Destination 1 - This jump took the castle to a high desert plateau, swept by dry winds and inhabited by a strange and cruel people. They traded with Dwarves, who alluded to their own city to the west of the great plateau. This refers to the plateau of Sannath-Khai and the Dwarven city of Duram.
Destination 2 - This jump actually took the castle deep into the Feywild, leaving it in a primeval forest setting. Elves, faeries, fey creatures of all sorts can be found here. It is a good place for acquiring magical ingredients, though it is likely that the locals will try to entangle the PC's in their trivial pursuits and conflicts.
Destination 3 - This jump took the castle high into the mountains, to a bitterly cold land of ice and rock. They found a strange forest in the middle of the ice, whether the weather was fine and water was clean. Game was abundant, but many of the animals were strange and magical. One of the apprentices found a palace of rosy stone, but was driven away by men of crystal. This refers to the Elven ruins at Ridnitsokha.
Destination 4 - The final, fatal jump left the wizard and his followers stranded in the Void Beyond, where madness and the alien geometries of the realm took their toll. Eventually the machine spun down and returned to the home coordinates, but time being what it was, centuries had passed since the wizard had departed Highspire.
Lord Thorkel, Baron of the East, Lord of Castle Nightguard has decided that he does not like the idea of a even a small castle on his river that is not controlled by him, and so resolves to claim the castle. A troop of soldiers led by a knight are sent to take over the castle in his name. Sir Rosswick (Knight), Edain (Scout), Murrace (Thug armed with a heavy musket doing 2d10p), and eight Guards all on horseback (with bow and arrow) ride through the swamp and demand entrance to the castle. If the PC's decide to make a fight of it, game it out. The knight is willing to accept a just surrender, but is quite determined to have the castle. If the knight is slain, the PC's will have to beat a hasty retreat somewhere... Dien Hathel is a safe bet for a safe haven. Commoners are mostly disposable, and if the knight is not killed the situation can still be resolved amicably.
If the PC's opt to fight, they may win. They will be portrayed as in open rebellion against the king, especially Apotheon, and be dealt with accordingly. At this point, they will need to execute a jump or go into hiding.
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Alternatively, the PC's may decide to take the Orrery and wizard's journals to Dien-Hathel, where they can be researched using the library of the Symposium. Between using the library, and the aid of scholars there, they should be able to discover the secret to operating the Orrery. The knight has no interest in such impure things, and will in fact thank the PC's for taking it away.
Assuming that the players take notes as they go, disassembly will require three days and three DC 10 INT checks by whoever is directing it.The entire thing can be packed and shipped by two wagons, as the metallic parts are made of mithril. The gems and other portions are more delicate. Additionally, the wizarding supplies can fill a third wagon. It is about five days by road to Castle Highspire, then another three or four days overland travel to Dien-Hathel, through the Cold Fang Forest. Only the last portion between Highspire and Dien-Hathel itself would be hazardous as the roads are patrolled and bandits are unlikely to hassle a group like the PC's. Travel through the towns will be uneventful, though in Highspire Apotheon will need to report into the Lord Chancellor. In the Cold Fang Forest, the PC's will travel along the Coldfang River Road, which is mostly well patrolled and safe. At night however, they will want to take shelter in one of the Royal Wayforts. Once they actually reach Coldfang Pass, they will be in Elven territory, and no more human soldiers will be present.
Arrival in Dien-Hathel will see them interrogated by the gate guards, unless the Elven cleric speaks prominently. In such a case, they will be escorted to the manor of Naeceran, her father. Naeceran is currently at the Symposium, and thus unavailable, but they are free to use his home as a base. The realm is thinly populated by human standards, with elegant homes stretching north along Coldfang River, and Phaendar's castle in the south, guarding the pass. The forests to east and west are thickly forested, and populated by some truly epic creatures. Beyond the forest lie only mountains, which are patrolled by Lord Phaendar's warriors.
The PC's will be permitted to reassemble the "Orrery" in a small structure located in the woods far from the settled areas, a small walled manor house of unknown age. Lord Phaendar will come to visit them once, but will grow bored and leave after only a short time. It will be about forty days till the moons are in the right place to execute a jump.
The jump requires an Arcana roll to execute, and 1d6 hours to carefully arrange the various armatures.
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Determining coordinates for a destination: Arcana, Diff 20
Jump to New Destination (Quarten is full): Arcana, Diff 20
Jump to New Destination(Intermediate): Arcana, Diff 25
Jump to New Destination(Quarten is new): Arcana, Diff 30
Destination is one that the mage has already jumped to before, -5 difficulty.
Destination is on a different plane, +5 difficulty.
Results of a jump depend on the roll.
Roll a 1 - Device jumps to somewhere bad - The Hells, the Void, or some dangerous part of the Archaean Stratum.
Fail by 5+ - Device jumps to the Astral Plane for 1d6 days, then precipitates out somewhere within 10d10 miles of its starting point with a rough and explosive landing.
Fails by 1-4 - Device makes terrifying noises and ominous vibrations for 1d6 minutes, then precipitates out where it started with a rough and explosive landing.
Success by 1-4 - Device jumps to the Astral Plane for 1d6 days, then precipitates noisily out somewhere within 10d10 miles of its intended destination.
Success by 5+ - Device jumps to the Astral Plane for 1d6 minutes, then precipitates noisily out somewhere within 2d10 miles of its intended destination.
Roll a 20 - Device smoothly and elegantly transitions to its target destination with a rush of wind and some odd weather.