a shop filled with devices for sale. Printed catalogues of additional items and larger devices that can be ordered for later delivery are also on display. Locks, strongboxes, objects with hidden storage compartments, steam dragons, water pumps, and more can be had for the prices listed.

Type

Museum

Parent Location

Upper City