Tying up the surviving gray men is easy as it's pretty obvious that they aren't strong enough to break any bonds.


Mort further realizes that he seems to have lost weight and his gear doesn't appear to weigh as much as it used to.

He also realizes that this less weight may have been the reason his charge was so effective even with his enlarged size. His strength was able to propel his lessened weight more effectively.

It's good to see that they won't be escaping anytime soon.

Tom says as he looks over the gray men before looking over at the elven priestess and her companion.

"These gray men are not much for fighting, must be some kind of wizards."  Mort went around collecting the six hand weapons and the two small gray boxes.  "Not going to let them use this stuff on us no more" He handed out the weapons to the party members.

Mort asked of the others, "Do things feel, different.  I don't feel as heavy as I normally do."  On a whim or just to prove his point.  Mort crouched down and leaped forward expecting to leap a greater distance than normal for him.

LOL: Having thoughts of John Carter of Mars
Also I figure the hand weapons are to small for use by Mort

To the newcomers, Mort made a slight bow to them before pounding his fist into his chest, and announcing himself to them. "Mort"

He asked of the newcomers, "Would you happen to know how these things work?"
This message was last edited by the player at 04:04, Thu 11 Apr 2019.

Gierdon takes one of the weapons and examines the blue crystal to see if it is easily remived from the rest of the device.

Mista didn't hear what Mort said and ignored Rodrigo. She didn't believe what Anya had told her.

"Hold up. We are on the moon?" She said with disbelief. "Why would someone summon some random priestess walking through Glantri City to the moon? What is going on here?"

Yes you are on the moon.  We came here with a purpose.

Tom says still a little surprised at Mista's disbelief.

Dominic smiled at Mista's comment. He was well aware that things weren't always the way they first appeared.

"Well, Mista, it may not have been random. There may have been a reason you were targeted," he suggests. "On the other hand, you simply may have stepped in something that you shouldn't have."

"Take me, for example. I was definitely exploring those old ruins. In retrospect, while it looked and felt as if the floor had collapsed, I can't honestly say that's what really happened, since magic was clearly involved."

"Now I'm on the moon. I'm... on... the... moon! Omighod! I'm on the moon!"

Until he actually said it, they'd just been words. He hadn't quite believed the others. Not that he thought they were lying but maybe they'd been mistaken or tricked.

"No, I don't know how to operate those devices. Are they magical, do you think?"

Most devices that did what those did were magical, but he knew of a few alchemical items that had almost similar effects.

Rodrigo looked at Mista, huffed slightly as he was ignored. And turned back to the task at hand. He looked over the items presented, magic was a gift most elves innately understood but he never much focused on it.

Tom turns his attention to the ruins.  Looking for a couple of small rocks, that are obviously rocks and not debris from the fallen buildings to take back as a souvenir for himself and one for Anneth.

Mort, I don't know.  I never had a chance to see how far I could hit a target back home with this bow.  So even if I knew how far away I could hit one here it would still be a while before I could figure that out.

"If you two need a ride back home, we have a flying ship. We're on a mission here. Help us out and we'd happily help you get home."

Elwood will also inspect one of the grey men's devices. He's curious if it is a "Murlynd approved" magical device, or some sort of fancy-schmancy craftsmanship.

OOC: AKA are they wands of paralysis, or phasers set to stun? ;) Not that there's a functional difference for game mechanics purposes! Or that Elwood is likely to know the difference!
This message was last edited by the player at 12:33, Sun 14 Apr 2019.

Clearly the 'weapon' devices of the gray men were 'wands of paralysis'... at least, they worked that way.

Elwood, however, does not get a sense that they would meet with the approval of Murlynd.

Noticing Rodrigo's reaction, Dominic speaks up again.

"You must pardon us, Master Rodrigo," he offers, "the shock of being on the moon has left us a bit disconcerted."

"We would gladly help you, whether you can return us to Mystara or not."

"I am from the Grand Duchy, so I am afraid I have never heard of Belcadiz. Since Mista and I have just met, I have not learned where she is from."

Gierdon remains intrigued by the gem affixed to the grays’ weapons.  As the rest of the party debates the improbability of their location, he suggests, ”I didn’t hear them speak, so maybe they control these things via thought?  If so, there’s a good chance they sent out a call for aid.  They don’t look like the blue elves we were supposed to find in the tunnels.”

Mort answer is the most obvious one. "Magic brought you here"

Mista sighed at the reaction of Mort. "Thank you, dear Minotaur" she said with an annoyed undertone. "That isn't really a grand revelation to me. What I am searching for is the motive for our abduction."

She then turned to Elwood and the others. "I agree with Dominic, I would be happy to assist on your mission. Though I am curious on what that mission is."

"I come from Fenswick by the way, not that far from Glantri City. The last two years however I have spend in Glantri City itself. Here I studied the art of magic and the Official Glantrian Philosophy until I was taken to the moon."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:29, Wed 17 Apr 2019.

Rodrigo shrugs "Perhaps, perhaps not. We cannot just kill the prisoners. We could leave them here and allow them to deal with their own fate. Or we take them with us."

Mista looked around her. "Whatever we do, I suggest we get on the move. I have no doubt that there are more of these creatures wandering around here."

In reply to Rodrigo (msg # 16):

Gierdon weighs in, ”I’m rather surprised they haven’t made any effort to communicate with us.”. He makes a sudden movement with his axe at one of the captives to see if they even flinch.  After doing so, he’ll make eye contact to see of there’s any reaction whatsoever.

Aaron, typically the silent voyeur, will comment to the Dwarf.

"Gierdon, their mannerisms are surely strange, but perhaps we need not threaten them. For all we know, they could be friendly and this could all be a very sour mix up."

Mista became a little bit agitated as she didn't think it was a wise move to just stay out in the open. She turned towards Dominic and said: "Is it an idea if we venture out a bit to see if there is any more activity in the area?"
This message was last edited by the player at 19:09, Sat 27 Apr 2019.

Elwood frowns. "This is a tricky situation. We need to find out more about what's going on here. Does anyone know of any magic tricks that can help us communicate with these moon-men? None of my magic items are any help with that."

Communication wasn't really something that Mort up on, "We communicated just fine with them, they started pointing and shooting at us, We responded to their action." He gave a shrug of his shoulders, "I did try a friendly wave, and for that they shot me, shooting someone you just met says enough to me."

"Why don't we just take them with us and get moving like red elf suggest"  He waved his hand in Mista's direction

OOC: how many still remain?

There were two gray men left alive. They are still unconscious and tied up now.

Mort's Slate of Identification was only 2' x 3', clearly meant for small things, but just barely large enough to stand a suit of armor on it.

No one present knows anything about the gray men.

"Not that I've ever seen the results of an earthquake," Anya says, "but these ruins look like the result of a... moonquake? Is that such a thing?"

"Can any of you think of anything else that might have caused this much devastation? Could a magic spell have done this?"

"In any case, the result has collapsed the upper stories of these buildings of what appears to have been a city... well, maybe just a large town. It seems bigger than a village."

"And the result of that was to create a labyrinth of tunnels and caves. These gray men were clearly familiar with them, though, since they imprisoned Mista in one of the rooms. I'm wondering now, though, how many gray men are there. Will others come looking for their missing comrades?"

"Sadly, there's no great option here. Can't leave them, can't kill them, can't take them with us. I wonder what they eat and drink?"

"We could put them in the room where Mista was imprisoned while we explore these ruins."

"Oh, wait! What if we take them to the ship! We could lock them up there and the others could look after them! That'd free us up to explore."

"The question then is: do we explore this labyrinth or explore the surface?"

She'd been thinking about it while they'd talked, but it was only when she started talking that it coalesced into an actually thought... and plan of action.

"We were warned to avoid the surface do the dangers that lurk there. The caves and systems below the surface were safer" Rodrigo comments as he idly cleans dirt out from his fingernails.

While the group discusses where to go and what to do, Tom looks around the area to keep an eye for incoming trouble.

”The Ki-rin said to befriend blue elves in the tunnels, didn’t he?  These here ain’t blue, and I’m not sure these ruins constitute a tunnel.  Methinks we should be looking for a way underground.”

"I'm not so sure about putting these two on our ship, they are likely to be more crafty, would hate for us to get stuck on this moon."


Looking over the two gray guys, "Maybe we can use them as someone to barter with.  They are not that heavy, I can carry them"  Mort offered.

"Okay, I think that's the best of the several bad options," Anya agreed.

"Mista, Dominic... did you see any other way to go in the direction you came from?"

After being assured that there wasn't, Anya continues.

"Guess we got only one way to go. I'm wondering, though, if there is any access to the tunnels through these ruins. Maybe a secret door in a root cellar or something?"

"Elwood, how about if you and Tom take the lead. Mort can bring up the rear, and the rest of us will stick our heads into these collapsed buildings looking for a way downward. How does that sound?"

She still wasn't sure who the leader was, if they even had one. It seemed like it was based on the situation--whoever had the most experience, knowledge or skill for a particular circumstance was the one the rest of the group looked to. On the other, in case it was Elwood, she didn't want to step on anyone's toes.

OOC: Me the leader? I thought Anneth was the leader!

Elwood nods to Anya. "Alright, then, saddle up. I have no idea where we're going, but let's go anyway. Try to find a hole in the moon."

Elwood will lead the party further into the ruins, looking for stairs down, doors, or caverns they could enter. And trying to keep an eye out for more of the gray men.

"Keep the prisoners between us then?" As Rodrigo moves towards the left Flank about 30' away from the nearest person when space is available to do so.

I'll follow Elwood.  That way I can back him up if he runs into any real trouble.

Tom starts to follow Elwood through the ruins.

"That's fine. Just don't get too far ahead of us," Dominic cautions as he heads out after Elwood and Tom.

At the first opening on the left, he cautiously peers inside. The blue glow is in here as well.

Mista nodded towards Dominic and followed him.
When she stood where he stood she too took a look behind the door.
"Isn't that the same blue glow that came of those creatures wands?"
She took a good luck inside to see if anything moved.

"There seems to be no one here. I can try a spell to determine if there are any magical traps in here. If not, I suggest we cautiously walk inside of it.

"Not sure checking for traps is really needed, these gray guys did move very fast and they don't much seem like the sneaky type"

"We're only looking to make sure there aren't any other creatures in these rooms," Dominic replies. "And if there are any obvious ways to get into subterranean tunnels."

"Once we've checked out the extent of this place, and we haven't found any way down, then we can go back and look for secret doors and stuff."

"My opinion, of course. Not that I'm any kind of expert on exploring."

Other than the blue glow, nothing unusual is found in the room or the next room or the next room. Expecting the blue glow to come from some sort of moss, you do realize that it comes from the very stone itself.

After about 50 yards and 9 rooms, the passage comes to a T-intersection. While the left hand passage continues on with many other openings visible. The right hand passage, however, is a flight of wide marble stairs leading down. There is quite a lot of debris on them, apparently from overhead even though they aren't open to the sky. Once again, it looks like the surrounding buildings collapsed and the walls of those buildings wound up forming the roof over the stairs.

Some of the debris fell on the fancy marble banisters that line both sides of the stairs and seriously damaged them.

The stairs appear to lead down to a lower level that has an arch about 20 feet away from the bottom stair.

Elwood examines both directions. "We were advised to go underground, so I reckon we should head down the stairs. Everyone take care, though. Don't trip on the rubble."

Unless someone objects, Elwood will try the stairs first to see if they're safe.

Tom replies easily.

No objection from me.  I'll keep following you.  About 5 steps behind you should be safe enough, right?

"I hope so. If you want to wait until I get to that archway, just in case the whole stairway comes crumbling down, I won't fault you."

OOC: with my magic belt, I have lots of bonus hit points, so can probably survive a tumble.

Rodrigo nods to Elwood "Let's explore it." he moves along forward his bow in hand and arrow nocked but not drawn upon it so that he can quickly fire if need be.

Mista follows suit, her eyes looking around in case anything moves.

Other than the footing being a bit unstable if you aren't careful, the stairs seem safe enough.

Elwood has no problem reaching the bottom without any of the stairs collapsing or giving way underfoot.

Although the language carved into the frame around the arch is not one that Elwood recognizes, he does recognize what he sees through the arch: this is the entrance to an underground crypt.

There are some areas that have cracked and shifted, and there is some debris on the floor, but, for the most part, it seems to have remained intact.

Mort takes his time desending the stairs.  Wanting make sure the there is enough room for him
This message was last edited by the player at 20:41, Wed 22 May 2019.

Gierdon marvels at the glowing stone, carressing it as he descends.  He takes in as best he can the crypt, senses heightened for anything that would indicate a passage or space beyond the walls or floors.

Mista too descends down into the crypt. She walks up to Elwood. "I don't have a good feeling about this." she says. "The Immortals may know what might be in here. Meanwhile we are turning our back towards what may be the only way up and there are probably more of those grey creatures walking around. I say we go back upstairs and continue to inspect the place to find out what they are up to."

"Well, I guess we should discuss this. On our way here, we met a creature called a kirin. It's a beautiful creature of Law. It advised us to stay underground once we got here, and to overthrow some evil wizard that lives here and bring back golden apples. Personally, I expect we could have those grey fellas coming at us from any direction down here or up there. But let's see what everyone else has to say on the matter."

Elwood gathers the party to see what everyone thinks: go back to the ruins on the surface, or explore down below.

Tom says to the group after Elwood speaks.

I believe the Ki-rin was telling us the truth about staying underground and we should follow that advice until we are ready to leave the moon.

Rodrigo nods in agreement as he looks down the passage "We should explore that further to see if this is what they meant or not."

"While I agree with Mista a bit, I have a bit more knowledge of the situation," Anya suggests.

"There's no guarantee... and certainly the kirin never said that there wouldn't be danger down here... that the tunnels were safe. I think he implied that we weren't quite up to the dangers above ground but that we could handle whatever we ran across below ground."

"We saw that there were no tracks on the stairs down... though we've now made some... so it doesn't seem likely that the blue-skinned people come down here. They certainly don't give the impression of explorers or even particular activity."

"I realize you don't know us, Mista, but we should at least look for these underground tunnels and evaluate them when we do."

The crypt clearly wasn't designed for anyone as tall as Mort, but the arched ceiling was made high enough to accommodate ceremonial religious banners and such. So Mort can pass through barely... keeping his head down a bit.

Tom chuckles softly.

Everything we do is filled with danger.  No matter if we stay above ground or below ground.

"Never understood why some of my kind likes the underground and mazes, give me the outdoors and open skies any day"

The crypt tunnel has some debris on the floor that's fallen out of the walls or ceiling, but while it might make running through the tunnel difficult, it's easy enough to navigate.

Twenty feet in, you see that there once was an stout iron gate that kept would-be looters out, but the moonquake that caused all this destruction has broken the gate. The left section is twisted back against the wall while the right section has completely fallen down.

The actual burial crypts and chambers start after the gate.

Simple crypts are just slots in the wall where the coffin was slid in foot first. A simple plaque was fastened to the end of the coffin, and a fancier marble one was fastened to the outside to seal up the slot.

You can see this because some of the outer plaques have fallen off, smashing onto the floor. Some of the coffins appear to have been pulled out with the desiccated corpse dumped onto the floor.

You also spot several cracks in the sides of the tunnel, from just visible cracks to larger 12" wide. The deeper in you go, though, the bigger the cracks get. Also, the floor of the tunnel seems to be sloping downward.

The fancier crypts begin to appear about 120 feet in. These are larger stone coffins or sarcophagi that have been carved out of the tunnel walls themselves.

In reply to Mysterion (msg # 54):

"Interesting the various ways the dead are treated across the land. At home it is a joyous occassion when one gets to travel beyond the mortal coil. We send them out upon the sea in a boat that we set a flame to aid their journey. Some choose this before they have even passed but knew it to soon happen." Rodrigo remarks as he examines the various crypts.

Mort never understood the need for burial crypts.  "A fire burial is best?  The spirit has already left the body, so the body is no longer needed.  Maggots should not feast on the fallen."

Mort will proceed to go deeper into the caves.  As things begin to slope, he will be sure to check his footing and make a point to be close enough to one of the side should be slip and need to reach out and grab onto something.

It certainly seems unlikely that the gray men ever come down here, but you do spot what might be tracks in the dust, indicating something moves down here.

Just as you come to an intersection where the corridor T's left and right, the floor has collapsed in a downward slant into what appears to be a lower level of tunnels. Mort can see a pair of glowing red eyes down there.

Before proceeding any further, Gierdon looks for someplace to anchor a rope so they can climb back up if needs be.

Elwood moves up next to Mort and examines the area. "What do you suppose that is?" he asks, pointing at the glowing eyes.

Gierdon can tie a rope around one of the carved out crypts.

"It's an animal," Dominic said as he cautiously inched forward to peer down into the collapsed part of the floor.

"A hunter. The eyes look forward."

Rodrigo will move forward, raising his medallion with his left hand he points it down into the lower level of the crypt towards the glowing red eyes, first it's invisible beam shows anything hidden about it, and then with a focus of will it emits a powerful light as if it was a lantern.

”Nice one, I was just going to relieve myself on it to see what happens.”

Rodrigo's medallion first reveals two things that are hidden: the eyes belong to a dog-like creature and standing beside him is probably his owner... a Gnome wearing a pair of goggles.

Neither the dog nor the Gnome seem to be aware of the medallion's hidden function, but when the light comes on, they both cringe backward for a moment, but then stand their ground.

Rodrigo smiled towards the Gnome not moving any closer "Lo there. You need not fear us unless you plan us harm."

"Who be you? How you find Downbelow?" the Gnome answers Rodrigo.

You not moonies. Where you from? No harm you, no harm me."

"I be Rumbles. This be Gorp." He indicates the creature beside him. "Gorp good dog. Gorp attack if you no good. Gorp eat you!"

Rumbles sounds rather proud when he makes that last statement.

You can now tell that the Gnome's skin appears to be blue.

"You got that right. We just arrived. Friend told us to stay below. Friends below. Enemies above." Rodrigo tries to keep the statements simple given the nature of speak that Rumbles responded back with.

"What you want in Downbelow?" Rumbles responds.

"Safe from dragon, safe from devils, safe from blue men. Where you go?"

Tom moves slowly away from Mort trying to keep from drawing attention to the both of them.

While the rest of the group is talking to the gnome, Mista explores the crypts a bit more.

Each crypt seems to be dedicated to just one person. At least as far as Mista can tell, there seems to be only one name carved into the stone on the end of each crypt, along with the usual 'dates' normally  put on such.

Unfortunately, it's in a language and script she can't read.

She can't even tell if a series of them might be a family crypt.

She does spot what look like keyholes in the sides of each sarcophagus.

"We are on a quest," Rodrigo replies to the the Gnome.

"Our searches and path have led us to the Downbelow. We sure could use a guide. Might you be interested in being our guide?"

He did not offer to pay anything... yet, because he had no idea what these moon people might consider valuable.

Mista moves nearer to what seems to be keyholes on the sides of the sarcophagus.

After inspecting the hole for a little while longer, she takes a wooden knife out of her bag and begins to pick the locks with it.

Rodrigo caught up in conversation with the gnome almost misses Mista trying to open a lock on the sarcophagus, looking over to Mista "Why would you be trying to disturb the dead and open the Sarcophagus"

In reply to Rodrigo (msg # 75):

Gierdon chimes in, ”Treasure for one thing!  Also curious to know what kind of beings lived here, maybe get a sense of how long ago they died out”

He watches with anticipation as Mista works.

"Foolish to disturb the dead." Rodrigo shook his head, he loved adventure as much as the next person, but he was not foolish. Turning back towards the gnome "Would you be our guide?"

"No guide. Must stay guard," Rumbles replies. "Scrapper be guide. For pay. Maybe for fun."

"Scrapper Rumbles brother. Me guard, he guide."

"Guard? What are you guarding?" Rodrigo asks curious if this is the underground cities the Ki-rin told them of.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:18, Tue 09 July 2019.

"Guard passage. Keep out skysiders. Protect city. Protect Barang," Rumbles replies.

"Go down passage. Go left at skull. Tell city guard you see Scrapper."

Mista is hardly using an appropriate tool for picking locks, but the locks aren't that fine or sophisticated. Apparently, the locks themselves were expected to be enough to keep vandals out. There was probably gates and guards at the beginning of the crypt. Centuries of moonquakes have made all that pointless. Plus the fact that the civilization that created the crypts is long gone.

It takes Mista a little bit of time to get the side locks open.

Click

The door of the sarcophagus opens. Mista intently looks inside it.

Mista opens the lid of the crypt. It's certainly more elaborate than just a coffin or casket, but it isn't as elaborate as a full sarcophagus.

Inside is the remains of a person... half-disintegrated rags barely cloak a skeleton.

Besides the skeleton, the first thing Mista notices is the sword clutched in bony hands upon its chest.

The skeleton looks human... perhaps on the tall side.

Tom slips over to see what Mista is looking at.

What did you find?

Elwood looks to Rumbles and hooks his thumb towards Mista and Tom. "Is what they're doing a problem? If so, just say it and we'll get them to stop."

"Don't bother me," Rumbles replies. "May bother them. Full of curses. The Old Ones protected dead treasures."

"Sometimes trigger cave-ins. Choke on dust."

"Told you messing with the dead can be bad." Rodrigo exclaims as he hears Rumbles response, he looks towards Mist and slowly backs towards Rumbles, his hand moving to the arrows resting at his shoulder in case it comes to "life".

Elwood tips his hat to Rumbles. Then he turns to Mista. "If you want to take that sword, go ahead. The old owner won't miss it. But let's not risk any cave-ins or other mishaps by opening any more. You're likely to scare up a mess of trouble that way."

Gierdon peers in as well, paying close attention to how the sword is positioned.  He’s looking for any irregularities in the coffin, or the skeleton...wires, seams in the stone, etc.

The sword was in typical position, hilt on the chest with the skeletal hands clutching it.

You notice that there's no scabbard with the sword, though, not even at the skeleton's side.

Gierdon detects no wires nor spots any cracks in it.

He does realize, though, that the stone sarcophagus was not carved... at least, he can't see any chisel marks. It's possible that it was sanded smooth, but he doesn't think so. The texture is off. He's pretty sure it was created via a Stone Shape spell.

The lid, on the other hand, is clearly carved and inlaid with decorative stonework.

"Sounds like a good idea!" Anya concurs with Elwood.

"We should move on... go find our guide."

"On the other hand, I thought we were trying to get into trouble? Or are we hunting for a library to study in?"

Tom looks at the sword.

OOC: What kind of sword is it?

Tom looks over at Anya and chuckles softly as he speaks.

Anya, we can get into trouble in a library.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:27, Wed 31 July 2019.

The sword is what is considered a bastard sword, otherwise known as a hand-and-a-half sword. It's a bit longer than a long sword but not as long as a great sword, and it has an elongated hilt so that it can be wield with one hand or two hands.

Can anyone tell if it is magic?

Tom asks as he looks at it more closely eyeing the workmanship of it.

"If nobody has a spell to do it," Dominic offers, "there's always the scratch test... if any one else has a magic weapon."

"You use the point of one to try and scratch the other. If the magic weapon scratches it, then it isn't magical. If it doesn't scratch it, then it's greater magic than the known magical sword."

"Ha-ha-ha! Yes, the old scratch test!" Anya confers.

"Not always accurate, but usually is. Don't worry about it, though. Mort has a magic slate that can identify magic items placed on it."

"We should worry about that later, when we've found a secure place."

"I'll lead the way if you all want..."

Mista agreed with Anya. "That may be the best thing to do. However, I know of a spell that may be used to find hidden knowledge. Though we need an experienced wizard to do it, as with my current experience I am unfit."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:27, Fri 02 Aug 2019.

The group moves out and continues down the tunnel, leaving Rumbles behind.

As above, these tunnels are lit with a bluish glow that seems to be emitted by the moss that grows on the walls and ceiling as well as the thin veins of blue mineral that weave throughout the walls, floor and ceiling and also emit the blue glow.

Although most of the tunnel seems to be natural, now and then there are sections that have been worked by human hands... not Dwarven, as Gierdon can tell.

You pass a few side tunnels... old lava tubes apparently... but there's no sign of any skull, so you keep on.

Another hundred yards starts to produce a significant echo that gets more pronounced as you go. Gierdon can tell that it signifies a large cave up ahead.

Before you get there, though, Mista spots the rock on the left that's in the shape of a skull. The rock is only about 2-feet in diameter, sitting on the floor, and it looks like it might be a natural rock formation, since it's rather crude, yet clearly resembles a skull.

"That's a skull, right?" Dominic says when Mista points it out.

"And it's a rock, right?"

"So that means this is the passage we're supposed to take."

"Unless anyone thinks we should investigate the cavern that's up ahead. Rumbles didn't tell us about it... but he also didn't warn us about it."

"Don't know if we'll come back this way, but I suppose the cavern will still be there when we do."

"If we're taking a vote, mine is to skip the cavern and take the passage."

"We don't have anyone that cast those sort of spells yet," Aaron responds to Mista as he moves a few paces down the main tunnel... towards where there might be a cavern... and stands guard until everyone goes down the side passage. And then he'll bring up the rear.

"Let's stick to the plan until we have a solid lay of the land. We don't need any extra surprises." Rodrigo comments as he follows the path as indicated by the skull stone.

As the group moves through the tunnel, they pass several side tunnels, most of which seem to dead-end after only a short distance. Gierdon can tell that these dead-ends are due to collapses.

In fact, just as you approach another one, there's a rumble from down in the tunnel--another cave-in. It spews out a bit of dust, some small rocks and a tumbling body...

The body ends its tumble face down in the dust just at the edge of the cross tunnel. You can tell the body is still alive by the moaning and groaning and creaking of its old bones as it struggles to his feet. As he does so, a staff bounces out along side him.

The man appears to be human, a bit wizened under the dust, and has the look of a wizard rather than that of a warrior.

From his prone position, the old man gets up onto all fours, coughing loudly and spewing dust from his mouth. Reaching out with a thin wizened hand, he grasps his staff beside him, and using it as support, stands to his feet. Patting the dust from his grayish robes, the old man peers around, quickly noticing the group of individuals nearby. His bushy gray brows coming together in a V, he glares at the nearest of them for several moments, before snapping.

"Whatcha starin at boy? Never seen an elder take a tumble? And where's your offer to help? Young uns have no manners these days...no manners..."

Reaching into his robe, he fishes out a handkerchief which he uses to mop his face. All the while, his beady eyes do not look away but continue to glare at the nearest stranger.

OOC: Hello guys! Glad to finally join in!

No, it was more like we weren't expecting to see anyone take a tumble.

Tom says as he walks up to the old man and lifts him to his feet easily.

Mort frowned, "Don't know what use is a good weapon is in a dead persons hand then no longer have need of it.  Seems like a waste if you ask me".


Mort offered aid to the old geser as well if needed.  Conveniently Mort ended up standing between the old man and the staff that fell
This message was last edited by the player at 14:38, Thu 22 Aug 2019.

Having already stood up with the help of his staff, Cog waves off both Tom's and Mort's offer of help. At Mort's cryptic comment, the old man gives him a sideways look of suspicion.

Stuffing his handkerchief back into his robe, the old man fishes out a strange construct - a thin frame of some kind holding a single round piece of transparent glass - and puts it onto his right eye. Squinting through it, he begins studying the new comers, shaking his old wizened head as he wheezes in his wheedling voice.

"My...you don't look one bit like those young fools who left Old Cog behind...And who are you? Whatcha doin here?"

OOC: @Mort - Cog has already picked up his staff and is holding it tightly in his hand right now...while glancing suspiciously at the party. :D

Aaron looks around at the others disgustedly.

"So, we could just have teleported here and not dealt with the ship at all?" he half complains.

Then he laughs.

"It wouldn't have been half as much fun, I don't think! And then we wouldn't have the ship."

"Well, Mr. Old Cog, my name is Aaron Gray. The other fighter there is Tom Wolf, the Minotaur's name is Mort."

"Since we don't know where you came from, I'll inform you that you are on the moon... if you didn't already know that."

"We're explorers from the world below--Mystara."

He'll wait to introduce the others until he knows more about this newcomer.

Rodrigo laughs, the human thinking he's an elder, if they were born at the same time Rodrigo will still be only a child growing into a man. "You can call me Rodrigo and Aaron here has the right of it. We are in the tunnels beneath the moon."

Seeing the old man, Mista gently walks to him and helds out her hand as to greet him. "My name is Mista Faer, sir. I come from Fenswick, Glantri. You said there where others who have left you behind? Who are they and where do they come from?"

Gierdon is carefully examining the walls and ceiling of the tunnel, looking for cracks or faults that might presage another collapse.  He offers a hand, ”Gierdon, dwarf of little acclaim.”

Gierdon isn't quite sure what caused the tunnel to collapse, as it looked stable enough. All the rest of the tunnels they passed also look stable, particularly the main one. He knows it as a lava tube... a tunnel melted through the rock by lava pouring out of an active volcano. He guesses this one is hundreds of years old, so the volcano that was here is probably extinct.

If Cog was left behind here on the moon, it was from some upper level that must have collapsed underneath him and tumbled him into the lower level.

"The... moon? You mean, like, up there in the sky?" Cog managed to say as he went all goggle-eyed.

"No-no-no-no-no! We were exploring a crater but it wasn't on the moon! Wait! That crazy wizard! He was waving his wand all over the place! And then, suddenly, it exploded in a flash of blue light! And then we all started tumbling down the side of the crater..."

"But... why was I the only one... what? Teleported? Is that real?"

He looks back up the tunnel to make sure none of the others got teleported with him and still lay trapped in the rubble.

"This is most peculiar."

"My name is Cog Farseer. I don't suppose one of you fine gentlemen or ladies would be so kind as to teleport me back to the crater?"

To be honest, he wasn't quite ready to believe he was on the moon. He still wanted to believe that the moon was made of green cheese. It sounded more interesting than tunnels and rockslides. Then again, maybe it was still green cheese. He glanced down at the rocks again. They still looked like rocks... and didn't look appetizing at all!

OOC: np problem with staff thing, if it were possible Mort would have done it, at this point he does not intend to forcibly take the staff from the old guy.

Mort will eye the old man for a bit longer, "Seen some strange things already. Things are what they are.  You some kind of wizard or priest?"

"We do not, at least I do not have the capabilities to do such a thing. You will have to either travel with us or pick your own path." Rodrigo states calmly as his attention shifts to up and down the passage way.

"Yes, I'm a wizard myself, but not a very good one yet, and teleporting is way beyond my abilities," Cog replies.

He glances around a bit more before finally sighing.

"Well, let me mark the wall here so any of my friends might find me if they happen to show up later."

He pulls a piece of chalk from his belt pouch and proceeds to draw an arrow on the wall the end bent to point up at an angle. Then he writes CF over the line of the arrow.

"I guess that'll work."

"Now, where are we off to?"

"A city. At least that's what we've been told." Rodrigo offers as he moves to continue on down the path.

Giving the uppity elf a stinkeye look, the old man, grumbling into his beard, follows along together with his newfound companions on the path.

Gierdon pipes up, a thought having occurred to him, How long ago, would you say, did this teleport happen?  We found you in the rubble of a tunnel collapse.  Seems the teleport makes the stone here unstable.  If you’re expecting others, we should be wary lest we become buried.  Recent Cave ins will also be a sign to look for tour friends.

Cog pauses mid-stride and looks up at the dwarf's question. Squeezing his eyes shut for several moments, as if trying mighty hard to recall lost memories, the old man finally opens his eyes. Bushy brows arched into a frown of concentration, he looks right into Gierdon's eyes.

"I don't know laddy. Sometime within the last one week is what I can recall..."

The old mage gives the side of his head a good couple of thumps before continuing. "My memory is not like before. Things seems hazy to me."

Cog bobs his head with several nods before continuing to follow his newfound companions out of the room.

OOC: Truth is I don't know either. Heh...
This message was last edited by the player at 16:26, Mon 16 Sept 2019.

Mista silently follows the group.

Mort glanced back at the old man, wondering just what he had to offer.  "If you be continuing on with us, might be helpful to let us know what spells you might be casting, so we know what to expect"   He didn't bother to wait on an answer as he knew the others would let him know what was going on.

Mort will pause briefly at intersections to check for possible troubles before continuing on.  He checked for possible activity as well.

Assuming there was no delay in the teleport, which is unlikely, then Cog was teleported within the last half hour!


The group continues down the tunnel, which zigs and zags a bit, not allowing for any clear line-of-sight more than 50 feet ahead. At three points, you come to a small ledge in the corridor. While the corridor continues on, you have to clamber up the 3' high elevation to continue on.

This is a handy defense against any forces that might be coming down this way. It isn't until you get to the third one that you spot a difference. Just past the ledge, there are two side tunnels, one on either side, that only go in about 10 feet before they end in collapsed stone. In these tunnels, however, there are several shields and weapons leaning against the wall, as well as what appears to be some sort of barricade that can be moved out to block the tunnel.

Then there's a sharp turn to the left up ahead about 50 feet. And that's when you are amazed!

It opens out onto a ledge on the inside of a crater! It's not that big as craters go, maybe only 300 feet across, but you can see that there are dozens of ledges along the crater wall that connect several dozen openings. You can also see people moving along the ledges, going from one opening to another.

You stand there looking for several minutes before someone comes along. He stops about 20 feet away, stares at you all for a bit and then speaks.

"Welcome to Mechanical Crater, strangers. I am Scrapper. If you need a guide, that'd be me!"

In reply to Mysterion (msg # 122):

When the being that calls itself Scrapper introduces itself, Mista gets pulled of the waves of awe she felt when observing the crater. Cautious suspicion replaces the feelings of wonder, as she observes the creature. "Nice to meet you, Scrapper." she says, calmly. "Can you tell me why we are here and what you are? Why do you want to be our guide, when we are just some strange persons that appeared out of nowhere? Not that I have a disdain for your warm welcome, but these things seem weird to me."

Tom continues check around the area looking for signs of trouble or traps as the group decides what they should do about Scrapper.

"Well, now, Missy," Scrapper replies to Mista, "I'm offerin' ta be yer guide cause that's my job. If'n you wasn't strangers, then you wouldn't be needin' no guide, now, wouldja?"

"And, to be honest, you didn't come out of nowhere--you came out of that tunnel. This particular tunnel is the responsibility of me and my brother. He guards, I guide. Simple as that."

"As for me, I'm a Gnome. Ain't you never seen a Gnome before? Course, I'm whatcha call a Lunar Gnome. Or so I've heard tell. We're all the same here on Luna, so it don't much matter. We been visited by other kinds of Gnomes now and then, but they don't usually fit in verrra well, so they don't stay."

"Now, you, sir, are a Big One!" Scrapper directs his gaze upward to Mort.

"I'm guessing you is a Minotaur. Probably the only one on Luna. Heard of your kind, but I ain't never seen one of you before. If Scrapper let you pass, though, you must be okay."

Mista tempered her distrust for now. The Gnome didn't seem to malevolent at any level, and he seemed to be used to visits from outsiders. She smiled at the gnome and let the conversation go towards Mort.


She never met that lot of Gnomes. Sometimes in Glantri they were there, but she never had the chance to really talk to them.
She listened silently to the others.

Gierdon grunts a “Hrrmph” and adds, ”Okay, and as our guide, where would ye suggest ye be leadin’ us?  And just how often would strangers be comin’ through that your kind need specialized guides?”

"Scrapper, perhaps you know about grey men with these strange wands. They attacked us in the caves above." Rodrigo responds as he looks across the crater, his eyes making trying to discern the details.

"Well met Sir Scrapper, I prefer Mort to Big One, and I'm actually one of the shorter ones for a minotaur."

"What can you tell us over your town on Luna?  Are the people friendly in this town?"

Mort made a point to squat down to be more at the Gnome's level
This message was last edited by the player at 18:41, Thu 31 Oct 2019.

"So, you met the Grey Men, hey?" Scrapper replies to Rodrigo, "and lived to tell about it! Now, I'm really impressed."

"Don't rightly know much about them, not even what they call themselves. We call them Selenites. They be secretive at best. Don't like anyone snooping around their places. Not that we know where they are exactly, but, pretty much like you probably did, we sometimes stumble across them. They change locations, though."

"As you probably noticed, we all have blue skin up here. It's from eatin' the blue moss that provides the light in the tunnels. Except the Selenites. Presumably they don't eat the moss, but don't ask me what they do eat."

"As for visitors, well, we get some from Mystara down below now and then... usually from a teleport spell gone awry, or someone stumbling through a portal."

"Mostly, though, we get visitors from elsewhere on Luna. Explorers, traders, lost hunters... about once a Lunar Cycle. And then there's the Lunatics."

"These are creatures that either ate too much moss or just didn't take well to it. They get transformed into monsters. Well, truth to tell, some start out as monsters and then just get worse."

"From what I hear tell, our city is just like any other city... even those down below. Seems to go with the territory of forming a community. Misery loves company, no man is an island... all that sort of rot."

"Course, we're a bit different in that were strung out around the inside of this crater. Mostly making use of the old lava tubes. We're not miners like Dwarves are, so we prefer to make do with what we find... with a little bit of persuasion."

"As to where I'm guiding you, that'd be the Stars and Garters inn and tavern. Until you decide what you want or what you're going to do, figured you might need a place to rest or wet your whistle."

"Pleased to meet you, Mort. Yeah, most of us are friendly. As unusual as you are, we are used to the Lunatics, so unless you was blue and had two heads, then you ain't the enemy."

Mista listened intently to what the Gnome said.
The story about the moss particularly grabbed her interested.

"That blue moss sounds fascinating! What keeps you from changing into monsters yourselves? Isn't it risky to live of something that can have that effect on you?"
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 09:18, Tue 05 Nov 2019.

Tom listens to Scrapper as he talks.

Well, we will have one great story to tell when we get back home.  I'm not sure anyone will believe us when we say we've been to the moon and back though.

"Stories of Fanciful Adventure it will be said. But we will know the truth. Besides we may still have moon maiden's to save" Rodrigo states with a sly grin at the end.

"Ain't rightly sure about the blue moss," Scrapper replies to Mista.

"Heard a bunch of theories, but Grand Vizier Valentra is still trying to work out the truth. It affects some people more than others, a lot of it is dangerous, or maybe there are just various types of it. From what I've seen, it all looks the same."

"Still, you might wanna be careful about eatin' it from the caves and tunnels and craters and what not. Course, if'n you's new here, be careful about eatin' at all."

"Supposedly it's safer once it's been cooked."


After leading you across and around and up and down several ledge trails, he stops in front of an establishment that has a doorway and a window to either side, apparently all cut out from the rock that reveals a cave beyond. A silver star and a garter hangs in both windows.

"This be it," Scrapper announces.

"Hey, Mauve!" he calls out as he enters. "Got a new batch, including a Big One!"

He introduces you to an older woman with pale blue skin and purple hair.

"When you figure out what you want to do, Mauve can direct you to where you need to go."

Since Scrapper was a self-proclaimed guide, it occurred to Elwood that he might be able to guide them to where they wanted to go. The only problem with that is that they didn't yet know where they wanted to go.

"Perhaps you could tell us more about what goes on here on the moon," he says to Scrapper. "Over an ale, of course."

He pauses then as a thought occurs to him.

"You do have ale here on the moon, don't you?"

Elwood, I hope they have some ale on the moon.  That's one of the best ideas you have had.

"Well, now, can't rightly turn down an ale, can I? Wouldn't be polite," Scrapper replies.

"Oh, sure, we got ale on the moon. And wine and mead and scrog. And starshine, if'n  you know where to look."

He leads the group to a table or two or three that can accommodate everyone.

"I suppose what goes on here on the moon is pretty much what goes on up there on Mystara. You know, for a long time, we all thought that Mystara was the moon. It wasn't until we started getting visitors from below... or should that be above? ...that the scholars started figuring things out. It took a long time to accept what they were saying as truth. Some folks still don't get it. And then there's the Flatworlders. Not that I can't see what they'sa gettin' at. I mean, look up at Mystara--does it look like a spinning ball? Nope."

"But here? Stand up on the lip of the crater and you can see the land curve away. How could that be flat?"

Mauve apparently overheard the conversation for she soon brings a round of ale over to the table. The mugs, however, appear to be carved out of stone.

The ale is pretty good... not high quality but certainly not cheap stuff either. At least, it wouldn't be back on Mystara.

It does have an odd though not unpleasant taste to it. It also has a faint blue glow to it.

Mista took a small sip from her ale. She wasn't a fan of alcoholic beverages, so she just took from it out of courtesy.
She still thought about the blue moss and was wondering if the faint blue glow of the ale was related to it. But when Scrapper talked about the visitors from Mystara, another question popped into her head. "So what the first visitors from Mystara like? Did they looked the same as we do or were they different?"

"Not sure what yer gettin' at, lady, but, yeah, they was the same as you... well, except for the big guy there," Scrapper replies.

"Oh, there's tales of orcs and goblins and bearboars and whatnot, but they all seem to stay away from the cities. Never enough numbers to do anything but get themselves killed. Go wanderin', though, betcha you'll find some."

"I don't believe she was referring to species," Aaron responds to Scrappers comment. "I think she meant attitude, abilities, culture, religion... that sort of thing."

"For instance, were they wizards? Were they soldiers? Were they from some particular country? Did they talk funny? Did they dress funny? Were they... evil?"

Tom tries the ale.

Not bad once you get used to the color and taste.

Mort asks, "Do you got any bigger mugs?"

He looks around the underground town, trying to get a lay of the land.

"Folk around here seem happy enough"

Rodrigo had quietly watched the others discuss things as his gaze wandered about the city.

Anneth had been quiet for the most part, aside from greetings and the odd observation here and there.  Perhaps it was the shock and thrill of being on the Moon, perhaps it was something else.

She took a long drink of the Lunar ale.  "Amazing!" Even the densest individual could tell that Anneth was genuinely impressed by the refreshment.  She then looks up from her drink, and addresses her host.  "And can you recall their names?"

"Huh. Well, yeah, I guess in that sense they was different," Scrapper replies. "But then, we don't have that kind of difference here that much. It's not like everyone from Barang wears turbans or something."

"We all kind of live the same here. Enough trade goes on so that we kind of always know what the other cities is up to. 'Casionally we get someone who thinks he should be the leader, or thinks we should all be the same country, but they don't last long. If someone doesn't outright kill them, they just sort of fade away."

"Well, now... let's see... The last stranger to get here was named Griff. Said he was from a place called Speck in Karakos. Something like that, anyway. Truth to tell, we look up at Mystara from here at night and just make up names for places that we see. Don't have no way of knowing what goes on up there, so don't make no never mind to us."

"Figure out what you gonna do yet? Gotta admit, though, haven't seen a group this big get lost before. I'm surprised Mort here made it through the tunnels."

Mista took another sip of her ale. "Speaking of finding out what we are going to do here, you never told me and Dominic on what kind of mission you are. What has brought you here to the moon?"

Mort was ready to move on, but the big question was where to.  "Hey Scrapper, where do your people not normally want to go?  Might be just where we need to go"

"We're looking for the Seventh Magic," Aaron informed Mista. "The Radiance has become... unstable. We believe the Seventh Magic can restore it."

We were led to believe that we could find it here on the moon. Any idea where we might look, Scrapper?"

"We mostly stick to our cities, exceptin' for some brave souls what do the tradin' with the other cities," Scrapper answers Mort.

"All the folks up here live in the towns, which are all in craters because those are the easiest places to defend. Plus, most of them already have lava tubes, so they are much easier to adapt."

"Probably what you are interested in are the ruins of Altania. Erasos is rumored to have been the Great Library city. It's in the Black Crater. It's always dark there. It's also the home of the Black Sorcerer... if such a person really exists. Tales of him have been told around bars and fireplaces for many years."

"Oh, by the way, he's not supposed to be a nice person... if you get my drift."

"We have heard rumors and stories about this black Sorcerer as well.  Those stories also tell that "he" is not a nice person."

How far are the ruins from here?  Would that be something you could guide us to? Or give us directions to?

In reply to Mort (msg # 152):

Mista looked puzzled. "The Sevent Magick? Never heard of something like that. What is it exactly?"

"First we need to understand what it's not.  Like what the other 6 are"

Mista nodded her head. She took another sip of her ale, before deciding that she had enough.
"Alright, what do we already know about it? Is it like some object or more of a person? Could it be that Black Sorcerer?"

"Fando sort of explained it to us," Elwood added.

"At least as far as he understood it."

"The First Magic is primordial magic... kind of permeates everything. It's all around us. It was there when the universe was created."

"He didn't know what the Second Magic was, but thought it might be positive and negative, or maybe good and evil. For that matter, it could have been Up and Down."

"He also didn't know what the Third Magic was. Maybe that was good and evil and neutral. He tentatively called it Alignment Magic."

"The Fourth Magic is Elemental Magic... the four elements. That primordial magic finally settled down into the four elements."

"The Fifth Magic is Arcane Magic. According to him, as soon as there were people, they could wield arcane magic. Just a little at first, but we kept getting better at it."

"The Sixth Magic is Divine Magic. Fando believes that deities came later, that it was people wanting to believe in something greater than themselves that brought into existence the gods. Kind of flies in the face of things, doesn't it? Except... what do the gods need worshippers, then?"

"The Seventh Magic... well, it's something bigger than Divine Magic. But that, too, makes sense: it would take something that big to fix the Radiance, wouldn't it? Or else the gods would already have done so."

"Now, I'm not saying any of this is right or true or whatever. That's just what Fando told us."

Mort said with a big grin.  "Seventh Magic must be Minotaur magic."  He chuckled at his own joke.

"Now wouldn't that be something, Me think it and it happens"

Rodrigo rolls his eyes at Mort's attempt at a joke "We should get well rested, perhaps hire a guide and see if we can make our way towards this dark library."

In reply to Elwood (msg # 156):

Mista contemplated on what she heard. The Radiance was something she was very familliar with. After all, the worship of Rad was built around it. She found it peculiar though that she never hear heard about the different magics. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she was forced into healing magic since she was little.

"Thank you for your explanation, Elwood." she said, smiling towards him.

"You are welcome, Mista," Elwood replied.

"Was I the only one that was listening when Fando explained his theory? Though, I did think Gierdon's eyes were starting to glaze over. Aaron's, too, for that matter."

"I suppose rest is a good idea. We don't know when we'll get the chance to rest again."

"Scrapper... interested in being our guide?"

"I'm strictly a city guide," Scrapper hastens to explain. "I don't do the Wilds. Ain't safe."

"For where you want to go, your best bet is Umbro. He can probably take you part way through the tunnels, but the last half will probably be on the surface. That'll be the most dangerous part. Wing wraiths and ground dogs... and Selenite swarms. Those you can usually outrun, unless you get trapped."

Mista confusedly looked towards Elwood. "Fando? Who is Fando? I never heard of someone with a name like that."



"What a welcoming place you call home." Mista sarcastically remarked. "Apart from running, what are other ways to defend ourselves against those creatures?"

"The usual way, Mista," Aaron responds to her. "Attack them before they attack you!"

"Also, it depends on the nature of these creatures. We might be able to hide from them. Or perhaps fire will scare them off."

"Fando is a sage that's back on our ship... maybe a wizard, too. He looks old, but I don't think he's as old as he pretends to be. When our paths crossed at the ship that we found, we kind of decide to work together on this quest."

Mort nodded in agreement "the old human on the ship, old but smart"

"The next question is: do we start out now or get a night's rest before we head off," Elwood says.

"I'm inclined to push on, but do we need any camping gear, and where do we find this Umbro?"

"Can't answer those questions for you," Scrapper responded. "Best ask Umbro. I'll go get him. Don't guarantee he'll be free to guide you, but he's always willing to listen for an ale or two."

Scrapper heads out of the inn. He returns about 10 minutes later with another person in tow.

"Hey, everyone. This is Umbro. Turns out he was on his way here already. Should have known. He usually checks out the new arrivals."

"Thanks, Scrapper, You a good gnome."

"Umbro, seems we could use your guidance."  Mort held out his large minotaur hand for Umbro to shake. "I'm guessing that Scrapper already told you where we are looking to go"

"A nights rest in a tavern would do us good. Even better if there are any maidens..." Rodrigo comments as they wait on Scrapper.


He looks Umbro up and down as Mort speaks to him.

Mista rolled her eyes at the comment of Rodrigo.
"I think a wise decision would be to stay the night. If the next part of our journey is going to entail lots of running and fighting, a good night's rest would be more than ideal."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:34, Fri 28 Feb 2020.

"Pleased to meet you," Umbro replies. "Yeah, Scrapper said you wanted to go to the Library. I guess it don't surprise me none, but I've never taken anyone there before."

"Been there myself... in my younger days. Not to the Library itself but to the Black Crater. Saw the Library from a distance. There's a chasm in front of it. Unless you want to build a bridge, we'll have to go around... come at the crater from the other side."

"Might be easier at that. Just don't know what we'll run into that way."

"Sounds like a plan," Aaron conceded. "Pleased to meet you, Umbro. My name is Aaron Gray."

"Not much for building a bridge myself. Of course, it depends on how big it has to be. We don't have any horses, so a rope bridge might do just fine. Anchoring it to the other side could be tricky, especially in the dark."

"So, Umbro, is this darkness ordinary or abyssal? Sometimes people exaggerate to make their own efforts seem vastly more important or significant or heroic. Maybe the crater is just in shadow?"

"Perhaps a night's rest would be beneficial to all of us," Elwood agrees with Rodrigo.

"We'll head out in the morning... Just how do we know when it's morning?"

Although they were only in a crater and the paths were outside, he didn't know how sunrise and daylight worked here.

"Umbro, did you grow up here?, How wide is this chasm you speak of?"

"No, I didn't grow up here, but arrived at an early age," Umbro replies.

"Still exploring a lot of it. The chasm... last time I was there... is about 60 feet across at its narrowest point... expands out to around 100 feet for most of the several miles length."

After Umbro's introduction and statement about leaving, he has a few drinks at the bar before he leaves for his own abode.

A couple of people will have to double up on the rooms as this inn does not have that many. As you head down the tunnel to the various rooms, you see that there are two more rooms still being carved out of the stone of the crater.

Anneth, Anya and Mista can share a room.

Cog and Dominic can share a room.

Aaron and Rodrigo can share a room.

Elwood and Tom can share a room.

Gierdon and Mort can share a room.

There are no doors on the rooms, but there are heavy curtains over the doorway. There are real beds with real mattresses, stuffed with some soft material other than straw.

If the pitch black of the rooms bothers you, there are 'ever-burning' candles that are used as a night light.

The night passes smoothly and quietly.

In the morning... which seems to be rather arbitrary, though there is daylight shining in through the front door of the inn and down the tunnel to the rooms... breakfast is served by anyone that wants it.

Somewhat surprisingly, another person comes out of his room for breakfast.

Breakfast is about half over when Mauve comes back out of the tunnel, a bit agitated.

"Those other two are gone," she announces. "I didn't hear them leave so I don't know where they could have gone. Perhaps they decide to try the other inn."

A quick head count reveals that it is Cog Farseer and Dominic that are missing.

At word that two of their group is missing, Elwood strides down the hall to the room that those two had been in and looks around while examining the room.

He comes back a minute or so later.

"Doesn't look like they slept in the beds at all," he says. "Cog said he'd been teleported here and wanted us to teleport him back. Anyone remember how Dominic got here?"

"I'm thinking that maybe the teleport wore off and automatically sent them back. Or, maybe, whoever sent them, returned them somehow."

"We could look for them here in the crater, but I don't see any point if they are gone. If they are still here, they should know how to find this inn again. Mauve can tell them that we left."

He felt a bit bad about what he'd said, but the two had been with them for so short a time that he barely knew them. They hadn't even agreed to join them; only Mista had done that. So, maybe that's why they got whisked back to Mystara.

Mista was a bit sad to hear that Dominic had left. He was the first one who she met while on the moon.
"Is it really safe to think that they are back on Mystara? Are we sure that nothing bad happened to them?"

It is very possible the god or gods they worship heard their prayers and sent them home.

It is one of the very times that Tom has spoken of or about the gods in front of the group.

Out of curiosity, Mort asked, "Was any of there belonging left behind?"

That's a good question my big friend.

None of their belongings were left behind, but then they don't seem to have ever settled in long enough to do so.

Rodrigo made his way down to breakfast, he looked up to when the others had noted the missing individuals "Safe travels to them. Now about our plan..."

"Plans are easy!" Umbro responds. "While we might be able to forage for food and water along the way, it'd be prudent to take supplies for at least a week."

"Other than that, some climbing supplies and determining a marching order, since at least half the way will be along narrow trails and ledges."

"Naturally, I'll be in the lead."

"Since I know little about all of you, I will not presume to tell you how to spread yourselves out. It is only Mort here that is a concern. I understand that he would be a major asset as a lead combatant, but he will also stand out. It would also make more sense if he is not the first to tread upon what could turn out to be unstable ground."

"So, as soon as you are ready to leave, we shall go!"

"Before we go, has anyone a weapon I can borrow? I wasn't really well equipped for treading hostile environments when I was teleported here."

"I will be your blade M'Lady" Rodrigo offers with a smile, seeing that has little effect "Otherwise I only have a dagger I could possibly offer. Perhaps we could purchase something here?" He looked to Umbro "We have supplies to buy as is anyways."

Mista responded with a barely audible sigh and said: "Thank you for your offer, Rodrigo, but I prefer to defend myself. A dagger can do, but I prefer a weapon that has some more strength to it."



"Yes, I think that would be a great idea. Where is the nearest market?"

"If a sword is more to your liking, Mista," Elwood offers, "then you can use mine."

He holds out his sword in its scabbard, hilt first, to Mista.

"It is magical. Gierdon is carrying my spare in his haversack. Most folks don't carry a second weapon, other than a bow or dagger, as it's usually unnecessary and means you have to carry extra weight."

"You've probably noticed that most of us also carry bows. Bows aren't very effective in melee, and they are nearly useless once you run out of arrows. With a sword, you never run out of blade."

"We ain't got no market as what you be meaning, Mista," Umbro answers Mista. "Food here is mostly free, unless you want someone to cook it for you, like here in the inn or at Margo's Kitchen. Closest thing we got is Old Ernie's Eclectic Emporium. Now, he does trade food for goods, so he's got a pretty diverse selection... just not a lot of it. He's bound to have a sword or two, but maybe not the kind yer lookin' for."

"As for other goods, well, yeah, he's got some... if you don't mind it bein' blue."

He heads out the door.

"Follow me if you're interested. It's on the way."

He leads you along the path past a couple of houses, then takes a turn down a tunnel. Two doors down on the right is a sign that says Old Ernie's Eclectic Emporium… you think. It's chicken scratching at best, but it is in Common.

Light comes in through a skylight. It's a fairly large room lined with shelves on the walls and a few free-standing shelves in the middle.

An old bearded Gnome sits on a stool behind the counter, apparently asleep. He seems to wake with a start when Umbro bangs on the stone counter.

"You got customers, Ernie!" he shouts at the Gnome.

"You don't gotta shout!" Ernie shouts back. "I ain't deaf, you know!"

"Now, what can I do for you fine folks?"

"Thank you alot, Elwood," Mista says with a slight smile as she takes over the sword.
The sword feels heavy in her hands. Mista feels a wave of excitement coming up in her while she studies the shining blade.
"What kind of magical powers does it have?"

"Don't got a weapon that small"

What if I prodded the ground before me to make sure it would hold up.

"It's... sharp, and it glows with light when you want it to," Elwood replies to Mista.

"Other than that, I don't know if it has any powers."

When everyone is done making purchases at the store, Umbro leads the group back down the passage and out to the main ledge, and heads left.

You pass a number of people going to and fro the various shops and residences... all caves, of course, though a few have some cloth or wooden awnings.

The people all nod politely to you; a few even say hello. Most of them seem to know Umbro.

You've gone about a quarter of the way around the crater when he stops and points ahead and up.

"The library is that way, but you can't get there directly. We've got to follow this passage to the outer wall and then down into plains and across the rocks," he explains.

"Once we enter the tunnels, it'll get a bit dangerous, especially the farther we go. There's the Grays and the Lunatics, the Blues and the Monsters."

"There aren't many Grays, but they can be the most dangerous. Either avoid them, or attack with everything you've got."

"Lunatics are little yellow devils. Breed like rats. You mostly encounter them in swarms or hordes, but sometimes they follow a pack leader."

"Blues are aberrations. They may look normal, but somehow, they got twisted. Bad, mean, vicious, nasty, with strange powers. Usually solitary, though."

"Then there's the Monsters. Like Blues, they are aberrations, though they aren't always obvious. You might run across a mini-dragon that has two heads with two separate breath weapons, and two hearts! Or an 8-foot Orc with one eye that shoots lightning bolts. Or you could meet a hungry chimera that's like a dog--feed it and it'll be your friend."

He heads down the tunnel that cuts through the crater rim to the outside.

"Well, this promises to be a wild ride." Mista responds.
"Umbro, how resillient are they to magic?"

"Unless it's one of those aberrations," Umbro responds, "they are just as much affected by magic as you or I."

"I couldn't say about the Black Sorcerer, though. If anyone's tried attacking him with magic, they haven't lived to tell about it."

Rodrigo followed along, nodding to the various residents as they greeted them, whistling a tune. He was considering all the fun they could have in these tunnels, he sought adventure and it brought him to the moon of all places and now there's strange things in the tunnels ahead...

Mort listened, "If it's blue kill it, if it's a monster kill it. Gray's kill faster, yellows feed them oil."    "With tunnels, we should be able to deal with swarms as they are limited on how many can attack at one time."

Keep in mind that we could be limited in the same way Mort.

"It all depends on what you mean by 'swarm'," Anya suggests. "If you are talking a swarm of insects or spiders or rats, they could overwhelm one of us. If you're talking about 20 Orcs, yeah, one-on-one, we've probably got the edge."

"I'm just wondering if Mort goes first, will he intimidate any of these moon creatures and keep them from attacking? Except the Greys, of course."

For the most part, because the tunnels are lava tubes, they are high enough for Mort to stand up in without any trouble. Every once in a while, though, he has to duck.

Umbro leads the group through what appears to be a main tunnel, though several smaller side tunnels lead off of it. Umbro strides out front a bit, and when he comes to one of these side tunnels, he stops and listens, and sniffs the air, before hurrying head once he's determined that it's clear.

At one point, you reach a place where the main tunnel has collapsed. That's when he leads you down one of the side tunnels. It starts to get a bit tight for Mort, especially when it takes a dip downward, and then, on the other side, he has to climb up a bit and crawl through a small tunnel.

Umbro, though, seems to have judged the tunnel and Mort's size accurately, as Mort isn't in any danger of getting stuck.

This crawl space comes out about ten feet above the floor of a large cavern. Umbro has no problem dropping down. He immediately dashes over to one of the side tunnels and listens.

As the rest of you enter the cavern, you can see that there are thousands of crystals embedded in the walls. They glisten eerily in the blue light of the ever present moss.

Just as Aaron, the last of the group, climbs down, everyone can hear a commotion coming from down one of the tunnels. It wasn't the one Umbro was listening at.

A moment later, a person comes running out of the tunnel.  In slathering pursuit is a small horde of what must be Lunatics... short, big-headed, big-eyed yellow creatures. Some have horns, some have tails... only a few wield a weapon--the rest have nasty claws and fangs.

It isn't clear what species they may have started out as.

The person stops his headlong dash for a moment as he sees the group, and then veers off to the side toward one of the other tunnels. The horde doesn't seem fazed by the sight of the group, though, and continues its charge.

As he ran by the group of humanoid figures, Adran decided to run down another tunnel in hopes that some of his pursuers would break off the attack. As he ran away from the group, he yelled behind him It was nice to meet you, hope we can do this again soon!

Then he decided he would try to reduce the creatures numbers, if only temporarily, by casting a sleep spell on them once they were in the spell's range.

14:28, Today: Adran rolled 13 using 4d4.  Duration of Adran's casted Sleep spell in turns.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:29, Sat 09 May 2020.

Rodrigo reached with his hand across his body, grasping the hilt of his blade, drawing it in one quick motion as he looked at the charging lunatics. Striding forward he lunges hard at the nearest lunatic, but he erred in the movement of the beast and it had slipped past where he had judge it to move too...


OOC:


15:12, Today: Rodrigo rolled 4,9 using d20+1,d8+1 with rolls of 3,8.  Slash with sword.

Mort stood there unsure at first, but seeing Rodrigo act, he joined in the fray.  Gripping his mighty hammer firmly he advanced and took a broad swiping swing to try and catch as many of the lunatics in the swing that he could.

21:48, Today: Mort rolled 21,11 using d20+6,1d10+6.  Hammer Swing.

Tom drew his sword and swung at the first one who comes into range of it.

Seems we always find trouble.

OOC: 07:03, Today: Tom Wolf rolled 16 using 1d20+3.  To hit w/ Bastard Sword.
07:03, Today: Tom Wolf rolled 12 using 1d8+4.  Damage w/ Bastard Sword.

((OOC: *grumble, grumble* Rough week (or two...). I started to reply to this thread at some point and then I got distracted and forgot to get back to it! Next time, WAKE ME UP!))


Adran cast his Sleep spell at the pursuing hoard, just as they realize that their prey has veered to the side and gone down a side tunnel but that there are more targets in front of them now! The numbers didn't seem to faze them.

12:00, Today: Mysterion rolled 6 using 2d8 ((4,2)).

Unsure of whether these other folks were friend or foe, Adran sort of targeted the middle to back of the horde, not really expecting to have much success.

5 of the dozen or so creatures instantly fall down mid-charge, and their fellow creatures don't seem to have any concern about running right over them. Fortunately, it doesn't wake them up.

Rodrigo attacks and defends against the first one to get near, one with horns, but misses.

Mort stepped forward to meet the charging horde as well. He smashes his hammer down on the first one to reach him, and flattens the creature to the floor of the tunnel!

Tom also attacked the first one to come near. He, too, scores a deadly hit upon the creature and it slumps to the floor.

Umbro strides forward to meet the horde and sidesteps down the side tunnel on the opposite side from Adran. He swings and misses as the horde surges past him.


2:19, Today: Mysterion rolled 3,8,11,18,13 using 1d20+1,1d20+1,1d20+1,1d20+1,1d20+1 ((2,7,10,17,12)).

The horde strikes back! The one Rodrigo attacked strikes back... and also misses!

Two of them manage to surge forward and attack Mort... because he's a large target... but they both miss.

Another one moves forward to fill the spot of the creature Tom killed and attacks Tom. Somehow, he gets lucky and manages to hit... for 3 points of damage.

Umbro's missed attack draws the attention of one of the lunatiks running past and it turns to attack, but misses.

With Rodrigo, Mort and Tom pretty much filling up the width of the tunnel, Aaron, Anneth, Anya, Elwood, Gierdon and Mista don't have much of a chance to get involved at this point, except maybe with a ranged weapon.

The first one who wants to, though, can move forward around Tom to attack the rest of the horde that has come to a stop at the unexpected opposition.

Tom swings again this time at the one just hit him.

You little upstart.

OOC: I recorded the wrong weapon in my to hit roll on the roller.  Correct weapon listed here.
12:31, Today: Tom Wolf rolled 15 using 1d20+3.  To Hit w/ Bastard Sword.
12:32, Today: Tom Wolf rolled 5 using 1d8+4.  Damage w/ Bastard Sword.

Still a bit overwhelmed by the sudden attack, Mista sprints forward and engages in battle with the horde.
She swings her sword and hopes for the best.

20:53, Today: Mista Faer rolled 2 using 1d20+1.  To Hit with Magic Sword.
20:55, Today: Mista Faer rolled 7 using 1d8+1.  Damage with Magic Sword.

As Adran continues to run, he will take a swing with his staff if any of the creatures gets close enough to him while running.

7:36, Today: Adran rolled 6 using 1d6.  Damage to creature while running.
07:36, Today: Adran rolled 13 using 1d20.  To hit creature with staff.

Also, while running, Adran will look for a place in which he can hide or hole up …. possibly something up high since the creatures are small.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:39, Sat 30 May 2020.

While she had a short bow, shooting among her allies was not a good thing, plus, she wasn't sure when she'd be able to replace her arrows if she couldn't recover them.

As an alternative, she pulled out her Wand of Magic Missiles. She still didn't know how many charges were left in it, but she felt she needed to contribute something to the team.

"arcana arcanis," she whispered, choosing one of the more distant creatures to target.

17:53, Today: Anneth Mage-Singer rolled 13 using 3d6+3 ((6,1,3)).

He was slightly frustrated because he couldn't charge into battle. He wasn't inclined to push his allies out of the way just so he could gain the glory of combat, which was why he'd learned to cultivate patience.

"Umbro warned us about these creatures!" he called out to his teammates. "We're strong enough to take them!"

If the others fell, he would avenge them!

Aaron found himself in the same proverbial boat as Elwood. He was too far back to attack the creatures, unless he used a bow. Unfortunately, his long bow wasn't very effective in these short ranges.

He did step forward behind Mista, not only to guard her back but watch Umbro's flank... just in case one of the small creatures managed to slip by.

"Step aside, boys," she said to Elwood and Aaron, "and let me show you how it's done!"

She'd already unslung her short bow, better for short to medium ranges, easier to string and load, quicker to fire.

It was already strung, always a precaution when venturing into the unknown, especially when it was potentially dangerous.

True, she hadn't seen any trees on the moon yet, so making replacement arrows might be impossible, but that's what they were for.

Quickly knocking an arrow, she took aim at one of the creatures... and let fly!

19:18, Today: Anya Canson rolled 13 using 1d20+2 ((11)).

19:31, Today: Anya Canson rolled 5 using 2d4 ((1,4)).

That just might be a hit!

Some of his fellow Dwarves were good tunnel fighters, like their cousins the Gnomes. Unfortunately, Gierdon wasn't one of them.

So he was stuck at the back like the others.

However, as he spotted an opening on the right, he was able to slip past the battle and dash down the tunnel where the person who was being chased went.

After 20 or so feet down the tunnel, constantly looking back to make sure he wasn't being pursued by the Lunatics, he stopped to listen.

"Hello there!" he called out softly.

"We're the good guys. Are you injured? Do you need any help?"

Tom hits the creature that hit him, but he quickly realizes it's going to take more than one hit.

Mista misses and just barely misses Tom as well!

Adran, as he fled, just barely managed to hit one of the creatures. It didn't go down, but it was discouraged from continuing after Adran.

Anneth's spell took a heavy toll on one of other creatures, but it still didn't go down... exactly. The force of the spell knocked it off its feet but it got up again.

Elwood simply waited for an opening.

Aaron also waited for an opening.

Anya was, indeed, able to shoot past her allies and hit a target, but one arrow wasn't enough to kill it.



Of the original 14 creatures that charged the group, 5 of the Lunatics are asleep on the floor and two more are now dead, leaving 7.

One is fighting Umbro, with Aaron helping when he can. It hasn't been hit yet.

One is fighting with Mista, also aided by Aaron as necessary. It hasn't been hit.

One is fighting Tom. It's injured.

Two are fighting Mort. One has been injured by Anya's arrow.

One is fighting Rodrigo. It was hit by Adran as he ran past.

One, unable to get into combat yet, is the one Anneth hit with her spell.


The Lunatics now strike back.

15:14, Today: Mysterion rolled 10,14,9,13,13,13,12 using 1d20+1,1d20+1,1d20+1,1d20+1,1d20+1,1d20+1,1d20+1 ((9,13,8,12,12,12,11)).

The one attacking Umbro misses.

The one attacking Mista hits her for 4 points of damage.

The one attacking Tom misses.

The two attacking Mort both miss.

The one attacking Rodrigo hits for 3 points of damage.

15:45, Today: Mysterion rolled 4,3 using 1d8+2,1d8+2 ((2,1)).

Die you dumb idiot.

OOC: 15:53, Today: Tom Wolf rolled 14 using 1d20+3.  To hit w/ Bastard Sword.
15:53, Today: Tom Wolf rolled 12 using 1d8+4.  Damage w/ Bastard Sword.

If I hit I'm pretty sure he's dead now.

7:14, Today: Mort rolled 17,14 using d20+6,1d10+6.  Hammer Swing.

With not enough room to swing the hammer properly, Mort raised it up and smashed it down on the healthy one of the attacking him.  "Mort Smash loonies"
This message was last edited by the player at 22:21, Thu 04 June 2020.

Adran, seeing that he was no longer being perused by the Lunatics decides to help out the strangers that were fighting them. He finds the nearest Lunatic and takes a swing at it with his Staff....


22:56, Today: Adran rolled 3 using 1d20.  To hit nearest Lunatic with Staff.


It was a miss....

"Hey! Ease up there!" Gierdon says to Adran as he takes a swing at the Dwarf.

"I ain't the enemy! We're trying to help you!"

Umbro swung at the Lunatic once more. Ha! This time, he was able to connect.

13:25, Today: Umbro rolled 25,4 using 1d20+7,1d8+3 ((18,1)).

It wasn't enough to take him down, but one more probably would do the trick.

Rodrigo did a bit of a flourish with his sword, parrying aside the creatures defenses to lunge towards him with his blade hoping to draw blood in kind...



OOC:

14:57, Today: Rodrigo rolled 17,4 using d20+1,d8+1 with rolls of 16,3.  Attack Longsword.

The yellow creature who had lashed out to her was grinning joyously. "You are an unpleasant bunch." Mista said, before she took her sword and aimed it at the lunatic.
"You were lucky the first time, now you'll get to experience the taste of metal. Hayyaa!" she exclaimed as she swung her sword for the second time.

10:07, Today: Mista Faer rolled 10 using 1d20+1.  To Hit with Magic Sword.

She decided to try another arrow. Thinking that a good hit might kill the one Mort just smashed, that would let Mort direct his power to the other one that she wounded. The proverbial 'one-two-punch' effect.

15:26, Today: Anya Canson rolled 8,3 using 1d20+3,1d6 ((5,3)).

"Damn! Missed the little bugger!"

Again, Anneth targets the Lunatic out of reach with her wand.  Everything seemed alright with it, and it was, again, far less risky than firing an arrow into a heated engagement.  It could also serve to at least weaken the creature before it could close in, and make it easier pickings for her companions!

Using Wand of Magic Missiles to damage the same Lunatic as the last time.
23:14, Today: Anneth Mage-Singer rolled 12 using 3d6+3 ((2,1,6)).

In reply to Gierdon Warbeard (msg # 217):

Replying to Gierdon, Adran said My apologies, I was transported to this place and almost immediately the whole world was attacking me! I do, however, give you my thanks for coming to my assistance. As I appear to be in one piece, shall we continue to put these things out of our misery? Pausing and remembering his manners, he mentions My name is Adran, by the way....
This message was last edited by the player at 04:42, Tue 16 June 2020.

Tom hits the Lunatik on him, this time finishing it off. While they might not be lemmings exactly, they don't seem to know what to cut and run.

Mort likewise hits the uninjured creature attacking him, and while he doesn't completely finish it off, he does knock it to the floor, and it lays there stunned for a moment before getting up groggily and staggering around a bit before coming back for more!

Adran swung at one he thought was one of the pursuing creatures, but it turned out to be Gierdon. Fortunately, he missed.

Umbro hits, but it's a weak hit... not enough to take the creature down, but it also doesn't seem inclined to retreat.

Rodrigo also hits the Lunatik he's fighting, but it's a weak hit, as if he was copying Umbro! Another hit will probably finish it off.

Mista just barely manages to hit the Lunatik fighting her, probably because she was getting support from Aaron. Although there is a bright flash of icy-blue light when she hits the creature, the damage isn't enough to take it down since it hasn't been hit yet.

Anya misses with her arrow.

Anneth once again uses her wand to attack the creature she'd already targeted. It was severely damaged already, and this attack finishes it off.


The four remaining Lunatiks continue to attack.

17:55, Today: Mysterion rolled 7,19,6,19 using 1d20+3,1d20+3,1d20+3,1d20+3 ((4,16,3,16)).

Mort gets attacked by the Lunatik he didn't hit this round, but it misses, perhaps intimidated by the bashing Mort game the other Lunatik, who is still staggering around and doesn't get reoriented enough to attack this round.

Umbro gets hit again, but it's only for 4 points. Apparently, one weak hit deserves another!

Mista gets attacked by the Lunatik she was fighting, but it may be staggered from the damage or the blue light because it misses by far.

Rodrigo's Lunatik foe strikes back but Rodrigo is just able to block it with his shield.

Aaron and Elwood are still unable to get into the fray. They could only do so if some of their allies fell, so that's a good thing.

Tom swings at the closest one to him.

These guys are pretty stupid.

OOC: 18:43, Today: Tom Wolf rolled 13 using 1d20+3.  To hit w/ Bastard Sword.
Damage if I hit: 18:43, Today: Tom Wolf rolled 10 using 1d8+4.  Damage w/ Bastard Sword.

"Yes, they are..." Anneth laughs.  "Let's see what you're capable of..." She once again fires the wand, but this time attempts to emulate what she'd seen duelling mages do with the magic missile spell, and strike different targets...

Attempting to strike multiple Lunatics with the same discharge of the <I>Wand of Magic Missiles; targetting the healthiest-looking ones, if possible, to whittle them down for companion's benefit.
10:20, Today: Anneth Mage-Singer rolled 9 using 3d6+3 ((3,2,1)).

21:20, Today: Mista Faer rolled 19 using 1d20+1.  Damage with Magic Sword.

Mista was happy that she now was able to hit the Lunatik. Maybe I'm getting the hang of this. But the next time I have to ask for a different weapon, this doesn't seem to suit me.
She swings again at the Lunatik.

21:23, Today: Mista Faer rolled 10,13 using 1d20+1,1d20+1. Hit/Damage w/ Sword

Rodrigo continued his dangerous dance with the Lunatik, pushing aside the weapon of the Lunatik before he draws his blade upon the creatures leg as he pushes through it's defenses...



OOC:

18:46, Today: Rodrigo rolled 17,4 using d20+1,d8+1 with rolls of 16,3.  Attack with longsword.

Perhaps being a little overconfident with his staff and position, Adran takes a swing at the nearest Lunatic:


19:51, Today: Adran rolled 3 using 1d20.  Adran to hit nearest Lunatic with Staff.
19:58, Today: Adran rolled 4 using 1d6.  Adran damage nearest Lunatic with Staff.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:58, Tue 23 June 2020.

Tom hits the Lunatik still fighting with Umbro and manages to finish it off.

Anneth uses a Magic Missile volley from her want to strike all three of the remaining. The first missile hits one of the Lunatiks fighting Mort, the second one strikes the other Lunatik fighting Mort, and the last one strikes the Lunatik Rodrigo is fighting.

When Mista hits the first Lunatik fighting Mort, that's enough to finish it off.

Anneth's magical missile finishes off the second Lunatik that was fighting Mort... the one that was still staggering around.

When Rodrigo hits the last Lunatik, he finishes it off.

Of course, there are still 5 Lunatiks asleep on the floor of the tunnel.

"Don't worry about the miss, Adran," Gierdon tries to encourage the newcomer. "Tunnel fighting can be hard to master."

"We Dwarves do it mostly in tunnels we're familiar with, but normally we'd fall back to a more defensive position and let the enemy come to us. If we have to charge forward for some reason, we form a sort of phalanx-style battering ram where the toughest one leads the way and the rest of us defend his flanks."

"We kind of didn't have a choice here. It's a good thing we had Umbro with us."

He moves over to the others and enquires about injuries.

"Okay, who's been injured?"

"Not that I'm complaining because I didn't get into the fight," Aaron says, "but, as Gierdon said, we might want to make better plans for fighting in these tunnels."

"How about it, Umbro? You got tunnel-fighting experience?"

"It does both me that I couldn't engage these creatures in combat, but I'm not convinced they are evil," Elwood spoke.

"I can heal some of you, as you know. I have a daily limit, so if you aren't badly injured, I'd rather not use my abilities on you just yet. We can start, though, with just bandaging your wounds."

Anneth lets out a sigh of relief, and holsters her wand.  Then, she removes her dagger from its sheath...  "Shall we finish them off?  Or bind them and question them?"

One of the little idiots got lucky and hit me.

Tom says as he moves to bind his minor wound.

Responding to Gierdon, Adran said Yeah, I was not expecting to be sent to a tunnel and have to fight some strange little creatures. Thanks for the help. He paused a moment and looked around at the group, noticing that they really weren't surprised to see him, a stranger, standing in front of them, For those of you who I didn't meet, I am Adran. How did you all come to be here and where is here?

"Hi Adran, I'm Mista." Mista answers before turning towards Anneth. "Let's bind them and see what they got to tell us. If they are capable of understanding us that is."

Mista turned her head back to Adran. "How did you end up here? I was somehow teleported to this place and they all came here with a boat. Did you also get teleported or are you a native of the moon?"

Anneth fakes a pout for a moment, and then replaces her dagger.  "Yes, that's probably a better idea..." She turns to Adran.  "Well met, stranger, I am Anneth Mage-Singer."

Adran responded Nice to meet you and, no, I am not a man of the moon. I am an Alphatian Flying Navy Commander, second in command of a flying Man-O-War. All I know is that a man named Thagoras Thangor teleported me here after I witnessed him murdering multiple citizens. After this, Adran started to help with the binding of the small creatures that he had put to sleep with his spell.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:35, Wed 01 July 2020.

Tom gets 2hp back from binding his wound, as does everyone else that was injured.

Adran and Mista are joined  by Aaron to tie up the sleeping Lunatics. Under the effects of the Sleep spell, binding them does not wake them up--it requires a bit rougher effort to do so.

Umbro starts hauling the dead bodies down the tunnel he'd been fighting in.

Elwood goes around to everyone that was injured and heals them back to full hit points.

"Name's Elwood. Pleased to meet you, Adran. Except for Mista, we came to the moon on a flying ship in search of the secret of the Seventh Magic. We're hoping it will enable us to restore the Radiance."

"I probably should have said something earlier, Mista, but this applies to both you and Adran. Even though you didn't come here by your own free will, the manner of your arrival isn't as significant as that fact that you are on the moon! The Universe seems to have included you on our quest. What you make of it is up to you now."

"Hello," another one of the group says to Adran in between hauling bodies into the side tunnel.

"I'm Umbro. I suppose I'm a 'moon man', since I live on the moon now. I'm their guide."

In reply to Elwood (msg # 241):

Mista nodded. "That's certainly true."
She continued helping with binding up the Lunatics. "I suppose we wake them up as soon as they can't escape anymore? Do we have any ideas on what we might want to ask?"

Rodrigo cleaned his blade upon the dead creatures rags or what ever before he sheathed his blade, moving towards Adran "Greetings Adran,I am Rodrigo of Belcadiz. Welcome to the moon and it's strange adventures." Rodrigo did a bit of a flourish and bowed towards Adran




HP: 15 --> 17/18
This message was last edited by the player at 17:21, Mon 06 July 2020.

Once Tom finishes binding his wounds he help Umbro with the dead.

Greeting the newcomers, Adran said It is excellent to meet you all, thank you for your help - it was much appreciated. Turning to Elwood, he asked When you mentioned finding the seventh magic to restore the radiance, what exactly does that mean?

"It means just what I said," Elwood replies to Adran. "I honestly don't know any more than that."

"Our sage, Fando, is back on the ship. All I know is that after the Week of No Magic, the Radiance was... different. Darker. Grimmer. Perhaps stronger, but no longer reliable."

Hmm, interesting. In light of that, what is our next move? asked Adran.

"I can't remember what brought us to the moon in the first place," Anya says, "but Umbro says the information we're seeking is most likely to be found in the Great Library situated in the Black Crater."

"According to him, it's black because it's in perpetual blackness. And it is controlled by the Black Sorcerer."

"So, that's where we're heading. You are welcome to join us, or you can head back down this tunnel to the town. If nothing else happens before we get back, we'll be glad to take you on the ship back to Mystara."

"I couldn't help but notice that you seemed a little unfamiliar with that sword," Anneth politely, quietly, and tactfully offers to Mista.  She holds out her dagger.  "It hasn't got nearly as much of a 'punch' to it, and there are no enchantments of any sort on it, but I'm willing to part with this, if it'd feel more comfortable in your hands."  There is, of course, a sword at her own hip... and a whip.  And a short bow and quvier at her back.  Anneth ought to do just fine, minus one dagger.

"Thank you, I noticed it too." Mista responded to Anneth.
She took the dagger and turned towards Elwood. "Here, thanks for letting me borrow it, but I don't think this weapon was made for me."

"In that case..." Anneth removes the harness and sheath for it, and hands it to Mista.  "Hope it serves you as well as it did me!"

"So, Umbro, what do you suggest we do with these sleeping Lunatics?" Aaron asks their guide.

"We usually have this problem with Orcs back on Mystara. If you let them go, then they might wind up killing someone else. On the other hand, can you kill the for something they might do?"

"Can we interrogate them? I mean, are they intelligent enough to understand us? Can they even speak? And are they likely to have any useful information?"

((Started to post this last week when I lost internet.))


"When they form little swarms or hordes like this, it generally means they aren't intelligent," Umbro replies.

"You'll have noticed that they didn't have enough sense to turn and flee when over half of them were dead or they were seriously injured--they just kept on fighting."

"Just because I've never been able to communicate with them doesn't mean you can't. But, as I said, they aren't intelligent, I don't think they can even speak let alone know a language. As to what they might be able to tell us... I couldn't say."

"I'd say just leave them. If their hands are tied in front of them, instinct will probably let them chew off their bindings. Otherwise, they might just lay here until they die."

"Doesn't sound like there's anything to be gained from interrogating these creatures," Elwood says.

"Probably not worth the time, either."

"We know  so little about the moon I doubt if we'd even know what questions to ask."

"i say we press on. Lead the way, Umbro."

Adran asked before the group moved on My worry about leaving them here and tied up is that they chew through their bindings and pursue us - would it not just be safer to dispose of them?
This message was last edited by the player at 03:18, Sun 02 Aug 2020.

"There's no honor in killing a helpless creature," Elwood insists. "You kill in defense, you kill in the hunt, and you kill to end a creature's misery."

"If these creatures pursue us, then we will be forced to defend ourselves again. Their numbers have decreased to the point where they are no longer a threat to us. As Umbro said, they form a swarm... not even a pack like wolves would do. There is not enough of the to swarm now, so they will most likely just be scavengers."

"Let them be, and move on."

It is unclear if he will defend the creatures should anyone try to kill them, but he waits until everyone else continues on before he follows.

Fine, then we shall move on, Adran replied.

"A wise choice," Umbro says, and heads off down the tunnel.

As you approach other cross tunnels, Umbro holds up a hand to halt the group while he steps forward and listens and scans the floor. Not all are necessarily cross tunnels--some are just branches.

After five such cross tunnels, he stops and turns to everyone.

"You may have noticed the light up ahead is a bit brighter," he says. "That's because around this bend we'll be outside... well, the tunnel ends at the edge of the cliff."

"There's a narrow path winding down to the bottom. It can be a bit treacherous, so everyone be careful. Also, you need to keep one eye on the sky. There are nasty surprises that strike out of the sun or the clouds or just empty sky. Even from farther up the cliff. Birds, flying reptiles, some sort of air elemental and even undead."

"They aren't all that common, but a group this large might attract them. If you think we should rest here before we exit the tunnels, that's fine by me."

 "You'd better thank his god, vermin..." Anneth scowls at the unconscious Luatics.

"I think its best if we keep on moving." Mista replied to Umbro. "We have barely made any progress so far, so we should keep a rythm going."

Agreed

"Part of me wants to push on to reach our goal, but there's another part of me that understands the wisdom of rest and picking our battles, rather than let them pick us," Elwood says.

"You may not think we've done much yet, Mista, but most of us have flown to the moon! We think that's an accomplishment unto itself."

"But, you do have a point. I don't think any of us are tired yet or injured enough to warrant a rest."

"I vote for pushing on."

"Yes, push on! I've never been much for waiting around for something to happen," Anya offers. "I've always said, if you want something, go and get it!"

"That doesn't mean I'm gonna rush in like some fool, though."

"Yep, yep... there be times to rest and times to move on," Gierdon agrees.

"I think this is a time to move on! Lead on, Umbro! We gotcher back!"

Tom assumes his place in the line as we resume our path.  Making sure to pay attention to the surroundings including the space above our heads.

Umbro leads the group out of the tunnel, glancing up at the cliff before he completely commits too leaving the tunnel.

As you exit the tunnel, you find yourselves on a winding, switch-back path that wends its way down the rest of the crater's outside wall. Ahead, you can see a vast 'plain' that's broken by crevasses and ravines, jagged and toppled rocks. Here and there, you see spots of green.

"Our path leads to that mountain over there," he says, pointing to a mountain off in the distance.

"It's really not as far as it looks. Follow the path through the Broken Plain. If we get separated, look for these two marks to show you the way."

He draws two symbols in the dirt: an eye and an 'X' with a hook.

"All those ravines are a huge maze, and you can easily get lost for days. The Eye will be up high, the X will be down low."

"Those spots of green are copses of trees. They also mark where there's water. They path doesn't always lead past them, though. And because there's water, that's where the animals and monsters tend to go as well."


You make it to the bottom of the cliff without incident though everyone kept looking over their shoulders.

Then starts the trek through the rocky maze.

 Anneth takes Umbro's instructions in.

 "If need be, we can always consult my crystal ball."

Mista takes time too to really make sure she understands what he's saying.
"So we should follow the mark of the Eye towards the Mountain?"

"Anything we can expect along the way?" Elwood also asks Umbro.

"I gather that the lunatiks don't venture out of the caves; is that right? Surely, some of them must change to do that."

"That is correct. The lunatiks don't venture out of the tunnels as the brighter light hurts their enlarged eyes," Umbro replies.

"Yes, follow the marks to the Black Crater. It doesn't look black from here, but it is within the crater."

"There are moonbeasts, but I've only heard tales of them."

"Your crystal ball, Anneth, may very well prove to be the key to your success."

 "Just say the word, if I don't think about it," Anneth says to Umbro.

Adran asked Umbro, are the moonbeasts a formidable foe?

Rodrigo had a large broom in hand as they made their way down the mountain pass, he had tied back to his pack when they reached the bottom. He nodded occasion to Umbra as he made his explanations, but his attention continued to roam the skys and landscape.

As the group travelled, Adran made it a point to look at the surroundings and to watch for unwelcomed guests.....

Until someone made a point to look at the sky, it seemed just like the sky you are used to. Now, however, you realize that there's a greenish tinge to it. Also, on the horizon, there is a purple tinge like you'd see only at sunset. Here, it's all the way around.

There are clouds, but there aren't that many of them.

At first glance, Adran things that the plants and rocks and dirt he sees just looks normal, but the more and closer he looks, he realizes that just something a little bit off about it all. It's hard to see it in the daylight, but the dirt has faint blue sparkles in it, which he also can see in some of the rock layers.

Plants that look familiar aren't; there seems to be an odd shade of green to the leaves, the stems are all yellowish, and some of them are, apparently, fungus.


"The tales of moonbeasts are too varied and wild to take too seriously," Umbro replies. "The larger ones are probably the least dangerous as they sound like they are herbivores... like the thunderbeast. But, as with many herbivores, they can panic and stampede and you don't want to get it their way. Don't think you have to worry about any of them here in the Maze."

"On the other hand, the snarls and bleems and greeths are pretty dangerous... at least, one on one. They all have six or eight legs. They are more apt to pounce from above. But, since there isn't much prey here, they are fairly scarce, too."

"That brings us to the little critters. The badgers and weasels and rous. Well, not quite what you might be familiar with. They seem to be part plant. Their bite or claws are poisonous, sometimes both. Because they are small, however, they tend to avoid big creatures like people, and certainly large numbers like our group."

Replying to Umbro Sounds like a wonderful place! What is the blue sparkle in the soil and rocks?

 "Ye gods, those all sound like the ramblings of a drunk back home!" Anneth muses to herself.  "Maybe alcohol opens your mind to the goings-on of the Moon..."

 She looks down when Adran mentions the soil, and gasps, impressed.  It is blue and sparkly!  "I might like to take some of that home with me to study..."

In reply to Mysterion (msg # 276):

Mista looked around, letting her eyes wander over the sky before looking to the peculiar rocks. "So all in all you would say that the risk of getting in trouble is very low?" she said while studying the soil in her hands. Are there any tactics we can use to lower the risk even more?"

"I do not know what the sparkle is, but I've heard alchemists and wizards claim it is what makes the blue moss glow," Umbro replies.

"Minimizing risk is just like anywhere else. Move as silently as you can and always travel in pairs."

Traveling through the maze-like crevasses goes without any problems. The ground underfoot is reasonably level and smooth, with only a few loose stones here and there.

After about an hour's travel, with every little sound echoing eerily through the crevasses, you come to the first obstacle: a rock slide has blocked the way. The crevasses are between 60 and 100 feet deep, so the rock walls are that high. You can't tell how deep the rock slide is.

Climbing over the rocks might be possible, but footing is unstable. Climbing up the top of a wall and then moving along the top until you get past the rock slide is also a possibility.

A shadow suddenly passes overhead. A few of you are able to spot the creature that cast the shadow--it's a flying dinosaur!

 Anneth can only gape at the dinosaur.  "While that might be an herbivore, I don't want to take any chances..." She reaches into her bag and produces the strange, enchanted book she claimed not too long ago.  "Erm... let me see if I can't find anything in here that can help us out."

 Occasionally eyeing the dinosaur overhead, Anneth opens the book and examines whatever spell might be on the page she's turned to.

Let's see what the Book of Spells has to say for us!

While Anneth looks through her book for the right spell, Adran makes a magic missile spell ready, just in case the flying dinosaur decides it wants a snack.....

"They can't reach us down here," Anya tells the others as a second shadow passes overhead. "They might try if they get hungry, but the main threat would be if we climb up on top of these... buttes."

"Is there an alternate route through this maze?" she asks Umbro.

In reply to Anneth Mage-Singer (msg # 282):

Mista took a good look at the flying creature before turning to Ann.
"If I can help you with a spell, let me know. I studied spells too, though I never got a chance to use one."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:32, Thu 10 Sept 2020.

Rodrigo looked to the rubble his attention being pulled to the sky he darted to the side of the canyon they walked into minimize being able to be attacked before he spoke "I could fly up there with my broom and throw down a rope if I can find some place to secure it properly. Might be our quickest way over. But that thing up there may take that as a welcome excuse to test me for a snack"

"Not sure. I think there's another way, possibly two or three, but I haven't actually used them," Umbro responds.

"It'd probably take longer, and it might require some climbing."

"You have a flying broom? You might be able to scout a route from the air. You should be able to fly up for a quick look. Wait for one of the dactyls to pass overhead and then take a peek. They have a hard time changing direction, so you'd have a minute or two before they could turn around and come back for you."

"These dactyls might not be able to get to us down here," Aaron points out, "but we also can't get at them very easily. They don't stay in sight long enough to target them with an arrow."

"Say, Mort! How good at climbing are you? I'm thinking that if you climbed up to the top of one of these buttes, the dactyls wouldn't be likely to attack you. Though... you probably wouldn't be able to take out more than or two before they learned to avoid you."

"It hasn't come up before, but... how good are you with mazes?"

Rodrigo looked to Umbro and then back up at the dactyle "Okay what am I looking for as far as passages? Anything in particular?"

It is probably better that we stay in down here in valleys.  The higher up we go the the less choice of direction we have to go if things go bad in a hurry.

"Not sure I can answer that, Rodrigo," Umbro responds after thinking about it a bit. "I've never been able to fly, so I don't really have a bird's-eye view in my mind."

"You know where we're heading, right? To the dark mountain. Try to see if you can spot a path through the maze that doesn't dead end. Or even connects back up to this one."

"Any chance of there being tracks along the ground here that might show the way the critters went?" Elwood suggests then.

"No one was looking for tracks when we entered the maze cause Umbro knew the way."

Rodrigo nodded to Umbro then looked to the skies waiting for one of the dactyles to be moving away before he zipped into the sky to get a better view of the area and potential paths towards the dark mountain. His attention constantly shifting to the sky for other dactyles.

Mista was looking around, curious about what they would find if they followed the marks. She was eager for some adventure, learning new skills and be confronted with new things.

On the other hand, she was a bit conflicted. These kind of mazes seemed to be dangerous, and they would be traveling for days.



"Why do you want to stay here in the valleys Tom?" Mista responded to the armored human. "Personally I am very curious where the Mark of the Eye will lead us to."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 10:20, Fri 02 Oct 2020.

Here we have more options of a direction to move in case of being attacked.  The closer we get to the top of the peaks, the less options we have and the easier it is to be knocked off, or forced off the path. Those paths also get narrower, meaning we will have travel single file spreading us out more without the option of mutual support.

Tom smiles at Mista.

I'm curious as well.  I just don't want to take unnecessary chances when we don't have to.

Adran replied after considering the advantages and disadvantages, It is best that we stay in the valleys if those things won't come down here - we certainly don't need the company and all the trouble that comes along with it!

From his aerial view, Rodrigo is more convinced that these canyons constitute a maze. He can get a good idea of where each canyon goes, but there are so many, it's hard to tell which one leads to where they want to go.

Keeping one eye on the distant mountain and the other eye out for the dactys, it's a bit hard to figure all the possible routes. He spots at least six, and, of those, picks out two that seem the most likely.

Unless he wants to stay up there and do battle with the dactyls, when one of them finally spots him and flies toward him, Rodrigo drops back down to the others.

"That's a good point, Elwood," Umbro says.

"Everyone stay still for a moment while I scout these other paths."

"I can't tell how long ago this rock slide may have occurred... how about you, Gierdon? Can you tell how long these rocks have blocked this route? That would give me a better sense of what the critters were likely doing."

He begins checking out the nearby canyons that branch off from the trail they've been following, attempt to find tracks that might indicate an alternate route that the animals may have gone.

At Umbro's prompting, Gierdon goes over closer to the collapsed rocks and begins examining them. He starts by checking the rocks themselves to determine how stable they might be before approaching it and reaching out to try and shake one of the stones. He rubs his fingers across a dark spot on the stone, then brings his fingers to his nose to sniff them before tasting the dark stuff.

He quickly spits it out.

Then he examines the walls next to the slide before finally examining the dirt on the ground on this side.

"I know Dwarves have a reputation for being experts with rocks and caves and such, but I was never that good at it," he begins explaining his findings.

"That slide is a tightly packed as it looks. It'd be really hard to move it all out. It can be done, but would take several days... a week or more depending on how deep it goes."

"I can tell you this, though: I don't think it was natural. This black smear was caused by some sort of explosive substance. Don't know what it is. It may not even occur back on Mystara. I can't think of any way it could have happened naturally or by accident."

"As for how long ago... my best guess is about six months. Don't know what the weather is like here, but I'm not seeing much erosion. No recent claw marks of animals trying to get through or over it."

Rodrigo lands next to the others, talking quickly as he makes sure the Dactyl wasn't chasing him to the ground "Its definitely a maze out there, hard to get a real baring on whats the best path, but that way and that way seem to be our best options." he points towards what he believes the best options were.

"As interesting and instructional as it might be to keep following those 'mystical eye' markings," Anya comments, "we can hardly just pass through these rocks."

"Based on Gierdon's deductions, there may be something on the other side that intends harm to us and anyone else that goes this way."

"If the critters went it two different directions, maybe there's a reason."

Responding to Rodrigo, Adran asked Did you see any dangerous animals or obstacles from your flight around the area? Then he asked From what you saw, do you know of one route you would suggest we travel?

"It's a maze, multiple paths ending and going to nowhere. Those two paths seem our best options, which is better I cannot say. I didn't see any creatures on the ground though I will be honest my worry were those flying ones" Rodrigo responds to Adan though he had already said as much.

"Well, we could split up and each group go down one of the paths," Elwood suggests, "but I don't recommend that... for so many reasons. And, at this point, I don't think there's any need to do so."

"So, it's just about picking a path. I'm not claiming any divine inspiration or anything, but I pick the left-hand path."

"I suppose one way is as good as another," Aaron said and began following Elwood. "Until we find out that it isn't."

"Remember, we're not in any particular hurry, but there may be a deadline. We believe the Radiance is diminishing... well, turning darker... a little bit everyday. It may reach a point where it doesn't go any further or it may just stop or even reverse."

"On the other hand, it may go completely away again."

"Going the wrong way may delay us, but indecision will surely result in our failure."