I tried to send this a little while ago but it appears to have become lost in the system...
>
> I have not been keeping up lately and have missed much,
> so if this has already been observed please ignore this post.
>
> I assume that the compass debate has decided that Gold is drawn
> towards Yelm. Thus a perfectly balanced needle with one end made
> of gold will generally follow the sun's path across the heavens.
> I make a massive assumption in assuming that it also follows the
> sun's path through the Underworld. Now mount this needle on a
> vertical circular disk with marks arround the edge and you have
> what is known as a "Sun Dial" in Glorantha. This is a reliable
> method for telling the larger units of time. Obviously, the larger
> the sun dial is the more accurate it will be (but it will also
> require more gold in the needle!). Pocket Sun Dials are just Gold
> Compasses and are sometimes known as such or even Sun (or Solar)
> Compasses. The devices must be held vertically and are of course
> relatively inaccurate.
>
> Another type of compass which is often known by a different name
> is the Plumb Line which is drawn towards the darkness of the Underworld.
> Of course this tool is useful for builders, although some Solar types
> have been known to Gold Compasses at midday (derived using a second
> clock) to find the vertical).
>
> I have a question for my fellow scholars arround the Lozenge and that
> is do Lead Compasses/Plumb Lines point down towards a central point in
> the Underworld (in a manner similar to Aluminium & Gold compasses) or
> do they point towards the nearest part of the underworld?
> I suspect the latter because they seem to be used by builders
> throughout Glorantha and of course those peopels who are on the edge
> of the Lozenge would find their buildings falling over if their Plumb
> Lines were pointing at the centre of the Underworld (unless it was
> VERY VERY deep down...) BTW How deep is Hellcrack as with this
> information we could work out the angle of error in the Plumb Line
> for different places in Glorantha if the first hypothesis was correct.
>
> Cheers
> Lewis
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