Audyssey;

Games Accessible to the Blind

Issue 40: First quarter, 2004

Edited by Michael Feir

Fun, Friendship, Knowledge, Charity

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Welcome

Welcome to the fortieth issue of Audyssey. This magazine is dedicated to the discussion of games which, through accident or design, are accessible to the
blind either with or without sighted assistance. This is not the last issue of Audyssey. It is merely the last issue that Rebecca and I will be editing.
You’ll be introduced to the new editor in this issue. Also, we have excellent coverage of games that are rocking the accessible gaming world.

 Note: This magazine uses plus-signs as navigation markers. Three plus-signs are placed above any articles or sections. Within these sections, two plus-signs
denote the start of a new sub-section. Smaller divisions are marked by a single plus-sign. This allows people to use their search capabilities to go quickly
to the next division they are interested in. For instance, the "Letters" section is preceded by three plus-signs. Each letter within it has two plus-signs
before it. Answers to letters have a single plus-sign before them.

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Distribution Information and Submission Policies

This magazine is published on a quarterly basis, each issue appearing no earlier than the fifteenth of the publication month for its quarter. All submissions
to be published in an issue must be in my possession a minimum of two days before the issue is published. I use MS-Word to produce Audyssey, and can therefore
accept submissions in pretty much any format. They may be sent either on a 3.5-inch floppy disk, or via e-mail to my Cogeco address. I will give my home
address and my Cogeco address at the end of the magazine.

Please write articles and letters about games or game-related

topics which interest you. They will likely interest me, and your fellow readers. This magazine should and can be a

highly interesting and qualitative look at accessible gaming. To insure that high quality is maintained, I'll need your

written contributions. I reserve the right to unilaterally make changes to submissions if I deem it necessary to improve them grammatically or enhance their
understand ability. I will never make changes which will alter the spirit of a submission.

All submissions must be in English. However, people need not be great writers to have their work appear in Audyssey.

Many of our community come from different countries. Others are quite young. Where possible, I try to preserve their

different styles of expression. The richness that this adds to the Audyssey experience far outweighs any benefits

gained from having everything in prose so perfect as to be devoid of life. Audyssey is a community and magazine built

on the need for blind people to have fun. There are no formal structural requirements for submissions. Within reason,

they may be as long as necessary. Game reviews should all clearly state who created the game being examined, where it

can be obtained, whether it can be played without sighted assistance, and any system requirements or other critical

information. Although profanity is by no means banned, it should not be used gratuitously. Submissions not published

in a current issue will be reserved for possible use in future issues if appropriate. Those who are on the Audyssey

discussion list should be aware that I often put materials from the list in the "Letters" section if I feel that they warrant it.

Anything posted to this discussion list that in some way stands out from the common and often lively ongoing

discourse will be considered fair game for publishing unless it contains the author's wish that it not be published. Until

now, this practice has been commonly consented to. From now on, it is now officially a policy of the Audyssey

community.

This magazine is free in its electronic form, and will always remain so. I'm writing this magazine as much

for my own interest as for everyone else's. Your articles, reviews, and letters, as well as any games you might care to

send me, are what I'm after. Send any games, articles, letters, or reviews via E-mail, or on a 3.5-inch disk in a self-

addressed mailer so that I can return your disk or disks to you once I have copied their contents onto my hard drive.

Please only send shareware or freeware games. It is illegal to send commercial games unless you are their creator or have

obtained permission to do so. By sending me games, you will do several things: first, and most obviously, you will earn

my gratitude. You will also insure that the games you send me are made available to my readership as a whole. As a

further incentive, I will fill any disks you send me with games

from my collection. No disk will be returned empty. If you want

specific games, or specific types of games, send a message in ASCII format along. If you have a particular game that you

need help with, and you are sending your questions on a disk anyhow, include the game so that I can try and get past

your difficulty. If you can, I recommend that you send

e-mail. I can send and receive attachments with ease. This way, no money will be

wasted sending me a game I already have, and

you'll get my reply more quickly. You are responsible for shipping costs. That means, either use a disk mailer which has

your address on it, and is either free matter for the blind, or is properly stamped. I can and will gladly spare time to share

games and my knowledge of them, but cannot currently spare money above what I spend hunting for new games. I

encourage all my readers to give my magazine to whoever they think will appreciate it. Up-load it onto web pages and

bulletin board systems. Copy it on disk for people, or print it out for sighted people who may find it of value. The larger our community gets, the more
self-sustaining it will become.

There are now several ways of obtaining Audyssey. Thanks to the generous support of Monarch, Your PC1Source LLC., Audyssey Magazine now has an official
home on the Web. All previous issues of Audyssey can be obtained from there in several different formats. LVG makes Audyssey available in MS-Word and PDF
formats. There efforts on our behalf are very much appreciated. Visitors may take advantage of a growing amount of content as well as submit material.
Check it out at:

www.audysseymagazine.org

Those who want to receive issues of Audyssey as they are published should send a blank E-mail to:

Audysub-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

The Audyssey discussion list facilitates discussion about games

accessible to the blind between the publication of issues of Audyssey. All are welcome as long as they respect their fellow community members and keep in
mind that the topic of the list is supposed to be games. Other topics are allowed within reason as long as they don't begin to monopolize the list traffic
for too long. Newcomers should be advised that

traffic is frequently fairly heavy. To help those who are swamped with E-mail cope with this, there is a digest mode available which sends one large E-mail
per day containing the day's traffic. Anyone participating in the discussion list will have issues of Audyssey automatically sent to them via E-mail. Representatives
from all major developers of games for the blind are actively participating on the list. All staff members of Audyssey are also encouraged to participate
on the discussion list. There are two moderators keeping things civil and orderly. Be certain to read the Audyssey Community Charter as all list members
are expected to follow its rules. If you want an active role in shaping the future of accessible games, this is where you can dive right in. To subscribe
to this discussion list, send a blank message to:

blindgamers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

To post messages to the list, send them to:

blindgamers@yahoogroups.com

Should you wish to unsubscribe, send a blank message to:

Blindgamers-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

To change your subscription to digest mode so that you only receive one message per day, send a blank message to:

Blindgamers-digest@yahoogroups.com

To go back to receiving individual messages, send a blank message to:

Blindgamers-normal@yahoogroups.com

There are more options at your disposal. To find out about them, send a blank message to:

Blindgamers-help@yahoogroups.com

Stan Bobbitt has made Audyssey Magazine available in HTML format for easy on-line browsing. To take advantage of this, you are invited to visit our home-page.
People can easily and quickly navigate through the various articles and reviews, and directly download or visit the sites of the games that interest them.
This will be of especial benefit for sighted people who wish to make use of Audyssey and/or join the growing community surrounding it. The Audyssey community
thanks Mr. Bobbitt for his continued efforts on its behalf in this matter.

You can also find all issues of Audyssey on the Internet on Paul Henrichsen's web site at:

www.henrichsen.org

J.J. Meddaugh has long been famous in the Audyssey community. He has now started his own web-site called The Blind Community. All issues of Audyssey are
there in zipped files in the file centre.

Another site has recently added Audyssey issues to its resources. We welcome:

www.blindhelp.com

to the Audyssey community and hope that visitors to this site find our resource to be of value to them.

If you have ftp access, all issues are also available at Travis Siegel's ftp site:

ftp://ftp.softcon.com

Look in the /magazines directory.

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Contents:

Welcome

Distribution Information and Submission Policies

Contents

From The Editor

An Introduction From The New Editor

How to play mainstream games with little sight

Gimme Gimme Gimme!:

An Editor’s Retrospective

Sunday Night Dungeons and Dragons

The Top Five Articles

The Next Steps for Accessible Gaming

News From Adora Entertainment

News From BPCPrograms SD:

News From BSC Games

News From GMA Games

News From PCS

Enchantment’s Twilight Development Diary: Part VI

Game Announcements and Reviews

Contacting Us

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From The Editor:

Hello, everyone. This is my last opportunity to write to you as the editor of Audyssey. Ron Schamerhorn is taking over the editorship. Although I’ll certainly
do whatever I can to make this process easier for him, the future direction that Audyssey Magazine takes is up to you, the readers, and Ron. From time
to time, I hope to be able to write contributions for the magazine. I’ll certainly still be a part of the Blindgamers list. However, a lot of new challenges
require my attention. Work on Enchantment’s Twilight is my first priority. To bring a game like that to completion is going to be a very arduous and time-consuming
task. I have a whole lot to learn and do. The end result of my efforts will largely depend on the efforts of others whose talents I’ll need to employ.
When I’m far enough along in my work, I’ll be turning to this community to find at least some of that talent. The only compensation I can offer beyond
gratitude is a free copy of the finished game assuming I’m able to ultimately complete it. I must also more deeply investigate and learn about the process
of running a business in Canada and what effect being on government assistance has on what I can and can’t do.

I have also begun working with a young blind student and have an opportunity to put my theories about the positive power and education value of games to
the ultimate test. Needless to say, I plan to take full advantage of my own very positive experience to help this young fellow get a good head start with
access technology in a fun way. To give praise where it’s due, Jim Kitchen’s free Pong game was a very welcome surprise for this lad’s first cession with
me. For people with limited keyboarding skills, I heartily recommend Pong as a great starting game.

As part of my last piece as editor, I figured I’d give you my thoughts on the future of the magazine. I don’t think anybody could say that interest in accessible
games is on the decline. Awareness continues to spread of the existence of such games, and more media attention has been given to them. The number of newcomers
to the growing stable of game developers, myself included, tells me that there is certainly no shortage of motivation to make these games or great ideas
for games to be made. It should soon be a bit easier for the new editor to be certain that he’ll have at least one or two new games to talk about in each
issue. The very big problem still lies in finding people willing to write for the magazine. Eight years after I started Audyssey, I still never know whether
I’ll have enough material to build a good issue until practically the last minute. That has simply got to change. I’m horrified at how much apathy is out
there in our growing community. People are certainly willing to write enough short messages to the Blindgamers list. If only a quarter of that effort went
to writing reviews of your favorite games or articles about trends or issues surrounding these games, we’d likely have material to spare. It’s obvious
that people enjoy the games developers make. However, they’ve got to get busy writing articles and reviews about them. That’s what Audyssey is built on.
That tells developers that they’re having an impact on people. Due to the same lack of effort on the community’s part, the future of the Audyssey homepage
was uncertain until quite recently. Luis Defute and Stan Bobbett have created a wonderful resource for the community which has gone tragically unused.
The changes just completed to the site mean that it can continue for at least another year. However, it can only be as attractive and effective as we make
it. Certainly, Audyssey could continue as an E-mail publication. It’s being posted to other sites, so it’s not like nobody can get back issues if Luis
pulls the plug. However, the community then loses the huge advantage of having an official home base on the Web. People looking for information about accessible
games will likely find the homepage early in their search. Take an hour or two and write a game review or article about your thoughts on accessible games.
Submit that to the site, and you’ll demonstrate that there are people out there willing to make at least that much of an effort. This community depends
on new thinking and perspectives to keep things interesting. I, for one, would hate to see the Audyssey site disappear due to lack of interest and effort.
I could hand the magazine over to one of the best editors out there, but even he or she would get nowhere without community participation. Ron will do
his best as will Luis and Stan. However, you, the readers, have to do your best to write in material for both the web site and magazine. Otherwise, these
people who are so eager to assist the community will have nothing to work with.

The quest for fun has succeeded far beyond anything I could have dreamed of eight years ago. We’ve found that in spades thanks to the pioneering and generous
spirit of accessible game developers. Audyssey Magazine has recorded the birth of an exciting new industry where good will and intensions still ultimately
count for something. However, I’ve come to realise that an even more meaningful and precious reward has been granted us. The community of readers and participants
in the magazine have all grown as individuals. I certainly include myself in that category. Even if only in small ways, we’ve come to care about something
larger than ourselves. We’ve gone out of our way to help and interact with each other. The community is now a far more inviting place for newcomers looking
for fun and friendship. For this, I must offer a special thanks to our excellent moderators David Lant and Brenda Green. Both of these fine people have
gone to great lengths to help this community along and keep things somewhat orderly.

There is plenty of good will in the community. Many people have received timely assistance thanks to other members. I very much hope this continues to be
the case. Some of that good will, however, must be directed towards the magazine’s future. Many more of you must start pitching in and writing articles
and reviews. The magazine can be so much more than just a collection of announcements from game developers if people just put in a bit of effort. It can
show people what games can help us explore in our lives. It can be a testament to employers showing how much effort blind people are willing to put forth
to make their dreams happen. Over the past eight years, I believe I’ve succeeded in making the magazine reflect well on our community. To all who came
forward to be the next editor of the magazine, I thank you for your willingness. I hope that you’ll still be willing in the future should Ron’s life undergo
similar radical changes to what I’ve experienced. Please give him the encouragement he needs and let him help you harness your creative energy. He is now
your sounding board. He must build each issue of Audyssey from the blocks you give him to work with. It’s that partnership along with the good will of
game developers that gives Audyssey Magazine longevity. To everyone who has given me assistance in keeping Audyssey alive over the past eight years, you
have my deepest thanks and appreciation. The lessons I’ve learned editing this magazine haven’t always been pleasant, but have ultimately proved incredibly
valuable.

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An Introduction From The New Editor

By Ron Schamerhorn

  As everyone knows, Mike is stepping down from editing the Audyssey magazine after doing so from the beginning.  Since this proves to be a great resource
for those of us who are interested in the accessible games market this does leave one wondering who will fill this gap.  I am the person who will undertake
this task, so allow me to introduce myself.

  My name is Ron Schamerhorn, I'm a 34 year old from Oakville Ontario, Canada.  What I'm intending to do is summarize some of what I've done in and out
of the gaming community to give the reader some idea of my background.  Obviously I won't hit every point but attempt to keep it simple.

  My beginnings into accessible games or to even discover they existed was a New Years get together 1997/98 at a friends place where I had the pleasure
of being introduced to Michael.  During the evening we discussed the magazine and some of the available games for the blind/vi people to play.  Fortunately
the mutual friend had a couple issues on a diskette and gave them to me.  If memory serves I got the first four issues on the disk.  Mike and I hit it
off well and decided he would come over soon and give me a crash course in gaming.  This session ended up being most of the day!  I also remember the first
game I played.  It was the text adventure "Haunted Theatre" which I managed to score full points on.

Since then I've been an active participant on the discussion list, and played most of the games which are available out there.  This by no means makes me
a guru of gaming but I have a few years under my belt.  I suppose I'd be among the longer term members of Audyssey and look forward to providing a wonderful
read for all of you with great community input towards each issue.

Now on to some of what I've done.  As I mentioned I've played pretty much all the games out there.  At least the demos available,  and have a list of those
I'm wanting to buy.  My collection is ever growing bit by bit.

  Over time I've been involved in some beta testing for various games and companies.  What I've tested are Adora Entertainment [when it was ESPSoftworks]
Monkey Business & Aliens in the Outback.  I also was the voice of Camper Bob on the Forest Level of MB though I normally don't sound like that.  AllInPlay's
poker, and also BSC's Troopanum [up to version 1.5].

I am involved with Saint John Ambulance Brigade here both as a volunteer and a first aid/CPR instructor.  My membership in this organization  goes back
roughly 10 years.  It provides a great opportunity to be involved within the community.  In a nutshell as a volunteer Saint John attends various public
events providing first aid & CPR services.

  I graduated college with a Human Services Administration diploma. However, the employment prospects haven't been too good.  In light of this I am considering
going back to school and taking something in the area of computers.

  There you have it.  Some info about me.  I look forward to the challenge editing Audyssey will present to me.  My contact info is as follows:

Ron Schamerhorn

1180 Dorval Dr. #303

Oakville On L6M 3G1

[905]-842-1933

blindwonder@cogeco.ca

rschamerhorn@hotmail.com

for MSN no email.

Thanks to Michael for two reasons.  The first is starting and spearheading Audyssey I know it wasn't always easy but it is appreciated.  Second for having
the faith in selecting me to follow in his footsteps.

  "I choose you to replace me."

   "I could only succeed you."

Star Trek VI Spock & Valairus

Ron Schamerhorn

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How to play mainstream games with little sight

By Darren Harris

Introduction

Greetings. I have been playing computer games now for around 20 years. I

started with an "original" Atari 2600 with the original Pacman and space

invader games. I only have 10% vision in the left eye and practically

nothing accept light perception in the right. I don't use large print, I use

a screen reader. The strategies I have developed over the years for playing

games didn't come easily. They came with a lot of frustration and in some

cases, by losing my temper at times. It was only through sheer determination

and my real interest in the game that allowed me to find ways of playing a

particular game.

I first started playing the original arcade games, now known as the

classics. Like Pacman, Mrs Pacman, Space Invaders and many many others.

Whilst they in themselves are not very complex, they are still amung the

greats of all time gaming. Over the years, I have gone from playing those

games to playing first person shooters like Doom, Doom 2, Castle

Wolfenstine, Jedi Knight and simulators like Elite, witch is the undisputed

father of all simulators.

As time has gone on, there has been an increase in difficulty in my being

able to play these games. That's not to say that it has become inpossible.

Indeed, for some games, it is quite difficult and I have given up in some cases. However, with other games, I have progressed and found my own ways of playing
these games witch in some respects have turned out to be quite unorthodox in the eyes of our sighted counterparts. I hope to explain in

some detail as to how I manage to play these games. Please note. I'm not going to concentrate on specific games, but will look at different types of games
that I have played with the occasional title to illustrate a

specific point. If I was to list all the individual games that I have played

and strategies that I have adopted, then this would go on for ever. But

there are some similarities that I will mention with the hope that it might help some of you out there who like myself, have some vision but have trouble
playing games.

How to increase your success rate

Firstly, find a good computer games shop/store with a good manager who

understands the difficulties that you have and get an understanding with

them that if you cannot play the game in X amount of days, then you can

bring it back. Whilst this cannot always be achieved, it is quite

achievable. Or, if you have a (Game) outlet near you, certainly in the UK,

they have a 10 day money back guarantee. So you can purchase games with out

any worry of wasting money if you cannot play them. You can also get an idea

of what type of game it is by asking a certain member of staff in the shop

if they have played the game and basically how it is controlled. IE, joystic,

mouse and or keyboard interface. The types of backgrounds and foregrounds

that there are, and what ever questions that you feel are relevant to your

requirements. If you build a working relationship with certain members of

staff, then it will help to build up their knowledge as to what you can and

cannot successfully play. Whilst this way will not be 100% accurate, it does

increase your success rate. In some cases, the inaccuracies can go in your

favour, other times, it won't. Please be mindful of this.

Playing the game

Firstly, it is important to note, that it doesn't matter how many random

events there are put in the game, any game has a limit. That limit, is the

limit of it's programming. No matter how clever the computer AI (Artificial

Intelligence) is, in the end, you will learn how it works. Think of any game,

as like a mobility route. Learn it. Learn your way around it.

If you are playing a game like Doom for example, then you can use your ears

as well as your eyes. Now this is only a general rule of thumb. But if you

know that monsters make noises, then you can use their sounds so that you

can aim for them. In the same way you can play lets say, Tank Commander or

Shades of Doom, you can put the sound of the monster in the centre by

turning towards it.

A number of these types of games have an auto aim function. You might need

sighted assistance to activate this function. Auto Aim is basically  if you

get your target with in close proximity to the target crosshair the game

will do the rest. IE, the gun will point automatically in that direction and

when you press fire, it will fire. Note, this might be weapon dependent.

That can often be the case.

Another thing that can help you if you are using eyesight, is if you have

the crosshair activated. If by default it is turned off, then turn it on. To

basically explain in accessible terms, when you play a game like Loanwolf

or Tank Commander, in order to make certain that you kill an enemy

tank/ship, you weight until the beeping sound reaches a certain point and

then you fire. The Crosshair is the exact same thing. Some people use it,

some don't. I tend to use it as a way of making sure that I can shoot the

enemies properly. The Crosshair  is usually locate in the centre of the

screen. It can be cross, diamond or even a circular shape with a dot in the

centre.

With simulators, it can be quite different. There are loads of strategies

that you  can adopt here. For example. If you are in a combat situation, one

of the best ways of beating your enemies is to get either a heavily armed

fighter and just be big and bad, or get a very small fighter and run like

the wind.

When playing any type of game, memory is always important. If you have a

good memory, then use it to your advantage. Also, now we have the internet,

there are many discussion forums that are dedicated to games. Depending on

the game, will determine the strength of the community. I have had quite a

few pleasant experiences when asking for help with regards to playing the

X-Beyond series of games. The X forums are very much community driven.

There are websites out there totally dedicated to the playing of the game,

the best strategies to adopt and loads of other bits of information that I

have found to be invaluable. I would go as far to say that with out the fan

sites, I would have found it much harder to play the games. The important

thing here is to say that you require help and to explain as best you can

as to the reason why you need the help. Some people will only be too happy to

help you where as some people won't pay you any attention at all. It all

comes down to 1 thing. If you don't ask, you don't get. Also, I have found

that you may find someone else on the discussion forum who are/were having

similar sorts of problems and they may be able to help in getting you on the

right track. So don't think that you are the only one. The internet is a

fantastic resource, use it.

The types of games I find easiest to play

I have never been 1 who goes for games that are over in 5 seconds. Partly

because I find them too fast, partly because I find them to be rather boring.

I have played games like Mortal Combat, I have also seen totally blind

people play the game and beet it on the hardest level. Again, it's about

knowing the right movement combinations and learning the game like a

mobility route. The easiest games I have found to play  are games that have

good and contrasting back and foregrounds. IE, Xwing VS Tie Fighter. I never

followed the Campaign, I just enjoyed jumping in my Tie Interceptor and

blowing those Rebels apart!!! There are some point and click games that I

have also played. Cossacks springs to mind. Again, I avoid the campaigns on

that game. It's full of text. But the random maps are good fun. Especially

if you play it with/against other people. Memory is very important with this

game. Also, the ability to see the mouse pointer is crucial. I have had problems with

this, but when ever I lost the pointer, I would always pause the game. There

would be a dark option screen appear in the centre of the screen, I would

move the pointer inside that dark area then I would start the game again.

Over time I would get used to the pointer and I wouldn't lose it so much.

Conclusions

Firstly, it is safe to say that a lot of mainstream games are getting

to some degree more difficult to play. Although with a lot of games having

good community drive, you can get a lot of help online that the game manuals

simply can't/don't offer. Also, script editing is getting much more popular

now. So there may well be scripts out there that could assist you in various

ways.

In addition, games, or quite a few games have training sections/levels. Some

of them can be programmed reasonably well. So make use of them.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, bring these games to the attention of

other blindgamers on the blindgamers list. Whilst the list is here to talk

about "accessible" games, it saddens me to see all too often the same games being talked about all day every day. It would make a good change for people
to come out and talk about mainstream games that they have/are playing and

their experiences of those particular games on a more regular basis. It

would help other gamers formulate a decision as to whether they thought they

could play the game or not. Whilst it is important to make up your mind

through your own impressions, it should be noted that people will often feel

more comfortable about a given thing if they hear bits of information from

other people. If the information is positive, then they may well feel more

confident in purchasing X game. If they hear negative things, then they

might consider it to be a waste of their cash. If they hear mixed reports,

then they will have to make as a reasonable and informed a choice as they

can with the information that they have. The important thing is that the

blindgamers list has been set up for blindgamers to discuss gaming. Limiting

ourselves to just the purposely made "accessible" games is in the long run,

quite counter productive.

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Gimme Gimme Gimme!:

A Crisis in Access

By Bryan McGucken

I highly doubt whether what follows in this moderately brief essay will win me any friends.  I can by no means say I have read How to Win Friends and Influence
People, but then again I’ve always been of the opinion that hard work and dedication ought to assume primacy over networking and connections.  The latter
is valuable but secondary to success, in my opinion.  To wit the subject of this essay may make many readers squirm.  In recent days I have decided to
check out the Audio Games .net web site.  I was unsure why I chose to do this, since I had always relied on Audyssey’s web site for the latest in accessible
gaming news.  I recently checked out Audyssey’s new design, but still found nothing of note to stimulate the gamer in me.  I went over to the Audio Games
page and found out about the concept demos for Tarzan Jr. and Super Liam.  Needless to say, I was quite overjoyed to discover the former’s development
and the latter’s rebirth and improvements over its predecessor of a year ago.  Nonetheless our editor’s constant requests for material and submissions
to the site were finally driven home with frightening force.  Though I admit to never having told him this, I was always bothered by what I at the time
took to be his constant and annoying badgering of the rest of us about submitting material.  Of course, much of this stemmed from the fact that I had submitted
at least one item for publication in the first three of last year’s issues of Audyssey, and could thus wash my hands of the whole thing.  Nonetheless I’m
now starting to empathize with Michael in his frustration.

I read a few posts in which people asked when certain games or other game-related products were to be released.  I have no problem with any of this, as
I found myself consumed by curiosity about the projected release of an accessible fighting game in March.  Nonetheless I am quite disheartened at the apparent
lack of initiative being taken to keep the accessible gaming community current on the latest game developments.

You may be asking yourself a very good question.  Bryan, what are you whining at us for?  If all the info you need is at the Audio Games web site, stop
complaining!  This is in fact a valid point.  On the other hand, I have seen very little in the way of outside contribution to either web site apart from
questions of the nature described above.  Audyssey will always be the first and, in my mind, best source for the latest gaming news.  It can achieve this
status, however, only through active participation.  For example, an editor is, by definition, someone who corrects and finalizes manuscripts for publication
or distribution.  She is not someone who writes material.

John Gray once wrote that it is perfectly okay for children (and in the current case gamers of any stripe) to want more, to be given what they need to flourish.
 Nonetheless we as gamers also have a duty to our own community.  We must each do our part to make the community itself flourish, since we are, as members
of it, constitutive ex hypothesis of that community.  This means we must, through our actions and contributions, motivate our fellow gamers to buy and
download games, review games, and submit articles.  This does not necessarily mean making the next revolutionary title in accessible gaming.  One could
ferret out a game that she finds is quite accessible to blind players.  Of course, not every gamer will appreciate this game, but there is no guarantee
that no person will enjoy a given game.  Furthermore, just because a game does not resonate well with the community, this does not mean that past events
guarantee future contingencies.  Okay, David Hume had one thing right.

As you can probably tell, I am a bit uncertain as to how the gaming community is to be motivated to action.  I simply think some more steps need to be taken
to keep this community alive.  I am not suggesting that it is dead by any means.  I simply worry that allocating the largest portion of the work to the
smallest group can in no way benefit the gaming community.

+++

An Editor’s Retrospective

By Michael Feir

It’s been a tremendously positive experience editing this magazine over the past forty issues. From very localised small beginnings, I was astounded at
how things seemed to take off. This article will give a brief look at what I personally experienced during my editorship. I hope that people find it of
interest and that it proves a useful account of events in this community’s past. Rather than go through all forty issues, I’ll simply cover some of the
more important milestones from my personal perspective.

*Issue 1: Having the issue completed was a tremendously good feeling. I started the project out of sheer boredom and figured I might interest a small number
of people. I was therefore surprised at how widespread the effects of publishing the first issue were. I initially published it on Compuserve as well as
on an E-mail list run by the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. Things went fine on Compuserve and the file was very well received. On Skyclub,
however, I was horrified to see that I had started a fairly substantial flame battle between those who felt I had performed an admirable service posting
the fairly long first issue to the list and those who thought I had cost people money downloading something they weren’t at all interested in. I had never
seen one of these flame wars take place and didn’t at all like being the touchstone of one despite having a large number of supporters.

*Issue 2: While I hadn’t gotten any reviews or articles from others yet, being contacted by Personal Computer Systems Inc. was quite a treat. It was the
first time I had been contacted by somebody producing commercial games for blind people. I also was very encouraged by the letters I received including
the very first contribution from  guy vermeulen.

*Issue 3: Things began to pick up steam. I still felt that I had to do most of the work regarding reviews and articles. However, J. J. Meddaug made an appearance
and took over the electronic distribution of Audyssey. This took a great deal of work off my shoulders. It was also the first holiday special issue, a
tradition that I’ve kept each year ever since.

*issue 4: Articles at last! I was overjoyed to be able to actually start being an editor and not so much an author. Ken Perry introduced us to multi-user
dungeons and started a snowball rolling that many readers have enjoyed. Jim Kitchen, that magnanimous developer of great free games, was also very interesting
to hear from. Adam, The Immortal Gamer, had quite the cult following. In hindsight, I’m surprised at how popular it eventually became and how quickly the
concept took root. Theresa Van Ettinger wrote a splendid adventure for him and gave me a much needed break. Adam, the mortal gamer, also made an appearance
in this early issue. It was quite a high point for me and did a lot to build confidence in what I was doing.

*Issue 5: A definite low point which hit all the harder after such an exciting fourth issue. No articles at all came in and I was going through a tough
time at college. My first Windows computer had arrived and I was trying to come to grips with this drastic change as quickly as I could. It certainly had
the potential to help with my school work, but I had to adjust quite a bit of my thinking. I felt bad about how absurdly short of the mark that the fifth
issue of Audyssey fell.

*Issue 7: Our first anniversary issue was a bit of a strange experience emotionally for me. On the one hand, I was amazed that Audyssey had lasted a year
and been so widely enjoyed. We also heard in the Letters section from a wide range of people including a sighted game developer interested in possibly
creating a game for blind people. David Lant contributed a fantastic article made even more interesting by events which have transpired since he wrote
it. This was exactly the kind of thinking I was after. It was also good to see our first interactive response regarding the comparison of two baseball
games featured in the previous issue. In a lot of ways, the first anniversary issue showed us what Audyssey could be if I could just find a way of getting
more people to take the time to get involved. Yet, there wasn’t enough material to give me any sense of security. Despite getting as far as Audyssey had,
I felt that it could disappear within a very short time.

*Issue 9: A fairly good issue all in all. We saw how the advocacy of people like Guy from Belgium could pay off handsomely as he made the developer of Wordy
aware of his blind audience. This resulted in a free text-only Chess clock especially made for the blind. Jim Kitchen also showed readers that developers
listened to their feedback by implementing changes to his Baseball game. There was also lots of good news about new games. However, during one of the many
all-nighters I pulled getting this issue together, I made that infamous mistake regarding Mr. Kelly John Sapergia’s gender. Thankfully, he was a true gentleman
about it and became one of the first staff members covering interactive fiction for our readership.

*Issue 11: In terms of contributions, this issue was nearly as bad as the fifth. However, it coincided with the end of my university career. I published
two of my own pieces of writing just to bulk up the issue. So much was changing in my life that I couldn’t regard the lack of participation with the same
gravity as with the fifth issue.

*issue 15: This issue saw three staff members join Audyssey Magazine. Justin Fegel and Kelly Sapergia took on interactive fiction while James Peach, now
known as Ryan Peach, looked at commercial games which were accessible mainly with sighted assistance. I was quite relieved to finally have some help.

*Issue 18: This was our third anniversary and proved to be quite a turning point for the blind gaming community. In an open letter, David Greenwood got
people to start discussing a game like Doom for the blind. This game would be developed by David while in constant communication with interested people
in the community. David Greenwood never intended the game to be a copy of doom, but merely to be like Doom. This was quite a helpful catalyst for discussion
and the ramifications of its ultimate result are still growing. The finished game was a smashing success and drew a lot of attention from outside the community
of blind gamers. The engine used to produce the game is still being improved upon and its possibilities are staggering. James North also made his first
appearance in a letter to the Audyssey readership. His generosity and visionary ideas for the future of accessible games have done much to get us to the
present point in accessible game development that we now enjoy.

*issue 19: This issue saw Paul Silva of Zform make his first appearance. The discussion list took off quite impressively as a result of developments covered
in issue 18. To add fuel to the fire, material posted from game developers as well as their active participation on the discussion list markedly increased
interest and interaction. Carl from PCS Games wrote an article concerning the morality of gamers when it came to cheating in computer games which sparked
a very large and fascinating response.

*Issue 21: This issue marked the start of the golden era of audio chats among game developers and keen members of the community. Using the Audio-Tips service,
we participated in numerous very interesting discussions. While they lasted, these chats were a fantastic opportunity for game developers, audyssey staff
and fans to get to know each other. It would be a very good thing if similar chats could start again.

*Issue 23: Things were looking very good for Audyssey Magazine. Campus2Day was in full swing laying out the groundwork for Audyssey Plus which would have
put the magazine and staff on a whole new footing. It was a very high point for me personally as I was working full time and this magazine I had started
out of sheer boredom was turning into an important aspect of my job. Shades of Doom had reached the Alpha stage meaning that people could actually begin
to experience what lay in store for those in search of action. Bavisoft’s Grizzly Gulch was still receiving a lot of attention as well.

*Issue 24: The rollercoaster ride continued non-stop. Campus2Day went bankrupt and all our progress with Audyssey Plus and changing the whole footing of
Audyssey Magazine went up in smoke. Thankfully, many of the articles which were the first ones written as part of the Audyssey Plus scheme were saved and
I published them in this issue. It was easily one of our best issues ever despite the personal slice of hell I went through in other areas of life.

*Issue 28: This issue marked a nice up-swing for Audyssey. Dave Sherman joined the staff to help us look into multi-user dungeons. The discussion list had
stabilised again and was quite active. On a personal level, my life was changing drastically now that Rebecca and I were together. She helped make editing
a whole lot easier and also wrote her first contribution to Audyssey. Shades of Doom was at last finished and released to a delighted public. Also, the
now freely available game Once And Future gave interest in interactive fiction a much-needed boost.

*Issue 29: The Audyssey discussion list had become a moderated list governed by the Audyssey community Charter. David Lant and Joshua Loya took up the task
of being the very first moderators. David Lant still holds his position as moderator to this day and I, for one, hope he is willing to continue in this.
The discussion list tackled some very wide-ranging and meaningful discussion concerning game development, business practices, morality, and much more.
Responding in a very cool-headed fashion to criticisms levelled against them, game developers provided those interested with a whole lot of insight into
just what it takes to make it in this very new and slowly growing industry.

*Issue 36: This issue kicked off 2003 with a lively examination of software piracy from pretty much all points of view. We also saw a good dose of articles
from different writers for a refreshing change. Another fine example of what I was after in an issue of Audyssey. Development on my first computer game
was continuing. Also, I was very pleased indeed to include my interview with Paul H. Deal about his game Fallthru nearer the end of the issue. A splendid
start to the year.

*Closing Thoughts: This look is by no means an exhaustive one. There were other highs and lows we all experienced. Bavisoft’s Grizzly Gulch appeared out
of nowhere to sweep through the gaming community. The Microsoft Gremlin made his frightening appearance. Luis Defute gave us the potential to alter our
whole direction as a publication which has sadly gone relatively unused. Let us hope that the new editor and the community at large make better use of
the new site Luis has just put up. I’ve learned a great deal and enjoyed the majority of the experience I’ve had as editor of this magazine. I hope Ron
has the same calibre of experience that I have and that the community continues to grow.

+++

Sunday Night Dungeons and Dragons

By Phil Vlasak

The Dungeons and Dragons adventure is still in the public Gamer's room on  Audio-Tips Sunday night at nine o'clock Eastern time. The next date will be February
29, 2004. Audio-Tips is at: www.audio-tips.com

Audio-tips uses the iVocalize software for voice chats. If you haven't been to Audio Tips in a while, you may need to register and download this voice chat
program. Game play has been made easier by using David Greenwood's new GMA Dice program that can be obtained in the Free section of his web site, www.gmagames.com

This story contains graphic descriptions of violence. It therefore may not be suitable for younger readers.

On Hermit's Hill.

Characters in alphabetical order Angst, Halfling thief, and half of a split personality. Fiona, Human Magic User. Mace Knighthammer, Human Magic User/ fighter.
Hitomi  Reju, Human Fighter, Priest of Helandra, the goddess of knowledge and shadows. SpringRight, Elf fighter. Thesgna, Halfling Priestess  of Sedric,
God of the Heavens, and Travelers, and half of a split personality. Thomlin, Elf Bard. Other characters played by the DM: Garabald, Property owner in Gathos
Delmar Zorchglimmer, Retired fighter living in Gathos Za-bar, Mayor of Gathos RainSong, Elf Earth elemental magic user. WoodLock, Elf Druid

DM: At about nine in the evening the group on the hill hear some very loud noise coming from the direction of the ogre's cave. Thump, thump, crunch, thump,
thump, smash, thump It is the sound of something large moving. The elves go to investigate. They are able to spot two of the ogres about 100 yards away
moving off to the west, directly away from the town. The group knows that if the ogres continue west, they would eventually get to the road that the group
came up on, which is several miles off. There are a few scattered farms in that direction. They set up a watch at the hiding area above the cave entrance
with SpringRight, RainSong and WoodLock taking shifts. The elves on watch heard them return between midnight and one in the morning. Thomlin decided to
let those with experience take on the task of watching. Thesgna says, We wouldn't want to even attack those two going off for we aren't at our full strength!
Reju gets up early cock a doodle do. and has breakfast out of his saddle bags, and even starts a cook fire to make tea. scrape, scrape, sizzle, bubble,
bubble, sip, sip. He joins up with Delmar, Fiona and Mace as they head towards the hill. Delmar has put on his armour at home and does not take it off.
clip, clop, clip, clop, woe. Everyone meets up at the cabin on Hermit's Hill about nine in the morning. The elves tell of the ogres leaving and returning,
and the Halfling describes the cave and what is inside it. Thesgna, I wish we had a mining map of the area. There were two branches of the tunnel going
off to the north and south that I didn't follow. There could be other ways to get into that tunnel and surprise the ogres from behind. At the mention of
a mine Delmar's eyebrows raised, A mine shaft you say? We're a good distance from the mountains. So there are few dwarves in these parts. Still, any map
that might show things that are not on the mayor's map, would be back at the library either in Hanmer or perhaps the one in the capital of this area, in
Bing. Thesgna, Delmar, do you know of any old miners who are still living in this area? Delmar shakes his head, No, no one I know in town were miners.
Still I do know some in that business, only none around here. Thesgna, I couldn't tell how old the mine was, if it was abandon long ago or more recently.
I would think if it was recent there would be more signs of its presence. It's a shame we didn't make a deal with those three Dwarf traders back at the
inn. They might have been able to detect other entrances. Delmar, These three dwarves, do you know where they were headed? Thesgna, We were staying at
an inn just outside of Gathos They started in the same direction but turned off. They didn't think Gathos was  large enough to stop at. Reju, Yes, they
were merchants but didn't seem to be miners of any sort. It is possible that they might know about the mine. Delmar It's too bad you don't know where they
went. I be leave I remember Garabald saying that you met some dwarves along the way. If anyone knows who that mine belongs to it would be dwarves. If I
knew where they were, we could perhaps send a message to them. Reju, I do know that they took the opposite fork in the road when we went north east. Delmar,
Hmm, so they were headed towards the crossroads. Makes sense if they were merchants. Do you know what their names were? Reju, Yes I know, the leader was
named Door in. He had two other dwarves working for him, but I didn't get their names. Delmar, Hmm, perhaps once our task here is complete, we can send
a message to the crossroads to see if they might still be there. It is only a few days journey from here and if they are pulling a wagon, they would likely
be moving slowly. Perhaps we might even overtake them with our messenger. However, let us get down to today's business. Mace, Yes, I think we should. Reju,
Well from what the Halfling described, we might be able to do our plan now that they are likely to be asleep. Should we send someone there to find out
if they are snoring peacefully? SpringRight, I am not sure if I could tell if they were asleep. I could tell if they were still in the cave. Thesgna, My
god Sedric would, I believe would allow me to enter the cave again today. But during the day, I would have to walk in far enough as a Halfling until I
reached enough darkness. I do know how far back they were last night, but I don't know if they sleep around the cooking fire. I would need assistance from
someone to help detect how far back in the cave they are. They could have even captured a prisoner last night. But since we didn't hear human screams,
it isn't very likely. Thomlin, Hmm, if you go into that cave, how do we know they won't smell you? If one is awake, that is enough to alert the others.
I'm not sure that is such a good idea. We do want a Halfling come out of that cave after all. SpringRight chuckles to himself. It would be better than
a half a Halfling. Thesgna, Well maybe one of the elves could detect their motion or how far back they were sleeping from the entrance of the cave. That
would surely give me enough information to determine if I could make it in and out safely. Thomlin, If our aim is to destroy them, so that they don't harm
anyone else, why would we need to go in to see if they are awake after all? Why don't we just go after them if they are sleeping or awake? SpringRight,
I agree, friend Elf. I'd say lets make short work of them. I think from the search done last night, I would be pretty sure there no slaves or prisoners
in the front of the cave anyway. There may be some still farther in. Lets just do this and get it over with. Fiona, agreed here as well. it is time we
take some sort of action. Are presence here can not be hidden for much longer. Mace, Yes lets do this. How much longer are we going to stay here before
we get caught unawares. Thesgna, The reason I couldn't investigate the cave fully last night, was because they were awake then. But if they are asleep
now, I could discover what those mounds of rubble were. It could be gems or treasure, a lot of things. Reju, Lets go! No need to discuss more, lets prepare
for the battle to come. SpringRight, can you bring our two mages as close to the cave mouth as they need to be as we planned to cast their spells? And
WoodLock can you bring Thomlin to a place we can lure them to? So the mages can fall back once their spells have warn off. Fiona, Fire is not going to
damage gems. but it will ogres. Lets go now and get this over with. Mace, SpringRight as we precede, could you give me an idea of what is in the surrounding
area of the cave? Thesgna, Fiona, did you not know that diamonds burn very easily? So would you be willing to sacrifice diamond treasure? WoodLock, if
you would wait a few moments, I would try to discern if the ogres were in the cave. I have some ability to communicate with the fauna of the area. But
it takes some preparation. It might at least give us some clues. Reju, Yes we can take a few moments, if you would be so kind to use your powers. It would
be a great benefit to have that knowledge. WoodLock heads off into the trees. Thomlin turns to Mace, Well if we are going to attack them, in their cave,
what need will we have of the gems I created last evening? There is no clear spot from what I understand so there will be no need to lure them. Mace, Thomlin,
sorry, I don't think so. Reju, Mace, Do you think your one spell will kill six ogres? After it goes off, I think it would be beneficial to lure them out,
if they don't come out on their own. Mace, I think we're getting confused here. I did not say if I wanted to go into the cave or lure them out. SpringRight
describes what he saw around the cave mouth. The cave is somewhat built outward from the hillside. So you can actually stand on the roof of the mouth of
the cave. Around the sides and in front, SpringRight could only see that there were a few trees, but not too many large rocks or boulders. Since he was
farther than sixty feet of the cave mouth he could not give too many details of it except for lots of dirt and trampled underbrush. Fiona turns to Mace,
You do have the ability to create fire? Mace answers, That I do. Fiona smiles, Excellent! I do not for see any problems then. Thomlin, So it seems that
we can roast them in their lair then! It would be better than luring them out and destroying the beautiful surroundings that we see. Gesturing around the
cabin. There's just no sense in sprinkling gems in the cave to lure them out if we plan to destroy them in it. Reju, I know powerful wizards can destroy
six ogres in the cave. However, I fear the spells from our mages will not damage them to the point of them all staying in there to get cooked. Fiona, It
is doubtful, but they will be severely injured. and as she rises, so we are agreed then? Reju, Yes when WoodLock returns. Mace, If I follow Fiona, I would
think a damaged ogre would be a little easier for our warriors, and I to handle. WoodLock returns, Fauna have been avoiding this place because of the ogres
of late, but I was able to talk to a rabbit. He was able to tell me that they do not stir at this time. He did not dare go inside the cave. But they are
certainly not outside it. I hope that will be enough.

Fiona That should be sufficient. Mace, lets make haste. I would rather attack when they are sleeping than awake. Reju, Thomlin, definitely keep your gems
available. If they break out of the cave, we can lure them to a better point for our  advantage. If we are lucky enough to cook them in the cave, so be
it, I would like to have your gems available as a back up. Thomlin, Of course they will be available. The paint has already been spent in making them.
I'll be sure to use them if I can. Thesgna, What about my idea of checking out the ogres to see if they have prisoners? Or in checking the cave for treasure
before burning it up? Reju, I think we will be fine. You did a reasonably good scouting last night and I don't think there are any possibilities for prisoners.
I'm sure your hearing would have been sufficient to pick that up. So let's go! Delmar, Hmm, I think the Halfling meant what if the ogres captured prisoners
last night? Reju, considering this, it would be nice to know for sure. but I don't want to waste this chance of opportunity either, so is you would be
able to make your investigation into their cave quickly, then we could do that. Thomlin, But if he were to enter the cave and they were to see him, he
would be in the gravest of dangers. Is it possible that he could go in unseen? and still use his god's ability? Thesgna, If one of the mages had an invisibility
spell memorized, I would be able to turn invisible. I would still smell like a Halfling but I would only need to go in a short distance before my power
was effective. WoodLock, Hmmm, what are you concerned about, if they have prisoners, they are probably already dead and will be eaten. If they are alive,
they could also be killed as you wait. Reju, Ogres are not known for keeping their meals alive. And they were not keeping slaves last night. Thesgna, If
they are all asleep, I could dispatch one or possibly two before the others woke up. Delmar, Well good Halfling, if it is your desire to put yourself in
such grave danger, then I think it best that we all go and if something were to happen to you, inside the rest of us could act quickly. SpringRight, I
agree, anything less would be foolhardy. Mace, I am not sure I want the Halfling in the cave when Fiona and I start.  She might become a casualty. Delmar,
Certainly that is true, but if she is captured by the ogres she will also be a casualty. Reju, No, I don't want her to go in there I think that is too
much of a risk. Not only in alerting the ogres of our presence, but if she fails she would be instantly killed. I trust in your skills, as a cleric my
friend, but I don't want to put you in such danger. It would be beyond what I would consider  to be honourable. So let us go forth with our plan to attack
with the mage spells. And hope for the best if they do have prisoners, they did not have the time to kill them. Thesgna, Ah but you see, last night when
I went in all six were awake and I was around them and they did not detect me. why would today be different? Thomlin, Using your deity's ability and some
invisibility spell would be safer. But if you do go in, and they do detect you, we would have to attack them. And that would put you in grave danger. Is
this something your deity would want you to do? Thesgna, I am not foolhardy, I would want the help of an Elf to clarify that the ogres are not so close
to the cave opening that I could not use my power that works only in darkness. I would be vulnerable in the first ten feet of the cave opening. Thomlin,
I am not one to go in the face of such dangers. but you are your own woman, therefore I will not stop you. But I would take in the concerns of our fellow
comrades. We would not wish to loose you but it is your choice. Thesgna, I have revealed to my friend Mace, the secrets of the power. and he honours my
wishes  not to reveal it, but he would know if I was successful or not with ten minutes or so of going in. Reju throws his hands up, go or not go but we
must go forth with our plan. SpringRight, you can lead Thesgna, and the mages and the rest will follow. Thesgna, Since the hill has a steep slope at the
cave opening should the rest of the party not be above the opening? I would think the higher ground would be of strategic importance. Reju, Yes the base
of operations will be above the cave. SpringRight, I think the mages will have to be at the level of the cave opening or in front of it to send their spells
inside. I think the plan for the others is good after the ogres come out. You would be able to hit them from behind. Reju, that makes sense, but we would
all want to approach the cave from up wind. So they would not be able to smell us as we approach if they are awake. Fiona, Agreed We go down the hill,
half of us face off on the cave mouth, half of us are above the cave mouth, and we launch our spells in, they come roaring out and those above the cave
mouth jump down and attack. It's simple!

Reju, sounds like a good plan. Thomlin, very good, I think we have a plan then. However, I am not going to jump on an ogre's back. RainSong, I plan to stay
above the cave opening for as long as possible. If the battle goes poorly, there are certain tactics that I can only use from above to be useful. Mace,
Although, Thomlin if you stay above you can pick them off with arrows. Thomlin, Oh, my arrows are not that good. Believe me, I do not have the eye of a
skilled archer. and I do have a couple of spells that could even the odds a bit. One of them would add an additional fiery flare to the situation, shall
we say. Mace smiles, OK , lets get to it friends. Thesgna heading out says, Thomlin I saw you do an excellent job with those daggers back in Hanmer. I
suspect your daggers would be good weapons in this kind of combat. Thomlin, It is but, you can not throw a dagger very far. Thesgna, Ah but if you stood
above them  your position would give your daggers more force and distance when thrown. Thomlin, Hmm, perhaps. The group starts moving west straight down
the hill to the cave opening. Thesgna, I have an interesting thought. What if this is a coal mine, and the fire spell was to ignite the tunnel walls? That
could bring the whole tunnel down. SpringRight, Better still, then we would have six baked ogres and wouldn't have to work so hard. VB out of character,
and if it blows up the hill we will all be rolling new characters next week. DM the grade on the west side of the hill is a little steeper than on the
east side. Leading the horses down would be a problem, but walking it shouldn't give you too much difficulty. Fiona, I need to be within ten yards of the
cave mouth. Mace, Yes me too. Thesgna, I will honour your wishes and not go in the cave first, giving the spell casters a chance. Fiona, Being right in
front of the cave mouth would be better for me. I am  planning a step out cast a spell and step back manoeuvre. Reju, As far as the people above, they
should get within eyesight of the cave opening. I think most of us are doing long bows, so for short range we need to get within twenty yards so they can
get a clear shot. DM: Where will everyone be? Fiona, I'll be in front. Reju, I'll be above, and for a clear shot, within 20 yards. Thomlin, I will be above.
Mace, Front. SpringRight, With the wizards, in front. Thesgna, If you are willing to look in the cave mouth and let me know how far in the ogres are, I
will be at the cave mouth, otherwise I will be on top. WoodLock, I will be with the spell casters.

SpringRight, If we do go in front of the cave, I think we shouldn't be at the same angle as the rest of the group. I would not want the ogres between the
spell casters and the archers or we are going to be sluing each other with arrows. Reju, Yes, so I will be off to the side a little bit. Mace, I would
wish the ones above to be on the other side as we will be right in front. This way they will be able to cross fire and their misses would land on either
side of us. Reju, Facing the cave opening from north to south should be me at 45 degrees north, then Thomlin at 30 degrees north then RainSong at 30 degrees
south along with Delmar, then Thesgna 45 degrees south. SpringRight, I would prefer to be slightly off to one side so I would not be able to look straight
into the cave. Thesgna, WoodLock, do you have your invisibility spell so you could look in to see how close the ogres are? WoodLock, My concealment spell
does not work in such a manner. Mace, We plan to get ten yards from the mouth and ten yards apart. Thesgna, So, then, I will also be above with my hand
crossbow. Thomlin, I would want to get a little closer to get off my spell. DM: Mace will be on the same side as Reju. and SpringRight will be on the same
side as Delmar and RainSong. Fiona, Mace, hold your fire until they're engaged in my trap. Before getting into position, WoodLock hits everyone with a
bless spell. Zap, zap, zap zap zap zap zap. SpringRight gets down the hill to the cave mouth fine. But Mace is not fine. Crash! Mace, Oops, crap! VB: out
of character, Why is it always the big lug that slips and makes all the noise? Thumpity thump, thump, thump, crunch. Mace mutters more bad words, as he
goes slip sliding down the hill. Smash! WoodLock slips too and rolls after Mace. Thump, thud. Fiona is in position at the front of the cave mouth as Mace
slides by her. She casts a web spell, /Zap! It is ten by fifteen feet by fifty three feet deep into the cave. starting three feet inside the cave. A huge
thick mass of spider webs Mace will take two minutes to recover, get onto his feet and get to the cave mouth. DM: Out of character, When Mace can use his
fire spell, any critter that gets caught in the web will get crisped. After the web gets cast they hear some loud roaring from inside. Fiona looks over
to see where Mace went. He is still in front of her and has waled into a tree. Crash, Damn! He is in a pile of bushes, trying to extricate himself from
the undergrowth. Fiona murmurs some sharp unladylike sayings. DM: On the first round no ogres are present. SpringRight is in position to fire before the
end of the round. WoodLock slid past Fiona and is starting to get up on his feet. He is about ten yards to the right and ten yards behind where Fiona is
standing.

Round two: Still no sign of ogres. Mace is still trying to get up. Oof. He rises and moves over to Fiona to cast his spell on round three. Thesgna is thinking
of sending a bolt Mace's way for messing up the surprise attack, but thinks better of it. She looks up into the sky to check the weather and sees clouds
coming in a way off. Round three: Mace gets up to a few feet of the cave mouth to cast his spell. Zap, Bam! A flaming sphere appears right in the cave
mouth. The webs start to burn. Woosh! The fire travels along the strands, woosh, sizzle, sizzle. The webs all get crisped, in the time of a round. Mace
can't see through the webs before he casts the spell, and only sees fire after.

The sphere is six feet across, taking up about half the opening. As the fire burns, there is a great shriek of roaring from the cave. Roar, screech! The
web slowly turns to toast, sizzle. the horrid smell of burning flesh comes out of the cave. Round four: You can hear the ogres growling and snarling behind
the sphere somewhat. Roar, grumble, growl. Mace moves the sphere into the cave and one ogre gets caught in it. Roar! The other five are about ten feet
behind the back of the web. They all got crisped by the web but only one was hit by the sphere. Since it is only moving 30 feet per round, it is backing
them farther into the cave. Mace yells to Thesgna, What is at the back of the cave? Thesgna, There is a hole in the floor at the back. There is a slant
to the floor before the hole. DM: Mace has to be within ten yards of the sphere at all times. Fiona, Oh crappy! DM: none of the ogres were killed and all
six are backing up. At the end of round three, the sphere was within two feet of the front ogre, which gave him extra damage. But with the web burned,
he was free and jumped back. Mace can only see moving shapes on the other side of the sphere. but the shapes tend to move back as the sphere moves into
the cave. It is obvious the ogres can move much faster than the sphere. Mace backs out of the cave pulling the sphere with him. When he gets the sphere
to the mouth he drops it Fizz. and moves off to the side ten feet away. The ogres do not appear as if they are following the sphere out of the cave. When
the sphere drops Mace and Fiona can see that the ogres are fifty to sixty feet inside the cave. Fiona starts to move off to the side too. Thomlin yells
down, Where are they? Mace answers, Still in the cave! About fifty feet back. Thomlin, Hmmm, I think they need a little help. He reaches into his bag of
gems and pulls out two of them. Mace moves ten to twenty yards into the brush. Thesgna, Mace, do you see the wood supports in the cave burning? DM: Wood
members are every ten feet but are not burning. Thesgna thinking we should have tried to burn them to possibly collapse the cave. Round five: SpringRight
to WoodLock, Do you think we should be standing here to the side of the cave mouth? There will probably be a bunch of angry ogres running out soon. Maybe
we should look for a little better cover. WoodLock nods, and begins moving back up the hill. SpringRight follows him. The flaming sphere disappears, Pop!
Two seconds later there is a loud roar, Roar! there is the sound of stomping running feet getting closer. Thump, thump, thump The front ogre emerges from
the cave He looks around and sees Fiona, Growl! then goes after her. Thump, thump, thump Both of the ogres are the larger ones and the second one follows
the first. Thump, thump, thump Fiona, Oh, crappy! Reju shoots his first arrow and hits the leading ogre. Thunk! for 7 hit points. Thesgna fires his cross
bow at the one with the arrow sticking out. boing, thud! The pea shooter  does an amazing 4 points of damage. The lead ogre stumbles slightly and is looking
wobbly. Reju attempts to take his second shot, Ug! but he looses his footing, Wiz! the arrow goes off into the bushes, Crash! he drops his bow and it tumbles
end over end down the hill. boink, boink, boink thud. about ten yards landing off to the side of the cave mouth. Fiona casts an orange orb at the lead
ogre Zap! but it flies over it's head and dissipates. Wiz, Poof. Mace moves over behind the injured ogre and slices into it with his bastard sword Thwack!
killing it. Growl, Uo, crash. Thomlin sends a magic missile spell into the side of the remaining ogre. Woosh, bang!

It hits him for 3 points of damage. The other four ogres do not appear to be coming out of the cave. Mace takes a swing at the other ogre but finds his
blade slicing through air. Wiz. SpringRight and WoodLock are still moving into position and the ogre is out of range of Thesgna's crossbow.

The ogre swings it's large paw at Fiona. Wham! It hits her upside the head knocking her body sideways. Fiona, Damn, ug, oh, Crash. She crumbles to the ground
stunned but not unconscious. Round six: Mace, I must save the fair maiden! Reju seeing Fiona and Mace fighting the ogres charges at the remaining one with
his swords drawn. Thump, thump, thump Thomlin moves towards the cave opening with his ear open for the sounds of more ogres ready to give warning if anything
is coming out.

SpringRight has moved up the hill towards Thesgna and his bow in hand and is preparing to shoot his arrows. RainSong seeing WoodLock and SpringRight moving
up the hill, decides to move over to the left near where Thomlin was to spread out the attack. WoodLock seeing Fiona going down says to Thesgna, Do you
have any healing spells at your disposal? She looks like she might be in some trouble. Thesgna replies, No, I do not. Unfortunately, my god is displeased
with me for not entering the cave. WoodLock looks at Thesgna a little sideways, Very well, and he  puts his weapon down and starts heading towards the
ogre and Fiona.

The ogre has been burned in the web and damaged by Thomlin's missile so doesn't look too healthy. It turns to Mace and attacks. Roar, Clang! It's big paw
takes a swing at Mace's shoulder for 9 points of damage. Mace, Ouch! Oh, bad, very bad! SpringRight has two arrows on his bow. and shoots both at the ogre.
Woosh, woosh. The first flies off and hits a tree, Thud. The second sinks into the target. Thunk! and hits with 6 points of damage. Reju reaches the ogre
and swings his Katana sword. but the ogre hearing him come from behind jerks out of the way of the blade at the last second. Wiz. Mace swings his bastard
sword at the ogre and gets a critical hit. Thwack! Crash. The blade comes down on the middle of the ogre's head cleaving it in two with 16 points of damage.
Fiona seeing ogre brains sprayed all around her exclaims, Dang, that's cool! Reju moving for his second swing pulls up and says, "Good one, Mace!" WoodLock
comes running down and casts a cure light wounds  on Fiona Zap. giving her back 4 hit points. Reju looks back to the cave opening wondering when the other
four ogres are coming out. Mace, Now that this task has been taken care of, lets put our attention back to the cave! I'd hate to have us out of place when
the others come out. Thomlin concealed in some bushes five yards away from the opening, does not hear anything from the ogres inside the cave.

WoodLock says to Fiona, Let us hope that no others are seriously wounded this day. I was counting on your Halfling to have curative spells. I only prayed
for one. Mace, Hmmm, well, hopefully you can get some tomorrow. Looking at his shoulder Mace adds, I hope I don't take any more damage. Reju turns to WoodLock,
Do you have one of those spells that tells you what they are doing in the cave? The one where you commune with the beasts of the forest? WoodLock, No,
I fear not. Most of the spells I took this day were designed for combat. Delmar moves behind SpringRight saying, Nice little trick you pulled there. Very
nice! Fiona is sitting on the ground shaking her head and still somewhat stunned. She doesn't feel too good with a ringing in her ears. Reju moves quickly
up to Thesgna's position saying, Would you still be up for going into that cave? They don't seem to be coming out. Thesgna smiles and says, Oh, gladly!
I did not want to interfere with the spell casters fun. But it seems that the spells weren't as effective as everyone thought. Yes, I will go in the cave
and I thought I saw Thomlin move closer to the mouth. I would not want to turn the corner and come nose to knee with one of those beasts. RainSong moves
over to Reju and Thesgna. Yes, I saw Thomlin descend to the cave mouth. I can just make him out among the bushes there. I know not why the ogres did not
all come out. Perhaps they might be guarding something within the cave. Reju, It is highly possible. Turning to Thesgna, I know you talked about the power
your god grants you to  infiltrate their  cave undetected. Even from smell! You said that you would have to be in darkness. Could we not manufacture shade,
with tree branches or large rocks? Would that be enough? Thesgna, Ah, yes, if Thomlin had only painted a black surface to cover up the end of the cave,
you could have leaned it against the opening and I could have been protected from sunlight instantly. Otherwise, if any one has a darkness spell, that
would be enough. I did talk to Mace about using his invisibility spell, but he unfortunately did not memorize it. Then again, if there is an ogre waiting
just inside the cave mouth, I wouldn't be able to do anything. But then, it could be attacked by the rest of you! Reju, Do you have any darkness spells,
RainSong? RainSong, No, such are not my area of expertise. Reju, Hmmm, well you bring up a good point. They might be standing right inside the cave entrance.
Reju quickly moves over to SpringRight and says, Could you sneak over to Thomlin without making much noise and tell  him to move away from the opening
and come over here. SpringRight, Certainly, I'll do that right now. Thesgna, I could go over to where Thomlin is hiding. That shouldn't take too long,
and I could move quieter.

DM: Mace, Fiona are still below the cave mouth and could be seen by anything near the cave opening. Mace bandages up his wound, and knowing he is in line
looks in to see if he notices anything near the front of the cave. Since the sun is on the opposite side of the hill, the opening of the cave is completely
dark. Reju positions himself above the cave to the right where Thesgna was before, and gets his bow at hand. Thesgna and SpringRight both move over to
where Thomlin is hiding. Mace seeing Reju take up his position fifteen feet away, slowly walks back to the cave mouth. Just far enough to get a peak and
have the ability to get away if anything is close. SpringRight is taking some effort to be quiet, and finally moves over to where Thomlin is. Mace is also
preparing a spell just in case he does get surprised. Fiona is getting her senses back and she is very unhappy. She gets up and moves over to Mace. She
gets herself in the typical wizard casting spell position, with her hands up and her fingers facing each other. You can almost see the power crackling
between them. Sizzle. Mace stops moving forward and gives Fiona a questioning look. Fiona passes in front of Mace. Mace moves up to be next to her. They
both move to within a few feet of the opening. When Fiona is ten yards from the cave mouth, Thomlin emerges from the bushes. Mace turns to Fiona and says,
Hmmm, you're not looking too happy. Which I'm not surprised. But would you care to inform me what you might have in store? I just want to make sure what
I'm about to do is not going to mess up what you are going to do. Delmar turns to Reju, Looks like something's about to go down. Fiona through clenched
teeth, It didn't work the first time, but it will the second! And she continues to walk forward. Reju, without taking his eyes off the cave mouth, says
to Delmar, It looks like they are going to try a rerun. I hope it doesn't backfire again. Reju knocks an arrow to his bow. Thesgna and SpringRight move
over to where Thomlin was. but he has moved out in front of the cave.

Thomlin moves to Mace and whispers, what's she up to?

Mace, I don't know, Thomlin. Let me tell you this, it looks like it's going to be explosive! Thomlin back stepping, I see. Well, perhaps I'll just go back
into the bushes. He moves as quickly as he can knowing what Fiona did the last time. Thomlin sees SpringRight back in the bushes and Thesgna gets there
a moment later. Thesgna, Do you hear any noise from the cave, like clomping feet? Thomlin, No! But Fiona is going to go with something that's explosive!
Stay under cover. I can tell you the ogres are in there and they're not happy. I hear them grunting far back, so stay low.

Mace, Fiona, do not cast until I cast. It may help your spell. Fiona is now in position in front of the mouth. Fiona pauses and glances over to Mace. You
have something interesting, fire boy? Thomlin hears some movement from inside the cave. Thomlin pokes his head out of the bushes to catch Mace's eye. He
plans to point to the cave to give him a heads up. Mace says to Fiona, If you have the fire, I have the fuel. Fiona shrugs and says, I've got the fuel.
Mace, Hmmm, we may have a problem then. But I might be able to help you still with what I have. Mace hears someone to the side of him trying to get his
attention. Mace whispering, What? Thomlin gestures wildly to the cave, I heard a noise in there! Mace, Get ready, Fiona, they're coming! SpringRight, raises
his bow and knocks an arrow. Mace wanting to alert the others motions to the cave. Fiona smiles briefly. Now that you mention it, I might be able to do
something with fire. If they're coming, go ahead. DM: With all the talking, they don't come. Mace is holding on until he sees something. SpringRight says
to Thomlin, Do you still hear them? Thomlin will listen closely now that things are quiet but hears nothing. He shakes his head and sighs, "Nope!"

It's either a trap, or they're gone. SpringRight, I'll tell you my big theory, Thesgna reported that the tunnels go deep inside the hill. If they go back
into the hill, we will have a very tough time getting them out. We may have a tough time even finding them. Fiona punches Mace in the arm, "Go! Now! Mace
shakes his head, No. I have to see them. Otherwise it's not going to work. Fiona expresses a very un lady like comment. He leans over to Fiona and whispers
what he has planned. Grease, girl, grease! It'll stop them right in their tracks. Fiona gives Mace a blank look. Greece? Mace looks at her, I've no time
to explain. What do you have planned? Fiona, More of the same.

Thomlin to SpringRight, It's obvious that they're not going to come out. My guess? They want us to come in! And I don't think I want to be in a cave with
four of them.

Thesgna to Thomlin and SpringRight, If one of you elves are brave enough, why not take a peek into the cave? With your better vision than those humans there,
you may be able to see how close they are. SpringRight, Very well. He puts his bow on his back and puts on his shield, gets out his long sword and walks
quickly over to the mouth of the cave to take a peek.

Mace turns to Fiona wide eyed because they are both planning to use the same type of thing, Watch the cave while I get something from my pack. He bends
down and searches for something. SpringRight moves in front of Mace so he can get a good look. It takes a couple seconds for his eyes to adjust. He does
not see anything within the range of his infravision outside of a very faint glow right at the very edge. Fiona will mutter something under her breath.
And touches Mace's arm when SpringRight steps forward. She points to the elf. SpringRight walks back to Mace and and Fiona and says, I don't see anything
at all except maybe the warmth from the campfire about sixty feet in. I just thought I'd tell you that before you did anything. Then he walks back toward
Thomlin. Fiona sighs and steps over to SpringRight. So what are we going to do then? Reju seeing the mages move over will put up his bow and move towards
where they all seem to be congregating. SpringRight, If I had my druthers, I would like to smoke them out. But I wouldn't know how to achieve that. Thomlin,
Why do we need to bother them at all? They're not coming out. And if these two were the biggest and baddest, wouldn't they just stay in hiding?

Reju, What if these were the smallest? Remember, there were six of them and two were smaller. We have your gems. We could use them. Perhaps we could place
a pile of them at the mouth of the cave. Do either of you mages have a light spell? At the  moment smaller was said, Fiona shutters for a second. stiffens
her back and her head goes up. Thomlin, I have my doubts those two were the smaller ones. Would you send your smaller out to fight for your lair? I somehow
doubt it. But why not throw one of my larger gems into the cave? And see if that causes any stirring at all, before we try and lure them out here? We can
at least get an idea if they are still in there. I would, but I can't throw that far. Someone else has got to give a good heave.

Thesgna, trying to get a word in, says I've seen all six and those two we killed are definitely of the larger size. I believe the smaller ones were about
as tall as Mace. Mace stands up and puts his pack on. He is holding something in his hand. but is not showing it yet. He turns to Thomlin and says, I'll
be more than glad to throw it. I don't want to go in there, the way I'm feeling right now. He rubs his wounded shoulder and continues, I'll do it. Thomlin
reaches into his sack and pulls out a large gem. It is particularly glittery. and hands it to Mace, saying Heave away. Fiona's eyes go up at the size of
the gem, about baseball size. Thomlin will wink at her, but not say anything. All the group has congregated to the left of the tunnel mouth except for
RainSong and Delmar still up the hill to the right. Thesgna, Mace, when are you going to throw that gem into the cave to see what happens? Mace doesn't
say anything, he just gives it a hurl. Thunk, Thunk, Thunk, Thunk, thud. It lands a hundred feet or so into the cave. Mace turns to Thomlin, Let me have
another one. Thesgna pulls out a bluish one and hands it to Mace. Mace tries to throw the next a little closer about 60 feet. Thunk, Thunk, Thunk, thud.
Mace looks towards SpringRight, I will need your help to see if anything is moving in there. Reju, Do you hear any grumbling inside? SpringRight steps
over and looks into the cave. Everyone is quiet trying to hear if anything is moving. SpringRight hears footsteps deep in the cave after thirty seconds.
Thump, thump Thomlin's ears perk up. Yep, I hear them! Something’s in there! Mace gestures to Thomlin in a way to say give me another one. DM: Out of character,
there is a missing factor here but I won't give it away. Thomlin pulls out another gem, this one is green.

Fiona mutters something about strong worriers just standing at the cave mouth, but shuts up after a second. Mace looks around to see if not all the ogres
were at home. But all he sees is trees. Thesgna, I am worried. I should have explored those other tunnels yesterday. Where it branches deep in the hill,
maybe there is another exit. It would make sense wouldn't it? And if there is, we could be attacked from behind. DM: About now, they hear the footsteps
get louder for about five seconds, then stop again. Thump, thump, thump Reju is drawing both of his weapons at this time and moving out to where Mace is
standing. SpringRight is still looking in. but he still doesn't see anything moving. Fiona moves up to Mace. Thomlin to Mace, So, Ya going to throw the
third gem? Mace whispering, I was waiting until I could see if they took the first bate. and were coming for the second. Thomlin thinks that the ogres
are giving us the impression that something is in there, for us to go after, but that it's less dangerous, so we get a falls sense of security. Thomlin
whispers to SpringRight I think we're being bated here. There is definitely something bigger in there that they don't want us to know about. Thesgna, Oh,
do you think there may be a dragon in the cave? Reju, These ogres seem more intelligent than I expected.  They seem more like the ogre magi than normal
ogres. Thomlin, I don't know anything about ogre magi, but if I were trying to get in the last licks, shall we say, I might give my adversary the opinion
that it's ok to go in. Then surprise them. After all, it's their lair. They know it well, we don't. I think they're just waiting for us to go in. Mace,
Tactically, I would think the same thing. And I'm in no shape to run in there and try to fight something twice the size of me. Actually, four something!
Thomlin, I'm not hurt, but I'm not in favour of that either. So you guys want to abandon this? I have no problem what soever. Fiona leans forward and screams
into the cave mouth, with many un lady like expletives, the fact that she is calling them out. It's us two, you zero and I'm still alive! You suck! Or
something to that effect. Thomlin smiles at the total side of Fiona that he never imagined. How wonderful! Reju laughs, Taunting ogres? Fiona turns to
Reju, I got hit! And my spell did not kill them all! That Pisces me off! Thesgna, Can ogres understand common? Thomlin, Even if they understand her tonal
quality, that is enough. Thesgna thinking about what Reju said about these not being ogres, goes over to the two dead ones and examines them looking for
pouches and anything interesting. Fiona's tirade goes on for about forty five seconds and then she visibly collapses back into herself and stands back
red faced. Reju If they didn't know we were out here, they do now! Thomlin is staring at Fiona with his mouth open. He composes himself and says, Well,
I guess we'll just encounter these creatures after all. WoodLock, Indeed. It appears that there is something keeping them inside. I do not know what but
it is obvious they want us to come inside. If we do not want to do that, the only alternative is to wait. We know that they will come out at night. If
we wish to fight them outside, that is when we may be forced to do it, on their terms. Unless we wait until tomorrow. Fiona asks, Are we not strong enough?
Are we cowards that we don't want to charge in there and take them on? What about you and you, Fiona points to the larger fighters, Reju and SpringRight,
are you not prepared? Reju glares at Fiona, I? I? Are you questioning my valour? My virtue? I've slain much worse than those! But I worry for the rest
of you. Are you prepared? Fiona, you've already been stunned once! Fiona shrugs, Yes I have been hurt rather badly, but I'm not showing it now. She sighs,
Fine, let's pack it in then! There should be comfortable beds at Delmar's. Reju, So? I'm willing to go in if you're ready to go in as well! I don't see
you leading the way! Fiona, What! Not leading the way! Who has been in the front the whole time? Thesgna searching the dead ogres while the argument is
going on finds nothing on them but rags of clothing. Then she turns to Mace and fixes his bandages to stem his bleeding.

Reju, So Fiona are you ready? Fiona, Yes, how about the rest of you? WoodLock turns to everyone, If you go in I will follow. Reju, I'll defend you if you're
fully prepared to do this. then sure, I'll go in! Thomlin says, I will not go in unless Mace who I believe is the one speaking for us, says that he is
willing to go in. We cannot have everyone falling. Reju's eyes roll when he hears Thomlin say that Mace speaks for all of us. Thomlin turns to Mace, What
say you? Although you may be injured, do you think the rest of us can handle it? And the chance of more injuries? Mace, I don't necessarily have a problem
of going in. I'm a little hurt. so Delmar, would you want to take the point? Thesgna, All this talk about going in. I was in there already and came out
fine, so I am comfortable going in again. The only thing I was worried about was if there was an ogre standing near enough to the cave mouth that I would
be attacked. But since they are not near the opening, I feel safe about going in to find out where they are. Delmar looks toward Mace but hasn't moved.
He is about twenty feet away. Reju, Yes, Thesgna, that is a good idea! Why don't you go in on a little scouting mission for us? See what they're doing
in there. Mace gestures to Delmar to come over. Then he turns to Thesgna, Ah, If I understand it correctly, you're going to need darkness to do what you
have to do. Reju could you cover him when he enters the cave? And I'll get the rest of the party together to go in. Maybe Thesgna can find out something
we can use. Maybe we may not want to go in right away. Reju, Actually, SpringRight's eyes are better than mine. I'll stand with him, and with us two she
will be better protected, but SpringRight could do the watching out. Delmar does his best to make it through the brush down the hill. But he still makes
a good bit of noise doing it. RainSong moves a few steps closer to the group as well, and is still keeping an eye on the cave mouth, but with her better
hearing she doesn't need to be too close. Mace, Delmar, here's the situation, Our fair maiden, and he looks towards Fiona, wants to go in and decisively
take care of our foes. I'm hurt. I'm going to need you, if we have to go in, to take the point. Thesgna is going to go in and do some scouting. Then we'll
know if we should charge.

Delmar, when hearing of Fiona chuckles a little bit, and when Mace finishes he says, Point alight? Well, being stealthy isn't my best attribute, you understand.
And I haven't had much combat lately, in the past few years. But, this is to save my adopted home town. If it is what needs to be done, and he looks pointedly
at Reju and SpringRight, then I'm willing. Reju just shrugs. He wants you to do it, he didn't ask either of us. SpringRight says, You know, I'm new to
this fighting experience. I'm certainly willing to give it a try. But my instructors would say this is a fairly foolhardy way of attacking your foe. But
I'm willing. Mace looks at Delmar, I'm not going to put you in a situation that  you can't handle. I'm doing this planning all on the fly. Then he looks
to Reju and says, Just bear with me. while I get this all together. I'm not trying to leave you out of anything. or make you seam that you're diminished
in this at all. I'll take any suggestions. But first lets get Thesgna to do what she needs to do. Delmar looks towards Mace, Hmmm, didn't say, I couldn't
do it! Just expect me some time to shake off the rust! Thesgna looks towards Mace and says, Do you have something that I can carry that might give a signal
if I get into trouble? Something that could make fire in the tunnel so the elves might see it? Mace looks at Delmar, Once a fighter, always a fighter.
Then he pulls out the Greek fire he had in his bag. Do you think you can carry this? Delmar gives a broad grin. I think I can use one too. But I'll need
some light in order to see in there. Fiona looking at the Greek fire, "Damn, I wish I had known you had that! Reju, It would make a blast! Mace looking
at Fiona, I remembered it at the time you said you had just about what I had, a fuel spell. That's why I quickly looked into my bag for it hoping they
wouldn't come out at the same time. Thesgna, Oh, if that is your only flask, perhaps you should save it for when the come charging out towards you. But
I could also use it to attack them when I find them. Mace, No, this is not the only one. Thesgna takes the flask from Mace saying, Thank you! I will only
use this in an emergency. Or if I need help deep in the cave. She slips it into her pouch and starts walking towards the cave mouth. Mace pulls out another
Greek fire and hands it to Delmar. Mace, Reju, any suggestions? Reju, I suggest we go forth with Thesgna's plan to scout the tunnel to find out where they
are. I think Greek fire is a bit over kill for what she is wanting. Perhaps we could use one of the gems. She could throw it out to alert us. But as to
battle plan, it's hard to say. As soon as we know what is in there, we could better form a plan. Fiona brings her hands up to her head and rubs her temples
a little. Mace, Well it could be over kill, but it could also do a little damage to the ogres. I'm still not pleased about going in there against four
ogres. He turns to Fiona, What did you have planned? I know you were about to whip something up. Fiona turns to Mace, Another web! Reju, A web with Greek
fire could make a nice burn, the problem is we know they are farther in than the web can reach. More than sixty feet, unfortunately. It is unlikely we
would catch any of them from here. Fiona grins, Unless, we charge in! Then she blanches a little and winces from the pain the smile caused. Reju, If we
charge in we could also be caught in the web spell. Mace, not if she is first. Thesgna puts her cross bow in her pouch and creeps slowly into the cave
hugging the left wall trying not to be noticed by the ogres. She faces in the cave keeping her eyes and ears open for any movement or sound. She is in
the thief persona and attempts to do a move silently and hide in shadows so as not to be spotted. After moving in a few feet, so there is no light affecting
her infravision, she doesn't see anything. And she doesn't hear movement or breathing from inside the cave too. She creeps to ten feet from the cave entrance,
reaching a level of light sufficient for the cloak to work. Thesgna opens it up and holds both sides then transforms into a bat. Zap! and flies off deeper
into the cave. flap, flap, flap, flap. Because of the hide in shadows no one outside notices the change. She realizes that the flask would be too large
and unwieldy to be carried as a bat and besides even if she could, it would alert the ogres if they saw a bat carrying a flask towards them.

Delmar has moved to a position near the cave mouth. He's got the other Greek fire in hand in case they need it to burn Fiona's web. He looks back at mace
and says, How long should I wait? Mace, Delmar, just stay ready, I don't expect anything to happen but  we should be ready to go in right away. Delmar
nods and says, I, but if I hear a scream, I'm charging! Then he draws a sword. Mace turns to Fiona, Do you want him to go in or do you want to try your
spell? He could follow you. If they charge then maybe we could do the burning web trick again. Delmar looks to Fiona, If the little one gets in trouble,
I'm not sure we'd want her caught in that web before us. Fiona thinking a second shrugs and says, Probably true. Then she rubs her temples. Delmar looks
to Mace, Very well then. I'll wait for you to give the word. If I hear the Halfling make a sound, like she's in trouble, I'll look to you for a signal
to charge. Thomlin taps Delmar on the shoulder, I'll probably hear it before you do. I'll let you know. JT out of character, If he hears a loud squeak
and a wet squish, we'll know what happened. Reju will position himself off to the left of Delmar so he can be at his flank if they need to charge. Mace
noticing Reju getting into position, says to SpringRight, You might want to be ready and in position too. So we can all be ready for action. SpringRight
raises his sword, Yes, I have this, and then wiggles his shield and I am prepared. Thesgna flies in to where the ogres camp was the day before. Flap, flap,
flap. and she still hasn't spotted them. She identifies the clutter and the fire has burned out. There is a little bit of heat left near the fire area.
There are also a few scorched dead bats littering the ground. PV out of character: Would that be extra XP? DM: Only for those two who cast the spells about
5 to 7 xp each. Thesgna flies further into the cave Flap, flap, flap. at almost the ceiling, about 75 yards when she starts to get echo bounces off something
that looks like two ogres about ten to fifteen yards in. Thesgna is moving at half speed moving back and forth to try to look like a real bat. reaching
them in about ten seconds. The two larger ones are standing nearer to her. The two smaller ones are behind them. They are not moving very much. Thesgna
moves to the upper left corner to keep as far away from them as possible. and picks up speed as she reaches their position. Flap, flap, flap flap flap,
flap. She thinks a real bat would be scared of large creatures so would speed up as they got closer. They are standing in the middle of the cave from left
to right. She can't tell which direction they are facing, but they aren't carrying any light source. Once she flies past the ogres, she goes another fifty
yards to the opening in the floor. Flap, flap, flap. At this point she has been flying about five minutes. She thinks about stopping and attacking them
from behind but thinks that would be too risky, so she continues to explore the back of the cave to investigate  the branches. She turns into the left
or northern branch. Flap, flap, flap. Delmar turns to Mace, How long was she planning on being in there? Seems like it's been a while. What's going on?
Mace, Your guess is as good as mine. I thought she was just going to check out the area and let us know where they were. Delmar shrugs, Hmmm, Maybe she
got into some trouble and couldn't tell us where she was. Fiona lets out a low grown and puts her face in her hands. Mace looks at her, Are you ready?
Fiona looks back, I guess. Let's do it! Mace, OK. I wish I knew where she was, SpringRight, you have the best eye sight, lets slowly edge in. Delmar be
ready with that Greek fire, we may need to use that for our first volley. Delmar nods. and raises it in his left hand. with his sword still in his right.
Mace we should go three abreast to give us room to fight. Reju, How about Delmar point, I'll be on his left flank, with SpringRight on his right. Mace,
With me and Fiona right behind. Thomlin, And I will be behind them! Once it is apparent that the group is going in, RainSong comes down from the hill.
She says, Well, if you're going in, then I'll join you. My fighting tactics work well in close quarters. Reju, Excellent, you can go next to Thomlin. Mace
to RainSong, Is there any position you would like to be? RainSong, As long as I'm along a wall I'll be OK. I prefer to be out of the center. Thomlin, If
you two are doing the fire and web, I think I can make a little addition. But give me a little space. Thesgna reaches the spot whir it branches and there
is an open space below. She wants to make sure there is a way out if she is trapped behind the ogres. She flies down the tunnel about 50 yards, with the
passage staying fairly level. Flap, flap, flap. There, she finds that it turns to the east, but after just a few yards it leads to an area where the cave
had collapsed. There are a couple spots where she can probably squeeze through as a bat, but none that any human or Halfling-sized person could get through.

As the party enters the darkness of the cave, Delmar looks back to Mace, One of you back there is going to have to light a torch. If we are going to be
in combat. Mace, This is true. Also, Delmar we're going to do this slowly and as quietly as we can. Does any of you have a torch, Thomlin, RainSong or
WoodLock? WoodLock stifles a laugh, I do not carry such things. But I do have a lantern. Thomlin raises his brows, I don't have such things either. Their
not necessary for some of us. Mace, I'm able to fight in the dark so I wouldn't need it also. Delmar grunts a bit and precedes forward at half speed. Reju
has both of his blades in his hands, and is poised and ready. SpringRight has gone far enough so that his eyes are adjusted to the darkness. At ten to
fifteen yards in, he still can't make out anything.

Reju, I too would need that lantern lit. I also have one but would not be able to fight carrying it. WoodLock sighs, Well I suppose it comes down to me
then.

Hopefully I won't have to cast any spells while in here. Else I'll have to set it down. which might cause problems of its own. He digs into his pack. Thomlin,
Somehow I think the fireworks we are about to set off will make ample light. Mace nods.

At twenty yards in, and SpringRight makes out the embers of the cooking fire. When the lamp is lit Mace gives a wave to go on. It cancels out SpringRight's
60 foot infravision. and their field of vision is cut to 30 feet. Or twenty feet in front of the leading three. When they get to forty yards in, they notice
a lot of clutter on the ground. It is mostly bones and sticks, branches, firewood making stuff scattered around. They do spot the second gem that Mace
threw in. and plenty of crispy dead burnt bat bodies.

Thesgna can sense echo about fifteen yards because it is quiet. She goes until she senses the blockage then returns to the hole in the ground and flies
down into it. Flap, flap, flap. The group passes the spot of the cooking fire, and one of the ogres lets out a roar and starts charging. Growl! Thump,
thump, thump thump thump thump Mace exclaims, Sugar Honey Iced Tea! DM: To recap, the group is walking into the tunnel Reju, Delmar and SpringRight in
the front row, Mace and Fiona behind in the second row, WoodLock, Thomlin and RainSong on the last row. Reju has both of his things going on above his
head and is holding his Katana and Wakazashi. SpringRight has his shield and sword out ready for an attack. Round one: Zap! Mace and Thomlin notice something.
Reju notices that only one of the ogres is charging the group into the lantern light and is on them in only a few seconds. Growl! Thump, thump, thump thump
thump thump

Thomlin can't cast his only spell from the back row so he tries to move over to a side. The charging ogre is moving on SpringRight's side away from Reju,
so Reju holds his attack. thump thump thump thump. The ogre attacks Delmar with a weapon. A big mace type deal. Thwack! Clang! Oof! The ogre's mace pounds
Delmar in the shoulder and dents his armour but Delmar shrugs it off with a grunt. And starts a mighty swing with his sword. SpringRight gets his swing
in first but finds only empty air. Whoosh. SpringRight gets another hack at the ogre and hits it in the mid section. Whoosh, Thunk! It staggers back but
stays on it's feet. RainSong has cast a spell, Zap! Delmar finishes a mighty swing decapitating the ogre. Whoosh, thwack, thud. The group looks around
for the other ogres and notice RainSong has climbed the wall above SpringRight. And they notice Fiona hasn't moved a bit. Mace looks at her and realizes
that she is petrified. But not in fright, she is stiff as a board. Mace, nudging her says, Fiona, Fiona! But he gets no response. Reju without turning
calls to WoodLock, Can you move the lantern forward so we can see farther into the cave? WoodLock looks around and moves forward between Mace and Fiona.
Reju can see a bit deeper into the cave and he hears thump thump thump thump Boom. thump thump thump boom. thump thump thump boom. three distant crashes.
Mace getting no reaction, Thomlin turns to Fiona, and examines her face. He sees a rigid expression. Meanwhile, Thesgna still transformed as a bat, is
examining the hole's shape when she hears the charging ogre's growl and the clang of it hitting Delmar. She realizes that the ogres are attacking the party
and rises to the floor of the tunnel. flap, flap flap flap flap. Suddenly, three shapes past her going in the other direction. Whoosh, whoosh whoosh. The
three ogres have jumped down the hole and land on it's floor. Boom Boom! Boom! Mace hears the distant sounds of something heavy falling and hitting the
ground. Reju determines that the three sounds were coming a fair distance from the edge of the lantern light. Thesgna quickly lands on the edge of the
hole, and transforms back to a Halfling. flap flap, flap, thud, zap!

Reju suggests that the group move forward to find out what made those sounds. Thomlin looking at Fiona says, I don't think all of us are going with you.
Our good mage has been frozen solid! Mace and I can't seem to help her. Thesgna pulls the flask of Greek fire out of her pocket and drops it where the
ogres landed. Kaboom! It bursts into a ball of fire, and the party sees a dim flash from the same distance as the three thuds. Reju exclaims, What the?
Then he looks over to Mace. Off in the distance there is a warm glow surrounding the dark silhouette of a Halfling.

Delmar turns to Mace and Reju's direction, Just what the hell is that? Mace, Blast it! I don't know! Alright, we're in some kind of quagmire here. I'm not
sure we want to move forward with Fiona like this. Reju staring towards the glow asks, What's going on back there? Thomlin waving his hand in front of
her face says, Fiona doesn't respond! Nothing, I have no clue. WoodLock says, I think she's held. Thomlin asks, Held? By what? WoodLock answers, A spell.
Tis not uncommon. She should be fine in a few minutes. I didn't expect them to be spell casters though. Unless they have someone working with them that
we don't know about. Thomlin, Hmm, I haven't seen such a spell. This means, until she can move, someone's got to stay here. If the rest of you want to
go ahead, perhaps that should be my job. I wouldn't be much good down below if that's where you guys intend to go. Reju considers, since we've only seen
one ogre in the cave, and RainSong is above us, he will use his tattoo to detect invisibility. which will pretty much include the entirety of the cave.

Meanwhile, Thesgna can hear the party's talking but it is too far to understand what they are saying. Delmar turns around to Mace and says, Hmm, I have
to wonder now, if the suspicions about these ogres working for the Duke might be right!

Mace, Could be. Now my concern is are we in here with magic users stronger than us? Delmar nods, Although that particular spell is not horribly powerful.
I've seen even beginner spell casters cast it. Though they were not quite this effective. I don't know. Thesgna looks down the hole and sees the three
ogres running away through the left tunnel, escaping the fire burning behind them. She turns around and shouts, I'm down here, but I'm OK! The other three
ogres jumped down the hole and ran away! Mace, OK, did everyone hear Thesgna? It looks like one of our threats is taken care of. Now we can concentrate
on who did this to Fiona. Reju looking at his tattoo detects nothing invisible in it's range. Reju then hearing the Halfling, moves up saying, Alright,
WoodLock would you please follow me with the light? I want to get up to Thesgna. WoodLock elbows his way past Fiona's still unmoving form. Thump. and moves
ahead a couple paces behind Reju. Thesgna looks down at the fire which is still burning twenty feet below. Reju and WoodLock reach the hole, and stand
next to Thesgna. Reju asks, What did you see? and motions to WoodLock to shine the lantern down the hole. Thesgna, Two small ogres and one large one ran
by me and jumped down the hole. I dug the Greek fire out of my pack and threw it down at them but when it hit the ground and burst into fire, all I saw
was the three heading off to the left, north. WoodLock looks over the edge of the hole and says, The passage looks a lot like this one. It only goes two
ways, left and right. Reju to Thesgna, You say they went left? He studies the wall of the hole, if it is a sheer drop and what were the walls made of.
DM: It is an open dug out pit. about five feet across at the end of the passage that the party is at. There is a mound of dirt, about five or six feet
packed around the upper level of the hole. It looks like there are a few hand holds on the wall, But from the floor of the upper level to the floor of
the lower level is about fifteen feet. There are nearby wooden beams holding up the tunnel ceiling that a rope could be anchored to. Reju seeing that the
coast is clear would motion to the rest of the party to move up. He says, If you have to, just drag Fiona here! DM: Fiona is just starting to come out
of her state. Fiona shaking her head says, What happened? Where's the ogre?

Thesgna with a puzzled look asks Reju, What happened to Fiona and what about the other ogre? I heard the attack back there so I assumed that the lot of
you did it in. Did it hurt Fiona?  Did you inspect it?  Is it like the other two ogres? Thomlin and Mace carrying Fiona notice that she is waking. Thomlin
looking at Fiona, says, Ah, good to see you coming around my dear! Then turning to Thesgna, The ogre? It is somewhere else. But no longer on this plane
of existence. And how are you doing? Fiona says, Yes I see that now. Damn, I'm getting tired of not being able to use my spells properly! Holding her head
she adds,  It's quite frustrating. Very well, what are we to do next? Thesgna hearing that the ogre is dead, heads back to the body and notices Delmar
examining it. Delmar, Ah, good Halfling! I'm sure you are quite interested in this creature here. He really didn't put a whole lot of fight, but he did
give me a bit of a sore shoulder. Thesgna, Ah, yes, good fighter, I do see a slight dent in your armour. I hope you're not too injured? My god is very
displeased with me because I let the threat to travelers go by. I do wish I could have protected the rest of you from their evil intent. Delmar says, Hmm,
I'm fine! This good armour absorbed most of what ever damage he was trying to dish out! Still, I could feel his attack even through the armour. Those ogres
are very strong! Reju takes a rope out of his pack and starts to attach it to the wood beams. Thesgna asks, Delmar, did you find anything on that ogre?
And did you inspect their camp? When I was in the cave before I could just make out lumps of something but I couldn't identify it. Delmar, No, I didn't
look at their camp site. You should ask SpringRight over there, he has better vision and walked right through it. Delmar holds a pouch out to Thesgna and
says, But I did find this on the ogre. He tosses a small sack in Thesgna's direction who catches it. RainSong lowers herself and joins the others on the
ground, Well, that was rather anti climatic. I must say! Let us hope that there is not a need for my services in the next battle. My typical method of
attack has been a bit compromised. I have to wonder though, I know you said that the three ogres went by you, what happened to them? Did they go down the
hole? Thesgna, Yes, I was in my other altered state, and they went right by me not noticing I was there. Actually, I was exploring the place that they
jumped to. By the time I took out the Greek fire, and threw it at them, They had escaped the flames to the north. For you see, there is another tunnel
about fifteen feet down that heads north and south. Those ogres were moving very fast. They probably saw that you had displaced their third member and
knew they were outnumbered. I will go back to help Reju with the rope, I know of ways to attach it to the beam. Thesgna walks back to Reju and says, I
have hooks to secure the rope to the wood. They are good for travelers in mountainous areas. Reju, That is not needed my friend. I too have the needed
items to attach the rope, and it is done. It is prepared and ready for the group to use to descend into the hole. It is a rather sturdy rope, so we should
be fine. Thomlin not able to do much at the hole goes back to the ogre's camp to look for the two gems that he had Mace throw. And looks for anything else
that glitters. He only finds two of the three gems. The red glittery one that Mace threw deepest is missing. Thomlin picks up the other two and looks for
anything interesting like weapons or anything of value. Thomlin sees one big mace, and one extra long spear. Other than that there is a pile of bones,
ash from the fire, and a small pile of branches. SpringRight comes up to Thesgna and says, How did they get down the hole? Did they jump twenty feet? Or
did they climb down? Thesgna replies, They did indeed jump. They went by very fast and were pretty agile. I would have bet they would stop at the bottom
after that jump being stunned or rest to hear if anyone was coming. I wouldn't have been surprised if they had been knocked out, so I threw the Greek fire
down thinking that it would hit them and hurt them. Thesgna walks off to the side and glances in the pouch that Delmar gave him. He feels coins but can't
see what kind or how many. So he stores it in his backpack. Delmar comes over hearing Thesgna and SpringRight's conversation, Well that is a good drop
even for an ogre, but they are tough creatures. Thesgna looks at Delmar and says, Yes, I wish the rest of you were a little more patient. My plan was to
throw that Greek fire on them from behind,  which could have damaged them severely, but then  I didn't have a chance because of your charge into the tunnel
and attack. I thought the plan was to allow me to explore the whole cave for at least a half an hour and report back. Maybe I was not clear enough about
that. Delmar, Ah I wasn't sure how long you would intend to be  inside. Thesgna, I did tell Mace that I had the power to explore the cave for around an
hour, but that is something I did not want everyone to know. I guess my reluctance to tell more about my power has hurt our chances on dealing with those
ogres swiftly. I am restrained by my god Sedric to not reveal all the secrets of the power. But it is important that you people know to what extent I can
use it. I am extremely displeased for if I had a little longer, we might have done away with all the ogres. Delmar chuckles, I'll have to get back to the
town to notify the mayor of what you found. The group thanks Delmar for his help and agrees to return to the town when the last three ogres are dispatched.

The group climbs down Reju's rope and find themselves at the bottom of the hole with a rope dangling to the west side above and to the floor of the lower
cave. Reju leaves the remaining ten feet of rope looped up to the side of the tunnel. The passageway is ten feet wide and twelve feet high with tunnels
to the north and south. Reju, Since Thesgna said that the remaining ogres went to the left, I will take the lead with SpringRight. The second row should
be Mace and WoodLock holding the lamp. Fiona and Thomlin in the third row, and Thesgna and RainSong behind them. Mace thinking, Hmm, I would put Reju and
SpringRight in the first row, Fiona and RainSong in the second row, Thomlin and WoodLock in the third row, and myself and Thesgna in the last row. I want
to be rear guard. Thesgna, Yes I would prefer to be in the rear and could use my better vision to look back. Reju, I do need WoodLock in the second row
because of him carrying the lamp. Thomlin, Thesgna, my Elvin eyes should be able to see much farther than yours. Thesgna smiling says, That is true, good
Elf, but you could always look over my head! Thomlin chuckles, Yes a quick glance over my shoulder would be enough. Mace, I would prefer Thomlin in the
last row next to me.  I do not mean to offend you Thesgna, but he can give me more of what I need. Reju, So we've got, Reju SpringRight first row, WoodLock,
Fiona second row, RainSong, Thesgna third row, and Mace and Thomlin last row. Thesgna, I would rather be in the last row so I could use my power without
giving away all its secrets. Plus with the power evoked, I could investigate the tunnel ahead of us for possible ambushes quicker than anyone else. Mace,
I am sure there will be plenty of shadows for you to hide in to do what ever you have to do. Thesgna, That is true but it just mite take a little longer.
I could also step around Thomlin if the need comes. Thomlin, Exactly! I think we should move on and take each situation as it comes.

DM: The party advances through the passage, eighty feet or so where the passage makes a turn to the east. They continue, and this passage slopes down rather
sharply. WoodLock's lantern has been burning for about a half an hour. Thomlin will be doing his best to listen for large noises, growls and grunts. Things
that are out of the ordinary from the party's creaking armour and such. Reju, I too have a lamp I can light when WoodLock's runs low, or you can refill
it with my spare flasks of oil. We don't want too many people holding lanterns for if we get into a fight, we can run into trouble that way. DM: Typically
an oil lamp burns four hours.

The group descends the thirty degree slope, It is all packed earth walls, ceiling and floor with wooden supports every twenty feet. The group can see in
spots that there has been some crumbling away of the walls. There are piles of dirt and small stones occasionally throughout the area. They also see a
fair number of rats scurrying about. An occasional flock of bats hanging from the wooden support beams. But not encountering too much else at this point.
Once they go another sixty feet, the passage levels off again and continues to the north. Twenty feet ahead, the group spots a side passage leading off
to the right, east, so they stop. Thesgna asks, SpringRight have you seen any footprints of the ogres? SpringRight, The packed earth does not have any
footprints as of yet.

Thesgna takes out his hand lamp and asks WoodLock for help lighting it. He does so and then turns it down and puts on a shade to lessen the amount of oil
used. It would be good to have a backup if WoodLock's burns out or is put out. Reju asks WoodLock, What do you know of ogre sight? Can they see in the
dark like Elves? WoodLock, Indeed they can. It is good that we have the light for that will make us even in a fight. Reju, I was hoping that perhaps one
of you could look around the corner to see if the ogres were there before we pass by it. We may be walking past an ambush point. It does not appear that
your Elvin sight gives you an advantage over them in sneaking up on them. I don't wish to walk past there with some knowledge of what is around that corner.
WoodLock nods, Understandable. I will admit to not knowing how well a half ogre can see in the dark. I have little experience with their kind. It all depends,
I suppose, on what they are crossed with. Reju whispers to SpringRight, How quietly can you get up there? Would it be possible for you to move silently
and look around that corner? SpringRight, I can certainly try, but I won't be that quiet with my armour on. It would be too dangerous to take it off at
this point. SpringRight creeps twenty feet to the corner. and cautiously pokes his head around it taking a look. He comes back and reports that he saw
nothing. Reju leads the group up to the side passage. The side passage is a little narrower about eight feet across and it extends at least sixty feet.
Thesgna, Good friend WoodLock, do you still have that power to communicate with animals? For if you do, the rats and bats in this cave may tell you which
way the ogres went. WoodLock, Unfortunately, this morning, I prayed to Various for spells to help me fight these creatures. I had but one spell of that
type. Since we had intended to fight them in the open, I had taken a pair of entangle spells, which to this point seems useless. Ah, such is the way. Reju,
SpringRight, can you check for any tracks? SpringRight, If WoodLock would come over with the lamp, very closely to the ground, I'll take a closer look.
This is packed dirt so it is possible that I may see footprints. WoodLock comes forward and lowers the lamp to the ground. And sure enough, off to one
side, SpringRight notices a small pile of fallen dirt that looks like it has been recently disturbed. As though something large had moved past there. SpringRight
points in the direction of the mound and says, I think this is the direction we should go. As the party enters the cave the floor feels soft and sludgy.

They follow signs that the Ogres left but as they continue through the tunnel they realize that they are circling around and eventually find their way back
to the entrance. The three remaining creatures tricked them and led the party on a wild goose chase through the tunnel. The party had neglected to post
a watch at the entrance which could have stopped the creatures or alerted the rest of the party to where the ogres were.

Exiting the cave, the group finds Thesgna's pony missing and a trail left by the ogres heading away from the hill. They decide to head back to town to regroup
and give a report to the mayor on what they found.

The end.

+++

The Top Five Articles

Selected by Michael Feir

By far, the hardest things to obtain during my editorship of Audyssey were articles. I’ve always treasured them. Even when they were a whole pile of work
to edit, I’ve always tried to include all of the articles I received. Without these articles, Audyssey Magazine would be far less a publication than it
has been over the years. It would have been a whole lot more shallow both to read and to produce. A simple collection of game announcements and reviews
would still be a useful thing. However, it would be missing an overall sense of the direction and perspective of the community. Articles are where you
find the deeper and wider thinking which goes beyond specific games to important places like the state of the industry or morality and how it relates to
games. Below, I’ve included what I feel are five of the best articles ever to appear in Audyssey. I hope they serve as inspirations for future articles
which I will have the pleasure to read without having to edit them.

+

The Future of Blind Computer Gaming

By David Greenwood

It is interesting, and sometime disturbing, to watch how the computer games world has changed over the last ten to fifteen years.  In the past the only
games that were available to us were written for the visually able, which

was fine when many games were text based.  But now, for the most part, the current batch of commercial games which are arriving at our corner computer stores
are totally inaccessible.  They come with a big sound, great theme, interesting plot, but they are primarily visually oriented.  Unless you have a sighted
gaming partner, you're out of luck.  Except for current text based interactive fiction, we are being left out of the main stream gaming market.

And I think I am being generous in including interactive fiction in this category.

There is a small handful of people and businesses which are developing games for the visually impaired, but to date, these programs have been using five
to ten year old technology.  We can not totally blame the developers.  Many

blind computer gamers are using DOS and older computers, and it stands to reason that game developers want to include as many potential game users as possible.
 But the demand is changing.  Many younger and new computer users are entering the market and they are arriving with up-to-the-minute technology and with
only limited access to DOS.

I don't think I need my crystal ball to come up with the following.  I expect that over the next two years, the majority of the games written for the blind
will be written for Windows, and will begin using true 2D and 3D

sound.  With the popularity of the Sound Blaster 128 and 512 cards and the power of the new machines, I am sure we will see some interesting games arriving.

I believe that the use of directional sound will make the biggest inroads into this area.  This will open up many opportunities for simulation and live
action games.  Let me give you an example of how one of these games may

work.

I will use the ubiquitous racing car game as our example.  You are at the starting line.  You can just barely hear the sounds of the crowds in stereo over
the sound of your engine. You have set your gear shift to neutral while

you rev up your engines.  The start flag sounds and you quickly shift into first gear.  You put your foot to the gas and you listen to the sound of the
engine to ensure you don't "red line" it.  As the sound of the engine reaches the optimum, you shift up to second gear.  The engine abruptly

lowers in frequency and you continue to apply gas.  You again listen to the frequency and shift at the optimal point.  You have set your heads-up sound
beacon to 200 yards in front of your car.  This sound beacon remains centred in your current lane, a preset distance in front of you.  You can vary this
distance depending on your reaction time and comfort level.  When the beacon starts moving to the right, you know that the road is starting to turn to
the right and you must adjust your direction accordingly.  Suddenly,

you hear that your right tires are on the rough shoulder of the track.  You must adjust the direction slightly to the left to ensure you stay on the road.
 You now notice that the beacon is directly ahead of you.  From the direction of the beacon, you know that the track is straight for the next

little while.  You also hear a car ahead of you and slightly to the left. You give the car a little more gas and you hear yourself passing the car from
the right.  Now, the same car decides to try to pass you.  You hear the sound of his engine behind you and to the right.  You quickly steer your car to
the right in attempt to block him, but he anticipates your move and steers into the lane directly to the left of you.  You can tell by the volume of his
engine that he is too close, but try to block him anyway. Unfortunately, the game ends in a fiery roar and you are once more at the

starting line.

In this example, there are several sounds being transmitted to you at any one time.  You have your background sounds which are optional and can be turned
off.  You have the continuous sound of your directional beacon that

you use for steering.  As well, the sound of your engine will inform you whether you are in the correct gear.  You will constantly hear the sound of your
tires hitting the shoulder of the track if you are going too fast and

having a hard time staying on the road.  You will hopefully adjust your speed accordingly.  You hear other cars ahead or behind you, and to the left and
right.  From these sounds you can get a general ide