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.