Spare Wheel
Location: Outlands / Hinterlands
The eponymous cog at Spare Wheel can be seen from ten day’s walk away. Rumour has it that the cog is either one that was thrown out of Mechanus for some invisible imperfection, or has yet to be fitted, or fell out by accident. The cog is enormous, measuring several days’ walk across, and a gap of this size in Mechanus would soon be noticed, one assumes. It stands at a jaunty angle, half-buried in the ground, and on the Spireward side, lies the village of Spare Wheel. The village is small, standing mostly on solid ground, although a few enterprising souls have bolted warehouses and suchlike to the cog itself.
It is always shady in Spare Wheel, as during the day the focus of the Land’s ambient light is behind the cog. This is just as well, as the town’s main merchant interests are controlled by Dark Louis, a vampire (planar former human vampire psychic [he/him] / Dustmen / LN) who does his best to subsist on pigs’ blood (there are a large number of livestock farms in the area), but whose business enemies do have a habit of being found dead with pale faces. Other important figures include Lisa the Square (planar rogue modron priest of Tvashtri [she/her] / Guvner / LG), a rogue modron that styles herself as female, and has had dresses specially tailored by Nogog Guthmicrol (planar githzerai [he/him] / Free League / CN) the local tailor. She runs a popular antique and junk shop in the village centre, and is an expert rumour-monger. Almost every week, modrons arrive in town to examine the cog. They don’t speak to anyone, much less reveal their aims, but rumours abound.
Beyond Spare Wheel, the Automata Road, having detoured around the cog, continues haphazardly into the Hinterlands, crossing the Pyriphlegethon on a bridge constructed from giants’ bones. It is said that it eventually eads to a new set of gate-towns. Opinions vary as to which planes these might visit. Some say that they lead to the same planes as the more familiar set, but to far-distant reaches of them. Others claim that they lead to the conceptual planes, of which Time and Shadow are two. Another popular tale is that a totally new set of planes is being stored out here in preparation for the advancement of powers to new levels of existence. The Godsmen are trying very hard to find out the truth of these tales.
DM’s Note: See the section on the Splinterlands for some possible ideas.
Source: Alex and Margery Roberts and Jon Winter-Holt
