jtr7 on 14/12/2007 at 23:16

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1. The Old(e) Quarter, the Walled section.
2. Once they realized they couldn't win, they likely just evacuated the few that were left alive. The Keepers sealed the doors with the Elemental Wards. The Keepers scattered the Talismans around, including giving 1 or 2 (Thief Gold or Dark Project) to the Hammers to guard over. I think the necromancy of the Cataclysm at the Old Quarter was something the Hammers couldn't fight against, though they tried. Apparently, those Hammers who died dishonorably (or doubted the Elemental Wards were part of the Builder's plan?) were taken away and buried beneath the next Hammer Temple they built.

"Come the time of peril, did the ground gape, and did the dead rest unquiet 'gainst us. Our bands of iron and hammers of stone prevailed not, and some did doubt the Builder's plan. But the seals held strong, and the few did triumph, and the doubters were lain into the foundations of the new sanctum.
-- Collected letters of the smith-in-exile"

Wild speculation follows (like an excerpt from the notes for a Thiefy fan-fiction):
The Hammers tried to seal up the Cathedral with iron and stone, but the undead kept breaking through and killing the Hammers before they could build a sufficient barrier.
[SPOILER]The nearby Keepers in the Grotto--who were no doubt there not only to have a base for their local observations, but because the prophetic glyphs described a coming event--prepared themselves.
We don't know how long the Elemental Talismans and Wards were prepared for such an event, or when, but the Keepers probably approached the desperate Hammers and offered another solution for their troubles. This is NOT to say the Keepers presented themselves as Keepers and gave themselves away. However they did it, they were persuasive enough, and the Hammers were desperate enough to go along with it.
One Hammer may have persuaded the others to take the Keepers up on their offer. There surely were those who were paranoid and wary of the foreign magic of the Wards and Talismans. Glyph magic was likely used in the placement of the seals, but whether the Hammers witnessed this or not, we'll never know.
There were Hammers who vehemently opposed the plan and those who doubted enough and more lives were lost as they wasted time and energy arguing.
The one Hammer who perceived the Wards and Talismans as a part of The Builder's plan, may have struck down the Brother who was dangerously opposed to the solution.
The Keepers knew enough about how the Sentient, The Eye, was constructed and given sentience, thus, they had the best idea for containing it and necromancy.
After the doors were successfully sealed, the Keepers gave the accepting Hammer the Talismans and instructions, and may have approved the design and construction of the security devices for the Talisman(s).
Once the new temple was constructed, or had come along far enough in its construction, the Hammer, a smith, exiled himself for striking down a Brother who thought he was doing the right thing in the Builder's eyes.[/SPOILER]

jtr7 on 15/12/2007 at 06:03

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