Fixing the Problem is a piece of fiction for Silkgift: The City of Sails, one of the supplements for Cities of Sundara, which is available in versions for 5th Edition and Pathfinder.

Mormout Bronzeforger pondered the plans for the new water clock laid out on the table. He looked across at the workbench where several of the pieces of the clock were neatly laid out; carefully-wrought pieces of bronze in unusual shapes.

“Hmm.” ruminated the dwarf. Mormout knew what he was attempting to accomplish with the clock, which was planned for a new installation in Noonbrook, with a deadline that was rapidly getting closer, but something just wasn’t working quite right. There didn’t seem to be a fault in the plans, but the most recent test hadn’t worked correctly. Which is why the water clock was once again in pieces. Carefully arranged, well machined pieces, but pieces all the same.

“Hmm.” pondered Mormout again, repeating himself. “I wonder…”

The dwarf picked up one of the cogs that was used to drive the water clock. To the untrained eye, it looked perfectly fine. Beautifully machined, in fact. To Mormout’s eye, it looked good as well, but there was something about it…

Mormout retrieved one of his finer tools from the set of drawers positioned next to the table where the clock was laid out. He used it to examine the clock much more carefully. This time, he found it. An ever so tiny error in the machining, a slight burr to the cog that was stopping it working as smoothly as it should.

Mormout’s beard twitched in a slight smile. The equivalent of a broad grin on someone else. This was it; he was sure of it. He started making the cog as perfect as it looked.

The next test would be fine. No doubt about it.