The Cogs

Far below the city, the great furnaces and foundries of the Cogs form the industrial base of Sharn.

The Cogs is a Heroic level 15/Epic level 32 wilderness adventure area introduced with Update 42/Masterminds of Sharn expansion. It is accessible via elevator shaft in the western area of the city of Sharn upper district. Exploration messages can appear in more than one location, depending on your instance.

thumb|385px|right|Map of The Cogs|link=Map of The Cogs thumb|right|300px|Loading image thumb|right|Below the City of Towers, there are under-warrens known as the Cogs.

Rare Encounters: The Cogs
XP per encounter:

Bonus XP for solving all encounters: 12 total Note: Their locations are randomized, like Ravenloft.
 * Defeat Gristle, Daask Gang Goblin.
 * Slay Raznar, the Vaunt Arcanotecnic caster.
 * Track and Slay Goro, the Boromar Clan Clawfoot. (found near The Wraithcallers.)
 * Defeat Zizek, the Warforged Lord of Blades zealot. (found near Ruinous Schemes.)
 * Slay Unruh, the Daask Gang Bugbear. (Found near Vaunt Journal 9, middle spawn location.)
 * Defeat Aughr, the Daask Gang Troll. (Found near Worker Journal 9, left spawn location.)
 * Slay Cazazza, the rogue Vaunt agent Tiefling.
 * Disassemble L-33B, the sentient worker construct. (Found near Vaunt Journal 11, right spawn location.)
 * Battle Blixa, the Boromar Clan Halfling.
 * Dismantle K-00P the Vaunt Arcanotechnic shield guardian.
 * Defeat Vengeance, the Forgewraith
 * Slay Vaultner, the Vaunt Arcanotechnic human

Factory Worker's Journal
Each journal is worth, with a bonus for finding all. I could see the towers long before I reached the city. They glittered on the horizon like tiny jewels. I was eager to arrive, but the horses were slow. It was already night by the time we reached Wroann's Gate. Up close the towers were even more magnificent - vast, bright pillars soaring into the night sky. I couldn't wait to soar with them.
 * Factory Worker's 1st Journal Entry: Mattie Thorne's Diary 1

I rented a shabby little flat in Foundation and applied for a job at Belgrave's Emporium. Those first few days were so exciting for a girl from Mistmarsh. The Emporium was like nothing I'd ever seen - so big, so crowded, so elegant! And then I heard that the Emporium was nothing compared to the shops up on Skyway. An island floating in the sky - just imagine.
 * Factory Worker's 2nd Journal Entry: Mattie Thorne's Diary 2

My neighborhood was hardly glamorous. It was drab and dark, overshadowed by the towers. But every morning I'd take the lift up to one of the city's bright and gaudy shopping districts and look for a job. I was determined to be up where the air was clear and I cold see bustling city below me.
 * Factory Worker's 3rd Journal Entry: Mattie Thorne's Diary 3

There was a beggar on my corner, an odd man with a crutch and a scrawny little cat. He asked passers-by for coppers. One day I saw him on his knees pleading with two member (sic) of the City Watch. Some neighborhood thugs had taken his coppers and killed his cat. But the Watch did nothing. They laughed, pushed him into the gutter, and went on their way. There was a crowd watching. None of us did a thing. We just scuttled back to our homes and pretended that it never happened.
 * Factory Worker's 4th Journal Entry: Mattie Thorne's Diary 4

I didn't get the job at the Emporium. I didn't get the next job either. Or the next. Then I counted my coppers and discovered that in a few days I wouldn't be able to pay the rent for the shabby little flat. Someone told me that there was always work in the Cogs. And what choice did I have? I didn't have enough money to go back to Mistmarsh.
 * Factory Worker's 5th Journal Entry: Mattie Thorne's Diary 5

The lift went down and down, for what seemed like forever. When it finally stopped, I was deep underground. There I was, with a thousand others, ready to report for work in the Cogs. I didn't know much about the Cogs then. I'd always heard about Sharn's famous towers. I never asked about what lay underneath. Now I was about to find out.
 * Factory Worker's 6th Journal Entry: Mattie Thorne's Diary 6

I remember my first day in the Cogs. No sunlight reached us. Huge machines loomed in the shadows. And the people. I was ready for Bugbears and Goblins and Warforged, everyone knew about them. What I didn't expect were the others. People like me, wearing rags and huddled in shanties made from scrap.
 * Factory Worker's 7th Journal Entry: Mattie Thorne's Diary 7

It was a long walk to the Forge, through ruins and a shanty town. Strange metal things with too many legs scuttled up and down the path, hauling who-knows-what to who-knows-there (sic). I was in another world. This is where I would spend my days, working deep in the underworld of Sharn.
 * Factory Worker's 8th Journal Entry: Mattie Thorne's Diary 8

They called it a Forge, but I had nothing to do with that part. I sat in a workshop making the cases for the device. My job was to hammer in the little wooden pegs that held the case together. Easy work for a wood joiner's daughter. If we asked what the device did, or how it worked, they told us it was none of our business.
 * Factory Worker's 9th Journal Entry: Mattie Thorne's Diary 9

They watched us very carefully. None of us were allowed to discuss what we did at the Forge. No strangers were allowed inside. People in fine robes went in and out of one of the workshops. No one knew what they did, and anyone who asked lost their job. So...we didn't ask.
 * Factory Worker's 10th Journal Entry: Mattie Thorne's Diary 10

People in the workshop were always getting sick. Nothing too bad, just a nagging cough. Then a few weeks later, they'd be gone. They'd just never show up again. When I started to cough, I was gripped with fear. But I still took that lift down every single day. I needed the money to pay for my shabby little flat up in the light.
 * Factory Worker's 11th Journal Entry: Mattie Thorne's Diary 11

It was just an hour or two before closing. We were working on the last pile of cases for the day. Suddenly there was a tremendous roar. Everything shook as if the world was ending. The noise - I thought would never stop. It was like metal screaming. The Forge had toppled over because of the explosion.
 * Factory Worker's 12th Journal Entry: Mattie Thorne's Diary 12

We heard shouts from outside. Everyone in the workshop rushed out, desperate to escape. Once we got outside, it was impossible to recognize anything. There was fire and wreckage everywhere. I was following my friend Ora at first, but I quickly lost her in all the smoke. I saw one of the men in robes run past. He was on fire.
 * Factory Worker's 13th Journal Entry: Mattie Thorne's Diary 13

There were flames all around. I found a ramp leading up, but it turned out that the ramp went nowhere. All I could do was stand up there on the walkway and look down at the flames below. "Fire! Fire!" I shouted. I was too high up for anyone to hear me. Besides, there was no one down there who could do anything about it. But you shout "Fire." Because what else can you do? I ran as fast as I could for as long as I could. I looked everywhere. I was sure I would find a way out. But there was no way out. No matter how fast you run, you can't outrun the fire.
 * Factory Worker's 14th Journal Entry: Mattie Thorne's Diary 14
 * Factory Worker's 15th Journal Entry: Mattie Thorne's Diary 15

Vaunt's Journal
Each journal is worth, with a bonus for finding all. When I first saw Sharn's towers, I knew at once that this soaring city would be where I would make my mark. This was the only place on Eberron that could provide me with the tools I needed - talent, money, and, most importantly, power.
 * Vaunt's 1st Journal Entry: Vaunt's Journal 1

You can see magic everywhere in Sharn. Magic supports its towers, powers its skycoaches, and adorns the trinkets of the wealthy few... but only the few. An ordinary city-dweller can't afford a simple repair spell, let alone a Shield Guardian. The common folk sweat to earn their livings, just as they always have. Even in Sharn.
 * Vaunt's 2nd Journal Entry: Vaunt's Journal 2

Imagine this: what if ordinary people had access to magic? Nothing too complicated, just a few simple spells that would vastly simplify their lives. Imagine the revolution this simple change would create. I knew that bringing magic to the masses would secure the name of Vaunt in history...not to mention make me very, very rich.
 * Vaunt's 3rd Journal Entry: Vaunt's Journal 3

Building my first prototype took no time at all. The device cast a few simple spells and used a Cannith crystal for power. Thrilled by my success, I immediately showed my invention to an acquaintance, a wealthy member of House Kundarak. I offered him the rare chance to invest in something that would change the world.
 * Vaunt's 4th Journal Entry: Vaunt's Journal 4

My prospective investor was not impressed. His objection? My prototype cost as much to make as a skilled workman earned in a year. The cost was due to the Cannith crystal, of course. I had to find another way. A cheaper way.
 * Vaunt's 5th Journal Entry: Vaunt's Journal 5

Cannith crystals were too expensive. So how to power my device? I needed an arcane energy source that was cheap and universally available. I tried a thousand different approaches, and rejected each one. Then I hit on an idea. It was an unorthodox solution that required unorthodox talent. But now I knew how to build my device.
 * Vaunt's 6th Journal Entry: Vaunt's Journal 6

My investors were impressed by my new methods. They were even more impressed when I told them how little it would cost. Even after paying for the necromancers, we'd still make a tidy sum. We quickly arranged to build a manufactory down in the Cogs.
 * Vaunt's 7th Journal Entry: Vaunt's Journal 7

Word of the Vaunt Arcane assistant spread throughout the city. My star ascended. Soon I was meeting with council members and attending parties with Sardan Boromar himself. The wizards were hostile, as I had expected. But Sharn is ruled by merchants, not wizards.
 * Vaunt's 8th Journal Entry: Vaunt's Journal 8

The Copper Concord of the Aurum made me a member. They've already told me a few of their secrets. A great honor, but only the beginning. My rightful place is as a member of the Gold Concord, and I will not rest until I have attained it.
 * Vaunt's 9th Journal Entry: Vaunt's Journal 9

I was having dinner in Skyway with one of my investors when a Gargoyle messenger charged in, covered in ash, babbling about an accident. It created a scene, as you can imagine. Eventually I got some sense out of the brute. There had been an explosion at my forge down in the Cogs. The entire manufactory was in flames.
 * Vaunt's 10th Journal Entry: Vaunt's Journal 10

I rushed to my forge and found it in ruins. Only one of my necromancers had escaped the blast. He lay there dying, burned beyond recognition. With his last strength he chanted something over and over in a strange tongue. One of the apprentices said it was a curse - a curse on me.
 * Vaunt's 11th Journal Entry: Vaunt's Journal 11

Of course I wanted to rebuild immediately. But there were issues. The City Council was asking questions, and the salvage workers reported seeing strange things deep inside the ruins. I needed to know what I was dealing with, so I sent out more scouts. They did not return.
 * Vaunt's 12th Journal Entry: Vaunt's Journal 12

I hired experts from Morgrave University, at no little expense. They put a name to my problem - Forgewraiths. Spawned by my forge's destruction, controlled by a powerful curse, those undead creatures had only one wish: my death.
 * Vaunt's 13th Journal Entry: Vaunt's Journal 13

I don't dwell on problems; I solve them. If there was a curse, then I would find a way to negate it. So I hired more experts. I fortified my security. I sent agents to scour the world. And in time I found the solution - an ancient and immensely powerful artifact in Stormreach. And just imagine - the locals were using it in a lighthouse!
 * Vaunt's 14th Journal Entry: Vaunt's Journal 14

I paid the Boromar clan a hefty sum to bring me the Stormreach beacon. And just like that, the Forgewraiths are no longer a problem. The artifact keeps them at bay nicely. Now I can concentrate on building a new forge, manufacturing my device, and pursuing my other plans. This - all of this - has just been the first step. Now it's time for the golden second dawn of Lucian Vaunt!
 * Vaunt's 15th Journal Entry: Vaunt's Journal 15