We help an Earthen named Batzvara as she assists Inert Earthen who have shut down inexplicably to find a peaceful end. She doesn't seem concerned that so many Earthen have just chosen to shut down, nor does she have a reaction to how they look.
Clearly these constructs did not just shut down because they were at the end of their time. They were fighting and were terrified.
A particular friend of hers, Ausgazur not only shut down, he was robbed of his gems. They had a fun, still warm waxy trail leading down to the river that seemed intriguing, but it just died there, with no more trail. Tsk. Notice he isn't "inert", though? Hmmm....
You get to spend time in the outer area of the Waterworks looking for those gems and bombing kobold tunnels.
It's packed with kobolds of various ilks. One is Glintwick the Gem Grabber. She's kind of adorable.
Also here, what looks like a Treasure Chest, is the Water Pipe Puzzle I'd seen pictures of. It's a sliding tile puzzle, not something I excel at.
Scooting around getting herbs, I found a quest called An Opportunity to Relax. I almost didn't take it because it seemed so shady-give pamphlets to tired workers at Gundargaz. I'm thinking ha! They recruit these poor tired Earthen with these pamphlets, lure them out of the city, then turn them into the Inerts to weaken the numbers of working Earthen, forcing the Ringing Deeps into certain ruin. No idea as of this writing if any of that is true. Devs probably don't read as many mysteries as I do, so it's probably something else that's going on.
It seems odd to me that kobolds are down here in the middle of the earth. They are a bit bulkier, a bit meaner looking than their surface relatives. There is a subplot about a kobold who is The Candle King (haven't met him yet), and some kobolds who are in rebellion against them. See? Plots inside of plots.
Someone besides me doesn't like mushrooms, because they keep showing up and are pretty terrifying.
Then there's this cutie just hanging around by a river.
