Audyssey;
Games Accessible to the Blind
Issue 43: first quarter, 2005
Edited by Ron Schamerhorn & Lynette Frison

Fun, Friendship, Knowledge, Charity

+++
Welcome
Welcome to the forty-second 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.
For the first quarter of 2005, we have a number of game finds and well
written reviews.  A few good tid bits in the letters section,news from a
couple  of the developers, and informative articles including the return of
everyone's favourite hero Adam the immortal gamer!
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.

 +++
Contents:
Welcome
From The Editor
Letters
Adam the immortal gamer
Games for hand ear coordination
Encounter in the Worm's layer
Making Nethack Accessible in windows
News From Game Developers
Fearless Flin Development Diary: Part III
Game Announcements and Reviews
Contacting Us
Distribution Information and Submission Policies

+++
From The Editor:

  Hello to my readership,

  I know this one has been a long time in coming but I hope you'll agree the
wait was worth it.  I feel this issue for the first quarter 2005 is a good
one.

  The reason there was no issue before Christmas to wrap up the 2004 year
was my computers fault.  Perhaps also my own, though steps have been taken
to ensure this problem won't occur again.

  In short my power supply died, a few days later it was fixed but the cache
had been damaged and thus the computer was doing some odd things.  It was
taken back to the shop and fortunately covered under warranty for the work.

  Then with the holiday season, and other such events in life I finally got
it back in early January.  Then of course was the fun of getting all the
programs I use regularly back on and such things.  I don't think I lost any
material from the drive, at least I don't think I have.

  I'm glad there was a good supply of material for this issue.  At times I
almost forget what there is to be put in the publication.  Though this
doesn't
mean to relax keep the submissions coming in.  After all I edit I'm not
trying to write this all on my own.    But without much further from me On
to issue 43!  Happy reading all!

+++
Letters

++
Developer group started

Hello Developers,

This is just a quick e-mail to let all developers know that AGDev.org has
Been officially launched.  We're keen for you to sign up to the discussion
system and start asking questions, giving support, sharing your ideas and
contributing to the interest groups.  Note that initially, membership is
restricted to developers who have released at least one accessible game to
date.  Further invitations will follow for prospective developers.

As a group, we've got a number of important organisational questions to
answer at the start, too      -- your input on those is vital to how things
will
be run in the future so keep on the lookout for a post that'll kick off this
discussion soon.

For more information on how to sign up, visit
http://www.agdev.org/DiscussionArena
and follow the instructions there. If
you have any questions or problems, please don't hesitate to contact the
list owner at
agdev-discuss-owner@lists.agdev.org.

Hope to see you all on-list/forum soon!

All the best,

David

++
 Winfrotz and TTS

Hello, Adventurer !!!

While we're currently working on a lot of incredible things that we feel are
newsworthy, our latest discovery couldn't wait to be announced.

One of our blind customers, William H., has brought the existence of a new
version of Windows Frotz to our attention with built-in text-to-speech
capabilities!

Ok, if you're not blind this news won't be terribly exciting for you so feel
free to delete this email and return your attention to Pentari, Endgame or
Greystone.

For those of you that have relied on JAWS or other solutions for screen
reading, this new release of WindowsFrotz is something you'll want to grab
right away. It will totally enhance your Malinche gaming experience.

Visit
http://www.malinche.net/software.html
and go download your copy now.

+++
Adam, The Immortal Gamer and the Virtual Reality chip.
by Phil Vlasak
A dim light is still on in the Erindale Campus
dorm room of Adam Taylor. It is Halloween night,
and Adam looks up at the sound of rain hitting
his window. The sky splits and a roar rumbles
loudly, then echoes across the valley.

"Hmm, he thinks to himself, perfect weather for a
game of ghosts and goblins, but not for studying
on-line."

Adam starts to close his computer just before a
brilliant flash blinds him and a force smashes
the window glass and knocks him off his chair.

When Adam wakes up he finds himself laying in bed
on the second floor of a two family house.  There
is no broken glass or any sign that his ROOM was
hit by lightning. As the mist clears in his mind,
his memories start to come back.  He is no longer
a college student but a programmer for BSC Games
living and working in Boardman, Ohio.

"Wow, what a dream!" Adam says to himself.

He thinks that nap after work did some good but
wonders why his dream was about being in college,
before VR took over the world. Then Adam
remembers when he got off the bus this evening,
he noticed the packing boxes on the curb in front
of his house and furniture in the downstairs
apartment. He thinks it will be good to have
someone else living in the building.

Getting up, opening the door to his bedroom he is
greeted by a rather large egg balanced on two
bird legs.  It is dancing on his living room
floor.

"Whoo wee, whoot!"  It says.

When it speaks, its shell opens slightly and
occasionally its large yellow eyes peek out from
under the shell. He smiles as he recalls the
first time he saw the bobbing robot egg doing
that same dance at the Adora Entertainment lab.

"No, not now Oakie, I need to work now.  Go back
and sit in your nest."

The bird wines a little then turns around,
wobbles over and crouches down facing away from
him,  the egg shell hat settling down to the rest
of the ovoid.  He felt sorry for the bird but
knew that if he gave the toy any attention, it
would take over his whole evening.  He tells the
micro what he wants and it reaches into the
fridge and pulls out a package then heats it
according to the bar code printed on the lid.

After dinner he starts to work on his BSC Anasazi
game. During a break, he looks out in his back
yard and notices a woman and a teenage boy
playing baseball. She was pitching to the boy,
and he was trying to hit the ball.  Half the time
it flew over his head towards the house.  Adam
watches him run after the ball and throw it back
to the woman. She has long blonde hair and a very
curvy body, dressed in loose t-shirt and pants.
The other times he hits the ball past her and she
runs all the way to the back fence to get it.
Even from this distance he can tell she is
attractive.

Adam watches them for a while then has an idea.
He grabs a jacket,  sprints down the steps to the
back yard.

Stopping by the house, picking up the ball he
smiles and says, "Hi, I'm Adam and live
upstairs."

"Howdy, I'm Cindy and he's my son Matthew. We've
moved in downstairs this morning!" she said
returning his smile.

She was a little shorter than Adam with dark
brown eyes and a deep tan.  Matthew was just as
tall as her but skinny with a look of worry on
his face.

How about if I throw the ball and you catch it?
he asks Cindy, then continues, "Then we'll see if
your son can hit it."

She thinks about his plan for a second, then
answers, "Sure."

The house had a large grassy back yard with a low
fence but not big enough to keep a well hit fly
ball inside it.  Adam knew something about
pitching from playing the latest VR version of
Strat-O-Matic Baseball, so he threw curve balls
low in the strike zone so Matthew would only hit
easy grounders. After a while, the boy's hitting
improved  and Adam spent most of the time running
after the ball.

Adam stops when noticing the dark clouds looming
over the house.

"We'd better take cover, it's gonna' get pretty
wet out here!" he exclaims.

The three run towards the porch, just missing the
downpour by seconds.

Adam catches his breath and says, "It would have
been better if we had gone to the Boardman VR
center and played Strat-O-Matic   baseball at
Yankee Stadium instead. No chance of getting wet,
unless you want to," he adds.

Cindy turns to Adam and asks, "Hey, speaking of
gettin' drenched, do yall want a cool drink?"

"No, but thanks for the offer." he replies,
knowing how messy it would be in her place the
first day after moving.

Cindy straightens her messed hair and says, "Well
in that case, thanks lots for helping us, and
we'll see ya later."

Adam went up to his apartment to do some work but
after a while he stopped. His memory of her kept
him from concentrating on it. Images of her
smiling face tossing her head and her blonde
curls tumbling about distracted him.

When Adam woke up the next morning, it was still
raining. He opens an umbrella, grabs his
briefcase then goes down to wait for the bus to
downtown Boardman.

Cindy was already standing on the curb waiting at
the bus stop.  Knowing the schedule Adam had
about five minutes to talk to her. "Hi Cindy. You
didn't have a chance last night to tell me all
about your move to Boardman."

"Hi.  It looks like you work downtown too."  She
said glancing at his trench coat and briefcase.

Adam says, "I'm a telematics Specialist and
designer of computer games for BSC."

She replies, "I work for Gates.Com as an
executive in their publicity department.  Right
now I'm starting on the Spiracles campaign."  She
glances back at the house then turns to Adam and
continues, "We were moved by them with all
expenses paid.  They packed all our stuff and
unpacked everything!"

"So your place wasn't filled with boxes!"  Adam
exclaims.  "I should have taken you up on that
drink invitation last night!"

"Well, you never know when we'll need a relief
pitcher again." she says.

"I'd like to talk to you some more and since
we're waiting for the same bus, how about sitting
together? he inquires.

Her eyes went far away for a second, then focused
on him, "Sure."  She said simply.

"Where did you move from?" he asked.

"North Carolina, can't you tell from my accent?"
she says smiling at him.

The bus arrived and there were two vacant seats
together. It was one of those solar powered
busses but on a rainy day like today it had to
start up on its fuel cells. The low hum of the
electric motors was hidden by the sound of the
rain hitting the windows.

As he talked about the town and what were the
best restaurants he could tell by her body
language that she was interested in him.

As she was talking, Adam slips his right hand
into his shirt pocket and pulls out a card.
Pressing on the release square. It turns a pale
green.

He smiles at that, glancing towards Cindy  and
says, "I know I just met you yesterday, but I'd
like you to see my ZIP card."

"Ok" she said hesitantly.

As Adam hands her the card he notices the green
color increasing. This is the compatibility glow,
green for go, yellow for caution and red for
stop.

She smiles and Adam sees a little blush forming
on her cheeks.

He knew that he could have kept the text secret
and asked Cindy on a date just by the card's
color. That is, if she's honest with her answers,
he surmises.

Cindy  looks at the government regulated text
which shows up filling the card's small screen.

Name given at birth, Adam Taylor.

Current Name, Same

Web Name, Adam The Immortal Gamer.

Web Site, Blade's Armoury.

Marital Status, divorced

Children, zero.

Birth Date, November 17, 1976

After scrolling through the rest of Adam's data
she smiles and says, "Thanks."  As she hands the
card back she continues, "So you were born in
Mississauga Ontario?  That's a long way from
Boardman." Thinking about his answers on the card
she adds,  "I also like to read sci-fi and
fantasy.  I enjoy the stories of Karen Joy Fowler
and Terry Bisson and sometimes even purchase the
paper versions."

She pauses a moment then reaches into her purse,
pulls out her ZIP card and thumps the I d square.
It glows a deep green as she hands it to him.

Name given at birth, Cindy Visconti

Current Name, Cindy Erven

Web Name, Miss Cindy

Web Site, Gates.com/Spiracles/Cindy

Marital Status, divorced

Children, one.

Birth Date, April 7, 1977

Adam presses the scroll button and reads her
relationship section.

Best physical features?  smile, and naturally
curly hair.

Hobbies? reading, writing, Virtual Reality games.

Favourite type of music? Ambient Rock of 1K.

Favourite type of food?  Non-Lactase Vegetarian.

Interested in natural or enhanced dates?  both

Any extra organs or body augmentations?  Virtual
Reality chip.

As Adam hands back her card, he asks,  "Since you
and your son are new to Boardman, How about I
take you both out to dinner tonight?"

"Sure, but I don't think Matthew wants to go,
he's so tied up with his VR game," she answers.

After work, they met right outside her door and
he drove her to the restaurant.

During the meal Adam said, "I went to college at
the Erindale Campus in Mississauga, and decided
to go into the game design field.  After college
I went to work for BSC Games, and I'm still
there.  I'm working on a VR experience where you
are a Bald Eagle flying over the south west set
at the beginning of 1K," he explained.  "You can
see millions of buffalo swarming over the plains
and watch the Anasazi culture develop." He looks
in her eyes and said, "The VR chip makes the games easier to design."

 "Yes, my chip does make my work easier too." she
replies tilting her head.

"Do you use the VR at home?" Adam asks.

"No, when I'm home I don't do much VR," she
answers glancing at the table.

Adam thought he noticed a little blush in her
cheeks but put it off as the affect of the wine.

"I get an intense contact high just living in
this area." He says while sipping the last of his
drink.

"I hope I'll grow to love it too," she says
Smiling at him.

Eventually Adam says, "Sometimes I let my work
rule my life.  I should spend more time going out
to dinner like this."

"Do you ever talk to your computer?" Cindy asks
while sliding her fingers through her hair.

"No, but I do talk to my pet robot.  Its a
prototype bird that I'm testing out for Adora
Entertainment," He answers as the waiter brings
him the bill pad. Adam inserts his ZIP card then
follows her out to the car.

At her door Adam holds her hand, says goodnight
and turns away.

When he gets to his apartment, Oakie's eyes peek
out but it doesn't move from its nest, it just
wines.

"Stop whining!" Adam commands, then sits down at
his work station.

He inserts the ZIP card into his Alchemy Game
Studios VR unit and downloads the compatibility
information that his card got from Cindy's.  He
goes to the physical model section and scrolls
through the choices.

USE THE ARROW KEYS TO ADJUST DOWNLOADED DEFAULTS.

Adam moves to the PERSONALITY category.
Affectionate, Brazen, Conceited, Coquette,
Erotic, Flirt, Passionate, Provocative, Sultry,
Sweet, Tease, Tender, Vamp.

He chooses Affectionate and Sultry then clicks on
OK. Adam climbs into his VR suit, fits the wires
from the computer to the plug implanted in his
brain,  then his real world fades away...

He fast forwards to the last time he saw her
tonight. Adam moves to Cindy standing by her
door, but instead of shaking her hand, he leans
over, and kisses her lightly on the lips. He
covers her neck with tiny, fluttery kisses from
her collarbone to her ear. Adam focuses on the
feel of his lips, putting a constant pressure on
her ear lobe.  When he kisses Cindy nothing else
exists in the world. His entire life is wrapped
up into the moment.  Adam feels eternity and
reaches back into the past and into the future.
Without a word, she smiles, pulls Adam's arm
towards her and closes the door behind them. They
spend a while together, until he unplugs from the
VR unit.

Meanwhile, Cindy closes the door after saying
goodbye to Adam, then goes over to her Alchemy
Game Studios VR and inserts her ZIP card,
downloading the compatibility information that
her card got from Adam's. She goes to the
physical model section and scrolls through the
choices. and reviews the PERSONALITY settings.

Affectionate, Audacious, Conceited, Dumb, Eager,
Nervous, Passionate, Passive, Provocative,
Sensual, Sweet, Tender.

Cindy makes her choices and clicks on OK. As she
puts on her VR suit, and waits for the romance to
start she thinks about telling him the truth
about how much she depends emotionally on her VR,
but realizes that it is just too unthinkable. Her
reality fades out...

A rough approximation of Adam leans closer and
looks deep into her eyes as they kiss. Music
increases in Cindy's head.  It starts with the
notes  prolonged and subtly erotic.

Adam Taylor gets up from his VR unit and walks
over when he hears his bird whimpering.  He
notices that Oakie is crying.

Tears suddenly pour down Cindy's face.  Weeks of
pent-in frustration burst loose as she invites
Adam to enter her secret place.

Adam notices that the bird has dropped its egg
shell hat off.  He looks closer at the nest and
picks out the small pieces of plastic shell.  He
studies them and thinks they could be dangerous
if stepped on by accident.  Even though they are
in the nest they could drop out when Oakie
uncouples from her recharger.  He looks at the
bird now struggling to break off the rest of the
shell.

As the door closes, Cindy takes off her baseball
cap then unbuttons her sweater.

Oakie reaches down with her beak and snaps off a
chunk. Should he help the bird get free?  He
mulls over that for a minute then notices a large
crack on the left side that soon splits
completely and releases the baby bird.  Adam
bends over and picks Oakie up and looks at her
plastic feathers closely for the first time.

Cindy reaches down with her left hand and snaps
off her belt. She looks up and he is smiling. She
grabs hold of him firmly and pulls him towards
her.

Oakie's wings wrap around Adam pulling him
closer. Her wings beat into his shoulders and her
rubber claws scratch harmlessly down his belly as
her beak stretches toward his mouth.

Cindy leans forward to press a Passionate kiss on
Adam's lips. Her head rests on his shoulder and
then she pulls and nibbles on his ear lobe making
him gasp. She bites harder and pierces his skin
with her sharp teeth.  With the blending of her
Vampire saliva and his blood, he is bonded to
her.  By her bite he will never be able to die.
And he will never be able to leave her. Leading
him inside her dungeon, she whispers, "Now we
will be immortal together forever."

Oakie's head rests on Adam's shoulder and her
beak pulls and nibbles his ear lobe making him
laugh. She bites harder and he feels pain.

"Ouch!  No, no Oakie!  Stop it!"  Adam yells as
he yanks her beak away from his head.

Adam puts Oakie down and she runs off and hides
in the closet as He feels his ear slick with
blood.  He presses a tissue to try and stop the
blood flowing.

Adam looks at his ear in the bathroom mirror.  It
is really cut bad and refuses to stop bleeding.
He runs downstairs and as he gets near his car,
it senses the proximity of his ZIP card, turns on
the lights, opens the door and starts its motor.

"Emergency room!"  He says while closing the
door.

The car finds the location of the nearest twenty
four hour emergency hut on its GPS map and steps
on the gas for him.  Sensing other objects on the
road and turning all the lights green on the way,
his car rushes him there in three minutes.  The
car screeches to a stop near the microphone and
camera and opens the window for him.

"Please state the nature of the medical
emergency." The automated Doctor says.

"My robot bit my ear lobe!"  Adam yells into the
mike.

While he watches the camera focusing in on the
wound, Adam recognizes that the doctor's voice is
from the old Voyager Star Trek show.

"Please lean out of the car for a moment."  The
Doctor commands.

Adam does so and is startled by two gripper arms
that hold his head still as a laser cauterizes
his bleating ear.

"Youl!"  Adam yells as the sharp pain hits him.

"Sorry about that, the five milligrams of
Nova spray would have taken too much time."  The
Doctor explains. "There are three other
emergencies coming and we need this parking
space."

Adam's car starts up and pulls off before he has
time to respond.

He hears the Doctor's  voice trail off behind him
saying, "Thank you for using the Clara Barton
Managed Care Medical Hut.  Your ZIP card will be
billed."

Adam fades from Cindy's vision and she feels a
cold chill run down her spine.

"Excuse me, Ms. Erven, but your time has run
out." The Alchemy Game Studios software lawyer
says in Cindy's head.  "You must verbally agree
to the monthly payment to Alchemy  to make this
program fully functional."

"Damn!"  She says out loud. "Is that a verbal
agreement to the payment plan?"  The program
asks.

"No, You should know that by now!"  Cindy shouts
in frustration. As she slowly strips off the VR
suit she mutters to herself, "Damn it, just when
I get to the good part, the demo throws ice water
at me!"

"At the time of your purchase notification, you
will receive a personalized password that removes
these nag messages and unlocks all features of
this Alchemy program."  The computer voice
continues in a monotone.

Cindy turns the VR unit off, drops the cold wet
suit into her hamper and puts on some dry
clothes.  She thinks about her situation.  If I
agree to upgrade from demo to the full thing,
there goes Mat's college money. It would be great
to hear Adam talk with his own voice instead of
the stock one offered by the Alchemy demo. Then
again it would probably be better to ask the real
Adam to plug in and share my VR fantasy. Maybe I
should have been more honest in my compatibility
questions and asked for someone I really need
instead of someone I could tolerate. If all my
money wasn't spent on divorce lawyers I could
even upgrade to a newer unit. Now I have to work
hard just paying the bills for this old suit.

Back in his apartment, Adam finds the bird hiding
in his closet under a pile of shirts she pulled
down over her head.

"You can't hide from me girl!"  He says angrily
as he uncovers the bird, turns it around and
presses the diagnostic button under her wing.

"Good evening Mr. Taylor."  The Adora
Entertainment Softbird technician says.

"What was your motivation in biting my ear?" Adam
asks. It sounds strange to hear a human voice
coming from the bird's beak.

"As you know, Oakie senses your emotions in
several different ways."  The man says out of the
now immobile bird.  "It notices your expressions,
your pupil dilation, your breathing rate and the
speed of your motions.  It also has a voice
sensor to determine your vocal stress level. When
you are not in the room, Oakie has the ability to
pick up on your VR activity through sensing stray
frequencies emanating from your equipment.  This
was the factor that controlled the biting"

Adam thinks about his recently completed VR
experience with Cindy. It might have detected him
nibbling on her ear before kissing her but he
certainly didn't bite it hard.

"I think you need a slight adjustment."  Adam
says while checking out his still hurting ear.
"Calibrate your program and restrict your biting
to non living things."  He commands.

"Modification complete."  The Adora Entertainment
software technician says.

The next morning Adam sees Cindy waiting for the
bus. He greets her but all she can do is stair
open mouthed at his bitten ear. It was the same
one she had bitten in her VR experience!

Unfortunately, there were only a few single seats
left on the bus so she couldn't ask Adam about
his ear.

During a break at work, Cindy decides to revise
her zip info on relationships.  Then she'll be
able to see if Adam is still compatible.  Cindy
Touches her lips just for a second thinking about
the strange coincidence of the ear, then clicks
on his picture to invite Adam for dinner.

Adam arrives downstairs at seven PM.  He brings
his robot Owl along to show it to her and
Matthew.  This is the birds first trip out of the
apartment.

"I know he'd like to see it but I just can't get
that kid away from his game on the VR." Cindy
says while serving stuffed mushrooms.  "I'll just
put his dinner in the micro so he can eat it
later."

"Now then, what happened to your ear?" Cindy
asks.

Matthew Erven is too deeply involved in the GMA
game, Shades of Doom version twelve to stop for
dinner.  In a level where the monsters roam free,
their search for him is intense. It's night and
the dim light of the moon makes hiding more
difficult. The flashlights, yellow beams burst
over the near cliff face, then search the ceiling
of a cave.  It's cold and he is naked, having
lost all of his weapons and armour at the entrance
to this level .  Laying flat on his back in the
tall wet grass, the mutant humans pass near by
Matthew.  There is no defence for him except by
stealth. The nearest searcher pauses a few
seconds then moves on.  Matthew stops breathing
and goose bumps raise on the back of his arms
when the voice of the growling creature gets
louder.  They search in vain. He understands that
their weapons are made of rubber, but when shot
too close, they can really sting.  The thud of
their foot steps beat off to the west.  He sighs
for the time being, his body is safe from their
bruising weapons.  The grass hides Matthew as he
turns onto his belly.  Some of the blades are
short but most are tall enough to hide him. The
sounds of their feet are scarcely heard now. It
takes courage to peek out to see how far they
have gone.  There are three of them and Matthew
is in no immediate danger from being spotted. A
rare deliverance from their attacks. Matthew
crawls on his hands and knees over to where they
had already been, to look for a refuge from their
search.  He examines the cavities in the cliff
face, then enters a wide mouth gash.  It gives
Matthew room enough to stand up and still be
hidden. He hears them coming back.  He is
doubtful that his location is safe from a close
inspection.  Matthew thinks some of the caves are
connected by tunnels but many have no other way
out. The existence of a long tunnel is what he
hopes for after all his efforts to escape. It's
damp in the cave. Hundreds of bats hang off the
ceiling in the gloom. They are perpetually in
motion, breathing and flapping. He hears some of
them swoop down and pounce on the first sight of
food.  The flashlights have attracted flying
insects that the bats gobble down quickly.
Strange noises come from them.  It's the combined
sounds of hundreds of hearts beating and lungs
swelling and relaxing.  Matthew is discouraged.
It's impossible for him to stay here.  But they
are still searching. Matthew sees the lights
fanning outside getting closer and closer. It's
clear that he has no other place to go but
further into the cave.  He finds refuge in a
small notch four feet up in the wall.

In Cindy's apartment, Oakie swings her head left
and right looking up at the ceiling then jumps up
on the couch and watches them eat.

"I've been thinking of our talk about
relationships." Adam says between bites.  "When
you said that you were still hurting from your
divorce and that after a long marriage you
drifted apart. When did you realize that you
weren't compatible?" He asks.

Cindy looks at Adam and pauses eating.  "It was
the socks and shoes.  He had a strange way of
putting them on and taking them off.  At first I
thought it was cute, then after a while, it
bugged the hell out of me. He would sit on the
edge of the bed and lean over and put on his
right sock and shoe first. He would repeat the
process with his left sock and left shoe.  Then
he would slip his pants over his shoes.

"Why did he do that?" Adam asks.

"He said that when he was a child he was afraid
of fires.  He thought it would be better if woken
up in the middle of the night to put on one sock
and shoe then hop outside than to put both socks
and shoes on. He told me he had been doing it
ever since."

"It really bugged you that much?" Adam asks.

"I told him that I would just run out with bear
feet. He refused to change.    I thought he was
deranged and I told him to stop, but he didn't."

She wraps a chain around her wrist, smiles and
continues, "Then there was the other thing, his
tiny feet."

Matthew  examines the ledge he is sitting on.
Luckily it is not inhabited by any bats.  As the
lights drift away from the cave opening, he
gradually hears the chatter of thousands of small
feet echoing around him. and the sound is getting
louder and louder. His skin shrivels at the
realization that the floor is covered with cave
crickets.  Just then, one bat looses its grip on
the ceiling and falls to the cave floor. He hears
the insects swarm over the screeching body.  In
the gloom of the cave, he can just make out that
the bugs quickly strip the flesh off and the bat
is reduced to shining bones.  Matthew realizes
that the carnivorous insects were scared off by
the search lights and now are back to trap him in
the notch. When the crickets are done with the
fallen bat. They settle down to a glistening
black surface covering the floor below him.
Matthew gets the creeps thinking about those bugs
and what they could do to his naked feet if he
tries to run out. He has the horrible thought of
falling asleep then slipping off the ledge and
falling into that mass of creatures unable to
breathe as they enter his mouth and nose while
thousands of pinchers dig into his flesh. So much
for a vivid imagination.  He can feel that here,
alone in this place,  he will die.  In this cave,
death happens so often that there is nothing to
mark its passing.  His cramped little notch is a
sanctuary but only until he becomes too thirsty
or hungry to stay. Matthew wishes he had a trap
door to the top of the hill where he knows the
monsters would not look for him.  He is tempted
by the cave opening, so near yet impossible to
reach.  With his back tight against the wall
Matthew still sees the searcher's lights dimly
fanning outside.  It's clear that he has no other
place to go. Hiding in this hideously damp dark
cave He explores the small notch in the wall with
his finger tips, touching the ceiling above his
head.  Then he reaches behind him. An instant of
dread crosses his mind when he touches a soft
mushy object that feels like an enormous spider.
Matthew is ready to unleash a fury of fists at
the thing but pauses to think.  If it's a spider
he is dead, but if it's something else, something
he can use, then it's worth clicking on.  He
decides to explore it further.  It turns out to
be a mushroom. This could be a food source or the
instrument of his end if it's poisonous.  He
examines the small ledge and there are several
fat mushrooms on it the size of tennis balls.

Oakie starts to whimper as its head swivels back
and forth as if it was seeing something crawling
around the room.  Adam goes over and picks Oakie
up and brings her back to the table.  Holding
Oakie on his lap Adam doesn't see the bird take a
big bite of a mushroom. Oakie squirms off his lap
and runs back to the couch.

Matthew picks a mushroom and tosses pieces of it
up to the bats. They fly over and snatch the
pieces out of the air thinking they are flying
insects.  Now he only has to wait to find out if
they die from eating the mushrooms.

A few minutes later, Adam feels something hitting
the back of his head.  He looks around and sees
Oakie spitting out a little chunk of mushroom
then slapping it with her right wing like a
tennis serve. It flies over his head and plops
down on the table. Cindy is carrying dishes into
the kitchen so he cleans up some of the most
obvious mess that Oakie made before she notices
it.

Matthew starts a long vigil listening for the
telltale thud of their bodies.  It's clear to him
now that the chance of escape is small.  He
wonders if he should call out to attract the
searchers to come back and save him from starving
or being eaten by bugs.  If they decide to kill
him, at least it will be quick.  The bats still
hug the ceiling.  The mushrooms seem to not have
affected them.  Matthew is stricken rigid by the
fear of falling asleep and dropping off the
ledge.  He is famished.  The mushrooms are too
tempting not to try.  He reaches out and picks
one and takes a bite of its smooth surface.  It's
moist and tart but not terrible.  He is tempted
to eat more right away but being careful he
decides to wait and see if the little piece makes
him sick.  He debates with himself how long to
wait to find out the effects of a small taste. He
hears a sharp crack outside.  Matthew is frozen
in place waiting for the searchers to pass.  He
can't move but he must stay alert. Every now and
then he begins to fall asleep and nearly loses
his balance. He thinks of his life outside of
this world.  He wonders if any of his peeps are
the ones searching for him. He murmurs, "If they
are, I'll get those bunches of bad fakers!"
Matthew has sat still so long that his muscles
ache. The sound of flapping catches his
attention.  The bats start to fly out of the cave
by the hundreds.  The incessant beat of their
wings form flying blurs, their little pupils
glimmering like thousands of stars in the sky.
The stench in the cave caused by the bats is
overwhelming enough to cause him to hold his
nose. He has to wait until the air clears.  Has
he waited long enough? His increasing hunger
makes him test the air. It is breathable. Now he
must try to eat some more.  It doesn't appear
that the mushrooms are poisonous. Matthew takes
another bite.  The sight of the bat's yellow eyes
reflecting the flash lights as they flew out of
the cave makes him shiver. Matthew presses tight
to the back wall of the notch trying not to be
seen from the entrance.  It looks like the
searchers will not explore the tunnel. They are
coming and going by, their nearness reflected by
the beams of light passing at intervals.  The
lights make the mass of remaining bats vibrate
and tremble.  The direct light occasionally stirs
the bats.

After a while, Matthew notes a group of
stationary bats sitting in a niche directly
across from him. He can hear a faint squeaking
from them.  Their voices give the impression of a
nesting mother with babies to feed. It's not
bats, it's rats!  They must have come in by a
different route since they could not have walked
on the insects without being eaten.  He can just
barely see their small round eyes glimmering in
the fading search light.

He realizes that the way to freedom maybe at
hand. Matthew gathers the mushrooms until his
arms are filled then starts throwing them on
either side of a path across to the rat  tunnel.
The insects surge towards the mushrooms reacting
like they are falling bats. This leaves a narrow
path clear of them. Matthew springs out of his
notch and rushes towards the other hole in the
wall.  His jumping into the rat infested tunnel
scares them off.  This is good because he can
follow their fading scratching sound in this area
of total darkness. Matthew hears small bones
break under his bare feet but no sign of the
deadly insects.  He is free to slowly explore the
tunnel and does a full circuit of the new space.
His hope of escape dwindles as there is no easy
way out. He gropes the walls, higher and higher,
leaving no place un-searched.  Though the floor
is continuous there are numerous small niches in
the cave walls but they are too small for him to
enter. He can feel the ceiling of the cave a foot
over his head. When Matthew turns around to face
the entrance of this side tunnel, he feels a
draft on his face. This raises goose bumps in the
sure knowledge that there is a way out. But is it
large enough to squeeze through?  Their is a
rustling of tiny feet  further into the tunnel.
He feels a deep notch waste high in the wall to
the right. He enters that passage.  The smell of
damp rat fur is stronger.  As Matthew pauses to
listen, the sound of the claws fade away.  There
seems to be an unbroken surface but the constant
breeze from the bats is intensified in this
narrow tunnel.  Beyond a point the wind stops. He
moves back to where the breeze is on his face.
Matthew feels up a foot. He feels a ledge over
his head. With the agility of a cat Matthew grabs
it and pulls himself up and onto the ledge.  He
squats with his legs cramped underneath him on a
smaller shelf than before.  He takes a breath.
Sitting is impossible for the shelf is only three
inches wide.  There directly above him is an
opening.  Matthew raises his head and feels the
air streaming past.  With his eyes grown
sensitive to light in the complete darkness he
perceives a slight glow from above.  He searches
for a hand hold on the wall and finds a narrow
groove that the rats use to enter the cave
chimney.  He can imagine the rats above him
slipping off the ledges and falling on to his
head.  By feeble fits and starts he climbs slowly
up the impossible sheer walls.  Resting is
unthinkable as he clings perilously to small
finger and footholds.  Some of the cracks and
crevices are slimy, crumbling and a half inch
wide.  He gropes with one hand compelled to
continue up for if he falls, no one might hear
his scream, or if he cries out the searchers will
capture him.  He doesn't know which would be
worse.  The persistence of the fresh air flowing
around encourages him.  Matthew slowly moves up
another foot then looks up and sees an edge above
him filled with stars.  He threads his way slowly
up the last few feet. He reaches out with his
hands and grasps a clump of grass. Matthew inches
upwards until he can extend his arms over the
edge. He feels the cold temperature of the hill
top. His breathing intensifies  as he is almost
at the end.  It's unthinkable that he stop now,
but he is exhausted.  He pauses a few minutes to
recover then grabs the two sides of the hole and
pulls his body out.  He flips on his belly and
holds onto the grass clumps to keep from falling
back.  Safe now, Matthew rolls over and lays flat
panting.  He looks up at the sky and the radiant
full moon. As a beam of light shoots down
circling him, he realizes that his quest on this
level is over.

When Adam looks back at Oakie she is gone.  He
hears a rustling from the fire place.  It's the
sound of the bird squeezing up the chimney trying
to get out. Adam reaches up just in time to pull
her down.  Her wings loosen clouds of black dust
that fall all over Adam. He finally reaches far
enough up to hit the shut off button.

Cindy pulls out her ZIP card from her purse,
thumbs the on switch and smiles at the green
glow.  She hikes up her skirt a little, picks up
the tea cups and comes in from the kitchen.  Her
eyes grow large with the shock at her soot
covered living room.

"What did you do to my apartment!" She exclaims.

I don't know what happened with this dirty bird!"
Adam croaks, looking at Oakie's blackened wings.
"She never did anything like this before.  All I
can say is that I really apologize for bringing
her here."

Adam continues to beg her to forgive him as Cindy
pushes him and the bird out her front door
slamming it behind them.

Before she starts to clean up the mess, she plans
to call her sun for dinner again. Walking over to
her VR unit, she feels a wet squishy object on
the carpet. She picks up and examines what looks
like a piece of her mushroom dinner. Then she
notices two paths of mushroom pieces leading from
the couch to the fireplace.

"Matthew, time to eat dinner." the whispering
voice of his mother rings in his ears.

"Damn, she always interferes with my game!" He
cries out.

He realizes that luckily it wasn't while he was
climbing or the interruption could have made him
fall. Matthew saves his position, sets the omni-
directional treadmill to frozen mode, then still
dressed in the VR suit studded with small
pressure solenoids, walks over to the side and
steps off. As he does, thousands of programmable
friction balls lower themselves on their
telescopic stems turning the rugged hillside of
his game world to a flat surface.  He removes the
helmet, unplugs the nose filter and spits out the
taste generator,  turns off the air system and
slips out of the suit.   He looks his body over
for any bruises caused by the game. He can feel
the strain of climbing the chimney in his fingers
and shoulders but he still looks edgy slim.  He
would have to wait to check the really flight
game sites until he could afford a better unit,
and he wished he was already twenty one so he
could get the chip implant like his mom has.

His cell phone rings and it's one of his peeps
from the game.  They talk about how he got out of
their trap.

Adam gets back into his apartment with Oakie, and
puts her back into the nest. Zap! Crash!
Lightning flashes outside of Adam's house and the
power goes out.  He wakes up with his nose
pressed into the carpet.  He looks up into the
blue screen of his college dorm computer as it
starts to re- boot. Looking out the window, he is
back at the Erindale Campus in Mississauga.

He thinks to himself, was it all a dream, or was
I in the future?

+++
Games for hand/ear coordination
By Gerardo Corribio

  Have you ever wanted a game that would serve the double purpose of (1)
bettering your hand/ear coordination and (2) have fun at the same time?

Crazy Darts, deek Out, and Bopit, all free games do exactly this.

First, though, let's define the term hand/ear coordination: According to the
American Heritage dictionary, coordination is defined as the Harmonious
functioning of  muscles  in  the  execution  of  movements. Though vague, we
can redefine hand/ear coordination for this article as the Harmonious
functioning  of
 muscles  in  the  execution  of  movements proceeded by auditory input.

  Suppose a friend throws an empty coffee can on the kitchen floor, thus
making
a clang sound. The hand/ear coordination required for this example is to
hear where the can lands, locating the clang sound by our hearing it, and
afterwards
search for the source of the clang, finding the coffee can. Though this is a
very basic example, the games being discussed for this review require us to
go a bit further. continuing with the coffee can example, if it were one of
these games, it would require us to instantly locate the coffee can upon its
fall.  Beep baseball is another example in that apart from the words "ready
go" commands, one must hear where the beeping ball is approaching from and
hit the ball with the bat.

  The famous children's Simon Says game is another example of hand/ear
coordination in that upon hearing a verbal command  you follow it. Now that
hand/ear coordination has been explained, let's go with the games and
explain how the hand/ear coordination principle applies to them.

Deek Out, which one can download from
www.bscgames.com/deek.asp

only requires that one's computer have Direct-X8 or higher installed and is
playable without sighted assistance; the game is self-voicing so no screen
reader is needed to play.

Once you launch DeekOut, you're presented with the task of trying to avoid
the computer. Using the right, left, up, and down arrows, move away from the
sound of the computer player
because if the computer gets you, you lose the game. However, one way that
helps you in adding points (to your score is the more you can avoid the
computer the more points
you get.  Is to stay in one place when you hear a different sound from the
computer's. So ready to try and avoid being caught by your computer?

How is hand/ear coordination used in this game? With the act of listening
for the computer and avoiding it, thus moving yourself away requires that
you listen to the origin of the sound and using your hands' muscles and
instantly move away from the sound. Suppose you're walking around the block
and you
hear a dog bark at you. What would you do? Quickly get away from the danger
of the dog biting you, thus this is the purpose of DeekOut, to get away from
the danger of the computer getting at you.

Crazy Darts which can be downloaded from
www.bscgames.com/dart.asp

is self-voicing, playable without sighted assistance and only requires
Direct-X 8 or higher to work.

The purpose of Crazy Darts is to aim and shoot the dart at a randomly-moving
target.  The closer to the center you shoot the more points.  Sound easy?
Pay
close attention to the target's movements because each move is different
from the one before. When you feel the shot is right, press the spacebar to
shoot the dart.

The hand/ear coordination is used in that suppose you get verbal or sound
cues to where you need to throw a basketball? If the cue is more to the
left/right you either wait for it to be more in the center by you moving a
bit or you risk and throw the ball, hoping you get it in.

Remember the Bopit toy popular a few years ago? Jim Kitchen has adapted the
Bopit game for the PC. In case needing a refresher, Bopit involves
twisting,pulling and bopping in different combinations and faster each time.

To download Bopit, which needs a screen reader to run and playable without
sighted assistance, go to Jim Kitchen's page at
www.kitchensinc.net/

From there, go to the Free Windows Games link and you'll see the Bopit link.

Once downloaded, installed and making sure you've got your screen reader
running, launch the game and with yes no prompts, it'll ask you if you want
to read the instructions, if you want voiced commands or tones (I recommend
starting out with voiced prompts), the beginner level you want and finally
you get
to start the game.

Once started in order to  bopit hit the down arrow key, pull it is the left
arrow key, and twist it is the right arrow key. Be quick because one wrong
key or waiting too long, and you lose. Every time you correctly issue the
command the game speeds up faster and faster. When you get to 100 points,
though, it speeds up even more!

The hand/ear coordination used is the same as the Simon Says example; you
get a verbal command and follow it. However if you fail to do it correctly
the first time around, similar to the Simon Says game, you lose.

The Simon game, which is playable without sighted assistance and requires a
screen reader to play, from James Boden site at
http://freespace.virgin.net/jr.bowden/programs.htm

follows this same principle in that you need to hear the sound and remember
what key is associated with the sound. but wait! It goes even further
because it requires the player to hear the sound and remember the sequence.
In that it's the first sound + sound B plus the number of notes you specify
in the configuration with the f3 keystroke.

To remember what key is associated with what sound, you can go into Free
Play mode from within the Game menu.

To start playing the game, press f2 or Start Game from within the menus and
you're all set to play

So want to start working your hand/ear coordination and have fun at the same
time? Enjoy these games!

+++
Encounter In the Worm's Lair.
By Phil Vlasak and others.

This Dungeons and Dragons adventure is in the public Gamer's room
on  Audio-Tips, Sunday night at nine o'clock Eastern time.
Audio-Tips is at:
www.audio-tips.com

Note: This story contains graphic descriptions of violence. It therefore may
not be suitable for younger readers.
Part 1 of this story was published on the Blind Gamers list in December. If
you want to skip it, search for,
Part 2, Underground Enemy

List of characters:
Alustrial, An Elf fighter with Psionic powers.
She can cause great damage with her mind as with her sword.
Shem al Adeen, Holy Warrior of Varice, God of the Sun. Being a man of the
desert, he finds himself in strange surroundings.
Chalk Casselwort, Gnome Priest of Sedric, God of the Heavens and Travelers.
Pledged to help and support the party, his size and lack of strength makes
him reluctant to battle.
Gabriella and NightShade, Elf sisters, Magic User and Thief. Strangers to
most of the group but old friends of Mace.
HeartString, Elf Priest of Liyyera, the goddess of love. His healing powers
are aimed to help broken hearts and bodies.
Mace Knighthammer, Magic User/ fighter. To him, stealth and cunning are
traits foremost in dealing with others If he can get
past his temper.
Molbo, Patriarch of Perasin, God of War. His wisdom does not quite make up
for his lack of smarts, and he likes to fight, too.
Hitomi Reju, Samurai Fighter, Priest of Helandra, the goddess of knowledge
and secrets. His honor is foremost in dealing with
challenges that he takes on willingly. He is master of the edged weapons,
katana and wakazachi.
SpringRight, Elf fighter. He is young but eager to try out battle techniques
learned from his tutors.
Taliesin,  Half Elf, Bard. Prefers to fight with his tongue rather than his
sword.

The Battle begins.
Molbo has his supper and then starts to make a
cheese soup. Shem goes over to see what he is
doing & Molbo asks that Shem put someone in place
of him so he can honour his deity's gift of new
powers. Shem asks and Andy takes Molbo's place.
The cooking site is about 30 to 40 yards downwind
from the group. Chalk comes over to see Molbo at
his pot and asks if this stuff could attract
animals. Molbo doesn't think there should be a
problem. Taliesan comes over to Molbo and inquires as to
the outcome of the pot. Molbo explains that
either he dumps it on his next kill or he must
drink it. Mace and Gabriella continue dagger-
throwing training. He has only lost 1 so far. At
about midnight, Molbo sits down & wraps himself
in a blanket and watches his cheese soup simmer.
At 2 AM chalk and SpringRight notice the earth
shake feeling thumps from the south east. Chalk
starts tooting his whistle. The rest of the group
awaken quickly. The ground is really shaking by
the time all are out of the tent. They can't see
anything, though. Molbo is now on his feet and is
making sure the pot doesn't tip. Edam, Molbo's
yak,  is getting kiddish & soup is sloshing
about. Molbo tries to calm the beast while
keeping an eye on the pot. Taliesan casts an
ARMOR spell on himself. Shem dons most of his
armour. SpringRight and Reju go to see Molbo. Reju
asks Molbo if he's causing the ground to shake.
Molbo doesn't know if his cooking is causing the
trouble.

Chalk has also gotten his bow out. He's in
shooting distance with the Elven sisters and
Taliesan.

A six foot high ten foot wide purple worm breaks
out of the ground. It is twenty two feet long
with a stinger on the end of its tale. It starts
slithering towards them. It has a big maw at one
end. Molbo puts himself between the pot and the
advancing worm. Reju takes up a position next to
Molbo. Taliesan manoeuvres around to get a clear
shot of the worm, but keeps his distance.
SpringRight goes to Molbo's other side and takes
up a position to fight with his sword. The worm
heads straight for Molbo, surges towards him but
misses him, distracted by the smell of cheese. SpringRight running straight
at it,
swings his sword and hacks a big chunk out of it.
Reju runs towards the creature with two swords,
swings his katana  and carves a small gash out of
it's head but then misses with his short sword.
Molbo  swings his really really big axe but just
takes a small slice out of it. chalk  shoots an
arrow that does about the same amount of damage
as Molbo's axe. Reju's katana  hits the worm for
a good slice. But the huge, subterranean
creature's  mouth surrounds Reju sucking him into
itself. He is swallowed whole, partially crushed
inside the worm's gut being slowly digested. Reju
will die in six minutes if not recovered. chalks
second arrow misses the creature. The worm's tail
swings at Taliesin and hits but his armour spell
takes the brunt of the damage. chalk fires
another arrow but it just nicks the worm's side.
SpringRight swings his sword and misses.
talesen's crossbow bolt plunks into the worm with
very little effect. Molbo takes a very big swing,
but his axe cuts through air without hitting the
creature. chalk's second arrow hisses through the
air, bounces off SpringRight's armour and plunks
talesen in the leg. mace swings his bastard sword
and takes a big chunk out of the creature. Shem
ignites his sword and cuts a sizzling slice out
of the beast. SpringRight fumbles slips on a
patch of the worm's blood, falls and drops his
sword. Molbo with another mighty swing misses.
The purple worm, seeing the small creature on the
ground, smashes into SpringRight squishing him. On the ground trying to get
away from the worm,
SpringRight grabs his sword and keeps rolling
away. The worm's  tail hits Shem with a mighty
thwack but the poison stinger misses him. chalk
fires another arrow but misses. Reju, trapped
inside the purple worm attempts to cut his way
out with his short sword but its digestive juices
weaken him, so each swing does  less and less
damage. Molbo spins around and around with his
axe held out, with each revolution gaining
momentum,  until he sinks it deep into the head
of the worm. talesen backs off from the range of
the swishing tail. mace takes a mighty swing with
his sword and  it sinks right through the worm's
skin bouncing off Reju's armour. talesen's
crossbow bolt plunks it in the side but to
little affect. Shem prays to his god and with a
great swing his burning sword sinks deep into the
worm's brain, killing it instantly. At the same
time, Andy runs               in and pokes it
through the side. Reju eventually hacks his way
out of the worm's gut. To celebrate the victory,
Molbo dumps his pot of cheese on the dead worm's
carcass. Reju finds that his belt pouch,
scabbards and boots were eaten away by digestive
juices. His magic healing Ioun stones were in
that pouch and are still inside the dead worm.
chalk uses a healing spell and cures SpringRight
and Reju. Molbo  cures Shem and talesen. Reju
chops at the dead worm looking for his healing
stones until Mace walks over and hands the Ioun
stones to him saying that they rolled out of the
dead worm during the battle. Molbo comes over and
suggest they get going as scavengers will be
coming. Reju wants to know if they should bury
the creature. Gabriella suggests going into the
tunnel it made and checking its lair for
deposited treasures. They could also put the
critter back into the tunnel. Mace goes with
putting it back in its hole. Shem comes up and
inquires as to what we're discussing Andy chimes
in and puts his suggestion in to just move the
caravan. But Reju doesn't want to move. Shem
waves the rest over to join in. Mace suggests
that maybe there is another worm in the hole.
Maybe we should block the hole. Chalk suggests
going into the hole come sunrise. Molbo
disagrees. We should block the hole, but we have
to protect caravan, get it to shaiyo, and get to
Odifferus. Gabriella thinks they need to put some
distance between them and the worm. be it us
moving or moving the worm. They discuss burning the worm
& what critters that may draw. Molbo suggests we
ask Ravin, the caravan leader what he wants to
do. Gabriella goes to seek him out & talk to her
elder sister, Nightshade. Shem thinks there is no
additional danger leaving the worm where it is
and staying ;those who'd want it, won't want us.
Nightshade, Gabriella, and Ravin the caravan
leader come back now. Ravin heads over to Shem,
stops & puts his hand over his nose. Shem
explains in brief ;do we move on or stay? Ravin
seems to think it might be better to move, but
doesn't want to wake all the drivers up. He
decides we should stay till daybreak. We'll move
out with the rising sun. SpringRight still
suggests going down into the hole ;asks
Gabriella, Nightshade, Chalk if they want to go.
Mace, Shem, and Molbo decline due to size &
caravan protection. Nightshade suggests Andy
might like to go ;since he is a smaller warrior.
Andy considers ;how much time do we have before
sunrise, Molbo?

Molbo: maybe an hour or two. Nightshade asks
Molbo to attach her rope to his cooking pot &
hold the rope for leverage as they slide down the
hole. Shem cautions engaging any potential foes
down there. SpringRight offers to go down first.
Nightshade agrees.  Andy, you take up the rear.
Andy agrees and asks SpringRight for his whistle.
Molbo asks if they need light. Nightshade assures
them they won't need it. Chalk asks & Molbo
produces his light stick. Chalk takes it and
promises to return it in good order. Entering the lair.
The small group that includes Chalk, SpringRight,
NightShade, Gabriella  and Andy get ready to
enter the worm's hole. Chalk leaves his bow and
arrows behind on the surface and also puts his
rations on the cart to lighten his load and make
more room in his backpack. He brings his fifty
foot silk rope, daggers and staff for any close
range trouble. Being a Rock Gnome, he has special
abilities such as        Detecting Underground
Features, locating sloping passages, flawed
stonework, and his approximate depth and
direction underground. He has a feeling that his
god, Sedric would want him to do this but worries
that having already used some spells after the worm was defeated, he can not
help
as much as he would like. He knows that if he can
pray for new spells at sunrise, he would be much
more helpful in this adventure in the worm hole.

SpringRight [To Nightshade] Wait until I reach
the bottom before you come down. To avoid too
much noise, I'll shake the rope twice if all is
clear. And if it's not... well, I'll yell up to
you the situation ...if I can. [he smiles
grimly.] [SpringRight thinks for a few seconds.]
SpringRight: Three shakes if I need to be silent,
but it means there is trouble.

SpringRight makes his way hand over hand down the
rope.  Every few seconds he looks behind him to
see what he is lowering himself into. Once he
reaches the bottom, he looks as far down the
tunnel as he can before the invasive light kills
his infravision. Mace thinks to himself "I hope I
don't get 3 tugs I really need to get some sleep
so I can study in the morning" The tunnel
continues at a 45-degree angle for about 60 feet,
then begins to level off. When Spring Right
reaches the end of NightShade's rope (100 feet),
the angle has reduced to about 30 degrees.
Looking with his infravision, it appears to
continue to level off for the next 60 feet or so,
at which point the angle is perhaps 15-20

degrees. Spring Right hasn't seen any sign of
life, but the tunnel seems fairly stable,
although there's a bit of loose dirt here and
there. Since all is clear, SpringRight pulls the
rope twice, and starts moving towards the next
incline. He has his long sword in hand if there
is enough room to swing, otherwise he will be
holding a dagger. He will check to make sure all
of his weapons are close at hand.

At the jerk of the rope Chalk motions the others
to start down the rope, not wanting Spring Right
to get too far without backup. He has his staff
strapped to his belt and his daggers in their
sheaths so his hands are free to use the rope.

NightShade and Gabriella make their way down.
NightShade seems to have little trouble, barely
even touching the rope. As she approaches
SpringRight, she asks if he needs the additional
coil of rope. Space-wise, it's a bit tight for a
long sword, but it's usable. Overall, it's about
5-6 feet wide all the way around.

SpringRight replies to Nightshade that he can
take the rope if she likes, but he has examined
the upcoming tunnel and he says  there is only a
gentle descent ahead. He takes the rope anyway

thinking that there may be worse inclines past
what he has explored. SpringRight looks further
down the gentle incline to see what is ahead, but
he waits there until all in the small party make
the descent. Chalk also reaches Spring Right and
says, "If we run into trouble I may have to pray
for new spells since some of mine were used after
we killed the worm." In the
light cast from Molbo's rock Chalk examines the
walls and ceiling of the tunnel looking for
fissures or cracks that could lead to its
collapse. he looks back to see if Andy is
following. Andy has a bit of trouble getting down
the incline, even with the rope, but he catches
up with Chalk after a moment.

Chalk looks around, and the tunnel seems fairly
stable, but thinks that they probably shouldn't
test that too much. In the light from Molbo's
stone, they can see a good distance ahead. The
tunnel is leading off to the south, and continues
its gradual flattening over the next 100 feet or
so. NightShade tells Chalk that she and the other
elves shouldn't need any more rope from here, but
to keep it handy just in case. Andy says "I think
we might want the rope a bit further... if not
now, then when we come back up."

SpringRight looks at the group, and though he
never considered himself a leader, feels that he
might need to play that role now. SpringRight:
I'll take point again.  Let's move on.  We should
try to move as quietly as possible. Keep in
order.  Keep our eyes open for anything you might
see along the way. Stay alert, and keep your
spells and weapons ready. He gives a confident
smile to everyone, but an especially warm one for
Gabriella. SpringRight starts moving down the
gentle incline with long sword ready.

Chalk looks at the walls to determine if they
were made by the worm or was it a natural cave or
perhaps a tunnel dug by Dwarves. He says, "Since
we are headed south, I think we're not headed
under the lake." He glances down to see if there
are any glittering bits but realizes he would not

know an unfinished jewel unless it was a faceted
one from someone who was eaten by the beast. He
asks, "Nightshade, do you have skills in
detecting treasure? I could pray for a Locate
Object spell if I get some time to do it. I would
have to fix in my mind either jewellery or
weapons."

After the last person disappears, Molbo says a
silent prayer to his deity: 'The flimsy ones are
being foolish. Even though they do not know what
battles they face, let them come away from them
stronger. Then they will be ready to face
whatever the one-eyed things throw at us without
being fearful.' He continues to hold the pot
tightly while

straining his ears to listen for the first sounds
of trouble in the worm tunnel. Reju rests a hand
on Molbo's shoulder.  "No worries my friend.  I'm
sure both your god and my goddess watch over our
friends this night."  Reju will use his rope use
proficiency to double check the rope to make sure
it's secure.  He'll also do a scan of the area
around this hole for trouble.

NightShade says "Do I look like a Dwarf, Chalk?
If something catches my eye, I'll pick it up, but
otherwise, I'm going to be keeping a close eye on
SpringRight in case we need to beat a hasty
retreat." Gabriella adds "Indeed, be careful,
SpringRight. Being underground always makes me
nervous." Chalk looks around and sees that the
tunnel is regular, but not so regular as to be
Dwarven in make. It's definitely not a natural
structure, though. The party continues on for a
few hundred feet more, and the tunnel is almost
flat now. Chalk would estimate that they are
perhaps 75 to 100 yards below ground. As they
press forward, NightShade lays a hand on
SpringRight's shoulder and whispers "Wait...
listen..." SpringRight hesitates, as it's
difficult to hear much of anything with Andy
clanking along behind, but Gabriella motions to
him to be still. Andy

pulls up short (no pun intended), and after a few
seconds, SpringRight can just make out a faint
squeaking sound coming from up ahead. Mace still
drinking the cider wonders if he will have to go
down there to bail out his friends After Taliesan
returns from getting the cider and ale.  He pulls
out a set of pan pipes and starts to play softly.
Stopping briefly he asks Reju when he is to take
the watch and where?  The question is asked  in a
manor that it flows with the music.

mace after finishing his cider and seeing that
Molbo and Reju have things in hand will go and
cut around the worm and see if any new trinkets
fall out. (boredom is a terrible thing).

SpringRight whispers,  "Rats? I hate rats!" He
turns to Nightshade and asks quietly,  "Do you
think those are rats?" "Let's move quietly ahead,
and have your weapons ready."

NightShade replies "Could be. If they are rats,
that's a good sign."

SpringRight says, "Let's move on then, but
quietly." He motions to the rest of the group to
follow. Chalk whispers, "NightShade, what do you
mean a good sign?" He thinks a minute and
suggests, "Is it that rats feed on dead bodies,
or what is left of them when going through the
worm?"

Chalk remembers something and whispers,
"Gabriella, do you have that detect magic spell
memorized? If we run across items in this hole,
the magic ones would be most valuable."
NightShade says: "Rats mean we could be close to
its lair." Gabriella shakes her head and says "I
cast my detection spell on the stones Mace
found."

NightShade then shushes everyone as she moves
forward behind SpringRight. The squeaking gets
louder as they move forward, and NightShade puts
her hand on SpringRight's shoulder. She says
"Listen to that echoing... it sounds like a large
open space ahead. Tread carefully."

Chalk says, "With Molbo's light pointing us out,
I don't think being quiet will do any good. I may
have to pray for a Detect Magic spell myself.

NightShade steps back and bends down to whisper
to Chalk: "A lot of things that live underground
don't have very good eyesight and are very
dependent on                   their hearing.
Rats can see, sure... but they may not be the
only thing up ahead. However, you do make a good
point -- perhaps we should douse the light."

Good idea." SpringRight whispers, "Let's kill the
light and take care as we proceed." Once the
light is doused and his eyes become accustomed to
the dark, SpringRight starts moving forward
slowly. Heeding NightShade's advice, and not
totally trusting his infravision, he slides his
feet on the ground to ensure his next step is not
down a large drop. With the light covered, Chalk
sniffs the air thinking that after smelling the
worm that they battled, he would recognize the
foul stench if there was another worm up ahead.
Hearing Spring Right slide his feet, Chalk
whispers, "If you are worried about pits, we
could tie ourselves together with my silk rope."
At the dousing of the light and the talk of a
large open space ahead, Chalk realizes that they
may encounter side passages and want to identify
the tunnel that they came in, so he reaches into
his pouch and pulls out a Casselwort chalk and
quietly kneels down and places marks on the
floor. He plans to mark their path every ten
feet.

"Good idea Chalk.  Pass me the end of the rope."
SpringRight calls back quietly. Once SpringRight
gets the end, he loops and ties the rope around
his waist. "Good.  I'll be able to move a little
more quickly now." SpringRight says to himself.
"let's keep moving now." He whispers back, "But
let's maintain as much silence as we can, given
the armour we have in the group." SpringRight says
this as he looks back at the Halfling. After
handing the end of the rope to Spring Right,
Chalk passes it to each of the others to hold on
to. He ends up behind Andy with the rest of the
rope looped around his left arm. Chalk plays out
a little rope to put about six feet of distance
between him and Andy to keep out of the way from
the Halfling's possible sword swings.

He is thinking with his poor hand to hand
fighting skills and lack of spells, he would be
least likely to survive a confrontation with
another worm. If they do find treasure with no
beasts to fight he could help in collecting it,
or praying for his lighten load spell to use on
it. After everyone is attached, the group moves
slowly forward, scanning the area with
infravision. As he gets closer, SpringRight
begins to see small shapes moving around up
ahead. Also, they are definitely detecting a
change in the air -- the smell of the cheese is
fading, replaced by the smell of offal.
SpringRight continues to move forward, and now
can definitely make out rats in the tunnel ahead.
A couple run up the tunnel past them, perhaps
following the cheesy odour. The group is now
perhaps 20 feet away from the large chamber Chalk
noted, and indeed they can see that it's almost
spherical, about 50 feet in diameter, with dozens
of rats scurrying around piles of dung. It's very
hard to make out anything else at this point, but
there are certainly no additional worms here --
though there are at least a couple of other
tunnels exiting the chamber that they can see.
"Does anyone want to look around here?" asks
SpringRight. "If not, we should continue down one
of the other tunnels. Any preferences?" Chalk
speaks up, "When the worm eats someone, then the
treasure they were carrying is probably mixed in with that dung heap." And
the other
tunnels could be exits." Thinking a minute, Chalk
continues, "We could explore the other tunnels a
little to see if they head down or up or if fresh
air is coming from them. If they go down, then it
is probably not an exit." He says, "I have marked
the floor of our tunnel with white chalk every
ten feet so we won't get lost. I suggest we
uncover that light stone to make searching this
pile easier." "Sure Chalk, take a look for me as
well." SpringRight says with disgust. "In the
meantime, I'd like to scout out a little ways
down each of these tunnels.  Anyone interested in
joining me?" Gabriella says "I'm not sure I want
to stay down here much longer. Could another worm
be down one of those tunnels?"

NightShade counters "Come on, little
sister... we'd be able to hear it coming.
Besides, Chalk seems to be more than willing to
do the dirty work. Meanwhile, I could check a
couple of the passages. What do you say,
SpringRight?"

SpringRight says: "Let's look up both of them a
ways. Maybe a hundred yards or so.  If you don't
have any preferences NightShade, let's take the
tunnel on the left. We shouldn't take too long
though, since the others will want to get going
once the sun rises." SpringRight looks at
Gabriella: "Don't worry Gabriella, if we come
across something more than we can handle, we will
just retreat back up the tunnel." SpringRight
smiles and pats his sword: "Besides, I'm not too
bad with this." NightShade says "Do you want us
all to go up the same tunnel, or should we split
up?" Chalk says, If you give me that glowing rock
of Molbo's I will stay here and pray for a spell
that will make finding things easier. But please
whistle if you hear any worms coming."
SpringRight ponders the question for a few
seconds: "NightShade, Our strength is as a group.
We have a combination of skills and talents that
make us stronger together, and so I don't think
we should split our numbers. On the other hand,
if anyone could go alone, you could, and so if
you wanted to explore one of the tunnels, that
would be reasonable.  It would need to be your

choice though, but the rest of us better stick
together." NightShade replies "Oh, I have no
intention of going alone ...I was thinking that
if you and little sister went one way, then I
could go with... ah," She glances backwards at
Andy, who is rummaging through his pack, then
continues. "Hmmm...perhaps we SHOULD stick
together." She gestures with her dagger toward
the leftward passage. "Lead on." Chalk says, "I
would not be of too much use going with you
without more spells.  I will wait here but
whistle if you need me. SpringRight frowns and
says, "We should not leave Chalk alone, how about
Andy staying with you?" Andy pulls out a sandwich
and says, "That would

be an excellent suggestion."
SpringRight removes the rope tying him to the
others and the three elves continue down the left
tunnel. After traveling about fifty feet, there
is a loud shout from SpringRight. He has fallen
through the floor landing on his back causing a
slight damage to his arm. He looks around and
discovers he is in a different type of tunnel,
this one is square in shape not round and it
looks like it is carved from solid rock. hearing
the yell of SpringRight, Chalk and Andy head into
the left tunnel and reach the hole in the floor
where Gabriella  and Nightshade are standing
looking down. SpringRight tells them he is fine
then continues down the passage a little until he
reaches a great iron door. Impulsively he tries
opening it but finds it is locked. Heading back
to the hole in the ceiling, NightShade has thrown
down a rope and anchored it to the floor with a
spike. SpringRight climbs up back into the worm's
tunnel. He says there is another type of tunnel
down there, and a large metal door but I think we
need more support if we plan to investigate it.
Before leaving the lair, the group checks out the
other tunnel but finds it flooded by water from
the lake. The five head back out of the worm's
tunnel the same way they got in.

Back on the surface, SpringRight describes to the
others what he found below ground. Since the group has about an hour before
sunrise another
party decides to go investigate the door.

Reju has put on his spare pair of boots and is using his healing stone,
which is spinning above his head.
He wants to join the others, Mace, NightShade, SpringRight, Taliesin, and
Vishler.
They carry down a wagon axle to span the hole SpringRight made which will be
used to anchor a rope.
The six reach the door without problems. the iron door is ten feet
high and seven feet wide and the lock is a little
higher than normal, about 4 feet from the floor.
NightShade listens in before checking for traps
and hears a low rumbling behind it. Taliesin
reveals the thieving nature of the bard by also
listening and hears a constant low pitched
metallic moaning sound. Vishler astounds the
group by saying it sounds like a chain saw or
bulldozer. He then suggests a forge or people
doing metal work. The group thinks that it could
be an iron Golum monster which could do them
serious harm if the door was opened. Vishler is
interested in this discovery and says he will go
with the party the rest of the way to Odifferus
and back here to give the door a full
investigation. They promise to come back after
completing Molbo's quest and investigate more
with a full complement of people. SpringRight
suggests that they search the other end of the
tunnel and when they reach a T in it,
they see a light coming from the left passage.

Back on the surface, Chalk meditates for a while.
Sitting cross legged on the ground, he rises up
in a twisting motion, bowing to the four cardinal
directions. He feels comforted that Sedric gave
him more powerful spells, ones he had not had
before. He was aware that a group went down into
the hole a wile ago but is not sure what they are
attempting to do. He notices the glow of the sun
brightening the east horizon. Chalk walks over to
Molbo, smiles and says, "It's a great day today,
friend Molbo!" Molbo, too, is keeping an eye on
the brightening sky. He doesn't answer right
away. Molbo: It will be a great day if our
friends come out of that tunnel and we get the
caravan to the Elf city. The longer we delay in
getting to Odifferus, the more bad things may be
happening. We have never been without our Sacred
Crock of Cheese. We must get it back as soon as
we can. He looks towards the tunnel's entrance.
Molbo says I hope they come out soon. I do not
think the caravan leader will be happy with any
delays either.

Chalk thinks for a second then says, "I now have
my god's power to help them if they are in
trouble. I will go down and see what is keeping
them and help them if it is needed." Chalk checks
his staff and daggers then slides down the rope
into the worm's hole . Molbo is startled out of
his own musings by Chalk's sudden disappearance
down the hole. He immediately looks for Shem and
intercepts him in one of his rounds. Molbo says,
"Shem, I do not know what has happened, but Chalk
has gone down into the hole. I can only assume
his god told him something. Do you think our
friends are in danger? Chalk reaches the end of
the rope, then sprints to the large open area filled with dung piles.
Chalk is tempted to use his detect magic spell to
locate if any magic items are in the piles, but
he thinks he will have plenty of time on the way
out to discover them. He knows there is a hole
that SpringRight fell through in the left tunnel,
so he enters it cautiously. Chalk is aware that
the group took a wagon axle down the hole so he
looks for something that is slightly warmer than
the surrounding worm tunnel. When he reaches it,
he doesn't see the party so he climbs down the
rope. At the bottom he looks around and listens
for any voices. Just as NightShade starts to move
around the corner, they hear a loud mechanical
noise. The rest of the group sees NightShade dive
backwards into the corridor as two iron gates
descend --one in each of the two "T" passages.
NightShade picks herself up and says quickly to
SpringRight "I must've tripped a pressure
plate... we need to get out of here!" She then
begins to run back toward the rope and waves for
everyone else to follow. Mace who's danger sense
is highly accurate at the first sign of something
going wrong, starts running towards the rope and
then barks out a authoritative go! out! and make
sure you mind the hole! SpringRight raises his
already naturally raised eyebrows and says to
Mace: What do you mean by asking us to mind the
hole?  We need to climb up through it with the
rope. In any event, it looks as if no one will be
pursuing us from this direction. I'll run past
the rope and protect the group from anything
coming from the locked door.

Chalk hearing a loud crash from one of the
directions faces that way and sees the party
moving towards him. He can understand Mace's loud
voice say 'Go' and thinks the party may be
getting away from something rather than fight it,
so he quickly begins to shimmy up the rope. Just
before he gets to the top he sees six humanoid
shapes coming toward him, that seem to be that of
the six party members. Sadly, the gnome's legs
are too short to reach the wall in order to climb
up the rope properly, and he slips and lands with
a "thump" on his backside, taking a little damage
to his pride and rear. NightShade quickly gets to
him and begins to climb the rope herself. The
party hears sounds

of shouting from the passage beyond in the
direction of the locked door. Taliesan is the
next to reach the hole, and he sees Chalk
struggling to get up. Behind Taliesan are Mace
and Vishler, running nearly side-by-side,
followed by SpringRight with Reju bringing up the
rear.

Mace watching chalk fall back into the tunnel
thinks to him self "if chalk isn't up and moving
by the time I get to that opening I'm going to
reach down and toss him up topside" Chalk's hands
had slipped on the damp rope causing him to land
on his butt. "Rats!" he exclaims as he struggles
to get to his feet. In the light of the stone
carried by the party he sees that they are unhurt
and is relieved. He looks around himself to make
sure he didn't drop anything in the fall and when
he looks up, NightShade is already half way up
the rope. As Taliesan reaches chalk he says you
ok?  hold the rope for me and I will shinny up
and NightShade and I can hoist you up together.
Chalk says to Taliesan, "I'm not too bad.  It's
ironic, I hurry to help you and I'm the only one
who needs help!" He grabs the bottom of the rope
to steady it. Taliesan says no problem. as he
grabs the rope. Once he is in the upper chamber
he will ready himself to hoist the gnome  up the
rope, at the same time he calls up telling
NightShade to help

him with the rope so we can hoist the others up
quicker. Once SpringRight makes it to the rope,
he runs a few feet past it, and readies his
sword.  He yells: Climb as quick as you can, and
when you are all up, I'll grab the rope.  If you
all then pull, and I climb at the same time, I
might just get away. Reju, can you help me until
the others get up, and then I can guard your
exit? mace says to SpringRight  I can make myself
invisible so let Reju go and I'll stay with you I
can sneak up last or second to last Mace now
looking at the gnome getting off the ground then
looks at SpringRight and smiles "you never know
what might drop in"

As the party starts climbing the rope Reju draws
both of his blades and waits just long enough for
the others to get ahead of him so he can guard
the rear. SpringRight looks at Mace: Good idea,
but if you are going to go invisible, you better
start now. They are nearly on top of us.

Reju will wait long enough with both his blades
drawn watching the passage they came from.  Then
once the party has safely made it's way up the
rope. He will sheath his blades and climb up
himself.  If Chalk is still being ignored.  Then
Reju will tell him to climb on his back and he'll
climb up. Reju to SpringRight, I've got your
back.  Head on up. Reju says over his shoulder.
Both of you get going before these guys find us.
Meanwhile, back on the surface, Shem looks at
Molbo: "Perhaps.  Chalk was convinced that one of
his prayers would be able to help them, so it
could be that he completed his prayers and went
to offer the assistance they provide."  Looking
around to see who remains above ground, Shem
continues,  "We are still rather weak up here.  I
will investigate, so could you collect Andy, Paul
and Gabriella together?" Shem adds in a gruff and
surly manner, "With only four on the surface our
strength should not be divided on the perimeter."

Shem approaches the hole, but waits for Molbo's
response before lowering himself. Molbo nods. "I
will get the perky one and the little ones. I
just hope that our lack of strength up here
doesn't last too long. Should I get the caravan
leader, too?" Shem nods, and, using the rope for
assistance, walks down into the tunnel. Shem has
some difficulty navigating the cramped hole, but
not nearly as much as Mace had earlier. He lights
his sword, so that he can see when he reaches the
chamber with the dung and all the rats. He
notices no sign of his comrades at this point,
although he does notice chalk markings

along the walls going down to the left tunnel. As
19 he turns that way, he sees a faint light
glowing down in that direction. As NightShade
nears the top of the rope, Taliesan can hear the
shouting of strangers from up ahead coming
closer, accompanied by the sound of running
footfalls. In the confusion, it is difficult to
tell how distant they are or what is being
shouted, but Vishler is about 10 feet behind the
party at this point, and his light shows nothing,
so they are at least 50 feet away at this time.
Taliesan takes a moment to help Chalk to his feet
as Mace and Vishler catch up to him. Chalk plans
to go up the rope after Taliesan, since he
offered to help him. Chalk says if anyone wants a
dust packet he has some. If anyone responds to
his offer, Chalk will throw them one hoping they
know how to use it from past experiences.

Reju will continue to hold his weapons drawn, and
face the direction of the strange voices as the
others start to make their way up the rope.
SpringRight is moving past the group about 10
feet towards the approaching voices. Reju is
doing the same -- they are standing side-by-side
there. Mace opens a packet of Chalk's
Invisibility dust and covers himself with it.
Taliesan is following NightShade up the

rope. After him, it will be Chalk and Vishler.
Shem is looking down the tunnel -- he can't hear
what's happening, but he can make out the glow
from Molbo's stone (currently carried by
Vishler), although he doesn't know that's what is
glowing. Mace will apply the dust packet the same
way he saw chalk do it the last time he used it.
SpringRight prefers to be on the left. Reju will
be next to SpringRight then on his right. GRIN
Since he can fight with both hands. Reju of
course will not take any of the dust. NightShade
finishes pulling herself up through the hole, and
Taliesan begins climbing the rope. Mace is able
to apply the dust to himself as SpringRight and
Reju elbow their way past to face down whatever
might be coming. Shem can just make out movement
in the flickering light of the tunnel to his
left, and he now begins to hear some kind of
commotion as well, though it's faint. Just as
Vishler is helping Chalk to secure the rope
around himself, SpringRight hears what might be a
shouted command from up ahead in a language that
sounds vaguely familiar -- whoever it is is very
close, perhaps just outside the range of the
light stone...

mace standing invisible near the rope prepares to
cast a spell As Vishler attaches the rope to the
gnome, Chalk says "Here is a dust of
disappearance packet, if you sprinkle it on
yourself you may escape notice. It is limited in
time but will allow you to cast spells and still
stay out of sight." When Vishler  takes it, Chalk
will use the hand to hand contact to also give
him some aid, saying "This spell will bless you
and give you more strength." Shem quickly steps
into the tunnel. SpringRight yells in common to
the approaching threat: "We mean you no harm.
Let us leave in peace." He then repeats it in
Elven. Upon hearing the shouted command, followed
by SpringRight's response, Vishler blanches and
says "oh, shit"... At which time the entire area
around the rope crackles with energy... Chalk has just cast his
spell, and Vishler has just finished securing the
rope to Chalk. As Shem moves into the tunnel, the
light grows slightly brighter. He can now make
out two figures in the tunnel ahead. Still with
sword aflame, Shem moves forward. He's being
guarded, trying to move as quietly as possible
without sacrificing too much speed. Feeling the
magic around the rope Chalk quickly thinks what
kind of spell the owners of this tunnel would do
to prevent a group from leaving the area? Spider
web? Chain lightning?

Part 2, Underground Enemy

As Shem continues down the passage, he can make out for a brief instant
that the two figures in
the tunnel ahead are bipedal, slightly smaller
than human-sized. One appears to be helping the
other to his/ her feet. Shem is now about twenty
yards or so away from them, when he hears a loud
BANG from somewhere down below...

Down in the tunnel... The air around the party
crackles with energy for an instant, but it is a
very strange kind of energy -- cold, like the
energy is being sucked from the very air around
them. Then, there is a flash of what might be
described as anti-light --sort of like a bolt of
lightning, but completely light less and with
dark tendrils flaring out. It touches everyone
remaining in the passage, and for an instant,
nobody can see anything. The bolt hits.., ziz,
ziz ziz zap! Chalk and SpringRight are both down.
Mace surveys the damage and yells "Haul him up!
Now!" through the hole Mace is still invisible,
so the rest can't see him. . Vishler and Reju
look to be in really bad shape, but are still
standing. Vishler immediately begins casting a
spell as an invisible someone begins lifting
SpringRight's body. Shem can just make out
someone shouting "Haul him up!" as he continues
his approach. Shem charges full tilt down the
tunnel.  He'll be prepared to cut down the first
biped, but after that yell he's definitely going
to make sure that's not a friend before swinging. Shem doesn't get very far
-- he's only a bit outside of torch range as it
is -- before he can make out that it's Taliesan
and NightShade. Taliesan joins NightShade in
starting to haul on the rope. As those who got
knocked for a loop recover, Vishler says "Those
are Dark Elves! We need to get out of here!"
After that, he seems to be preparing to cast a
spell. Shem rushes forward and helps NightShade
and Taliesan to haul Chalk up. It appears that
Mace is working on picking up SpringRight.

The only person still standing that Reju can see

is Vishler. Chalk's unconscious form is being
hauled up via the rope. SpringRight is being
lifted by an invisible person who sounds an awful
lot like Mace. Taliesan helps nightshade haul
chalk up.  When he sees Shem he tells him to give
us a hand hauling, we have four others down the
hole and something strange is occurring,  I don't
think that it is good. Shem's presence
immediately doubles the combined strength on the
rope,  and Chalk is lifted quickly into the upper
chamber. As Chalk's body is being hauled up, Reju
surveys the scene. Vishler casts some kind of
spell, and Reju turns to him and asks "Are you
ready to run?" Vishler turns to look at Reju
incredulously. "Are you insane? The only place to
run is a dead end, unless you intend to bash your
way through a wall. If my Sanctuary spell worked,
you're in more danger than I." Shrugging, Reju
makes for the rope.  "Okay stay here then.  I
meant flee up the hole. As Reju reaches for the
rope, a hail of crossbow bolts comes in. One just
misses Vishler, and one bounces off Reju, but
another one slices through a gap in his armour.
Reju stumbles to the ground, stunned. Reju cries
out, Damn I hate Drow poison.

As soon as Chalk gets pulled through the hole.
Taliesan takes his climbing rope and ties it onto
the axle and then drops it down to the others in
the other chamber. mace would hope that you would
grab SpringRight first then toss down the rope
for what I think will be Reju

Chalk has been hauled up into the tunnel, and
Shem unties the rope from the Gnome and drops
down into the hole with it. Taliesan pulls out a
second rope and begins attaching it to the wagon
axle. Reju is on the ground, on his hands and
knees, trying to shake off the cobwebs.
SpringRight's unconscious form is now hovering in
mid-air as the invisible Mace grumbles asks if someone can grab and pull
SpringRight up. Vishler
looks at Shem and asks him if he should go up the
rope, or stick around to cast a spell that could
help.

Reju uses the last vestiges of his strength to
stand up and head twwards the rope. Shem's a bit
confused by this situation.  Pulling himself
together he snatches the end of his rope, and
holds it steady waiting to help Reju climb.

"Vishler, I don't even know what we are facing.
I know only that we seem over matched.  (calling
up the hole) Chalk, get Molbo.  You can do little
here!" NightShade calls down,  Chalk is not
conscious. Vishler nods "Dark Elves, I think. I
heard one of them shout something that sounded
like their language, but I can't be certain...
I'd best cast something to protect us all."

out of the nothingness mace says "that sounds
like a really good idea after what they have done
with only one spell all ready." As soon as
Taliesan finishes getting the rope off Chalk's
body, he drops it down the hole.  As he does, he
realizes that SpringRight's inert body is hanging
in mid air. "oh shit! NightShade can you give me
a hand over  here SpringRight is right here!??"

Taliesan understands that there is a time and a
place for diplomacy.  This just is not one of
those times.  He thinks that time is of the
essence right now.  Although he does not know
these adventurers very well he has a respect for
each and does not want to see any one of them
harmed.

NightShade immediately grabs the rope with
Taliesan and both struggle, to slowly brings
SpringRight up. NightShade quickly unties the
rope and drops it down for another member.

Reju gives a loud shout as he leaps from his
crouched position to jump onto the second rope,
but he is having difficulty climbing. Vishler
begins casting a spell, and the party hears a
couple more shouted words from out in the
darkness. Another hail of bolts flies, this time
all directed at the newly-arrived Shem.

One hits him slicing a gash in his leg.
Additionally, something else flies out of the
darkness toward Reju -- some kind of grey blob of
energy that strikes him right in the midsection
while he is halfway up the rope.

Then, there is a sudden bright flash about 60
feet away, and for an instant it illuminates four
dark elves with crossbows trained on the group
and, behind them, what appears to be some kind of
dark fog. After the flash, there are a few shouts
from the darkness...

SpringRight's unconscious form is just BARELY
dragged over the lip of the pit by NightShade and
Taliesan -- bits of dirt and small rocks are
falling on those beneath, but not enough to hurt.

Reju gets hit with the grey blob and is sent
flying through the air like a rag doll. He lands
about 10 feet down the corridor in a heap.

Shem shakes off the effects of the crossbow bolt
and glares down the passage, sword aflame.

Vishler says "I don't have much else that can
help now... I'll go attach Reju to the rope."
NightShade looks down at Chalk and SpringRight
and says "Little sister better thank me for
this..." as she starts digging through her
backpack. Mace sounds like he is preparing to
cast another spell. mace steps away from Shem  who can't see mace
while waving a flaming blade and continues to
cast Taliesan gets one of the ropes and sends it
back down the hole so that one of the party can
use it to get out of there. after Mace casts his
spell he will look around to string up anyone so
they can be pulled up

The ropes are down. One is being attached to Reju
by Vishler, the other is just kind of hanging
there unused. Taliesan prepares himself to help
haul anyone up or lend assistance.  Taliesan says
to NightShade "Should I go get Molbo?"
NightShade looks at Taliesan and spits out, "Do I
look like I'm going to haul anybody up here by
myself? Why don't you cast a spell or something!"

The group left below hears some very excited
voices from the darkness. Shem is the sole
remaining fighter on the ground in the lower
tunnel.  He steps ahead of  Mace's voice and
shouts out, calling the forces of good to purify
the evil ones in an atempt  to turn them.

It sounds like his turning worked, as they hear
running footsteps departing. Then, they hear a
popping noise from the same general area & can
see an icky greenish, brownish mist spreading
out, followed by choking and coughing from the
cloudy area.

Vishler while tying Reju onto the rope makes a
discovery and exclaims, Reju is dead!

Suddenly there is a voice from the darkened area.
A group of humanoid things come out of it & head
towards Vishler, Shem and Mace. Vishler sees the
shadow monsters & assumes a defensive posture,
asking, "Should I continue to tie  Reju up or go
up ourselves?" Shem asks if Vishler knows what
they are & he says No. Mace calls out, Vishler, hurry up the rope!
Nightshade pulls two vials out of her bag, but
determines that Chalk is dead so focuses on
SpringRight, and gives him a healing potion.

Before climbing the rope, Vishler asks if he
should leave the light rock. Shem says No, I have
my sword lit. Mace says he  will turn Shem
invisible as he stands to fight letting the
others time enough to go up the rope.

NightShade tells the others of the fate of Chalk
as SpringRight is brought just barely awake with
the healing potion.

Down below, Mace turns Shem invisible. Shem sees
what looks like grey orcs down the tunnel.
Vishler throws the LIGHT STONE up to Taliesan,
who catches it, before he climbs the rope. Shem
finishes tying up Reju with the second dangling
rope. Vishler with help from Taliesan makes it up
into the upper tunnel. Shem bumps into Mace as he
tries to tie Reju. They do an awesome job & Mace
hollers for Vishler etc. to pull Reju up.
SpringRight now on his feet, will lend a hand in
pulling up Reju With his gauntlets of strength,
SpringRight doubles the speed it takes to pull
Reju up.

It is now quiet down the lower tunnel as The Dark
Elves seem to have disappeared. Mace ties himself
to the rope and climbs up. Then, the group in its
entirety, pulls up Shem. Just as Shem is pulled
up, there is a loud clanging noise from the lower
tunnel. Shem declares, Someone needs to run back
to the caravan & get them going. They discuss
torching the hole, but decide to get the two
bodies out first. Vishler takes the light stone
and heads for the caravan. SpringRight picks up Reju and starts heading out
of the tunnel. Nightshade unties, coils the ropes
and heads after him. Mace plasters some of
NightShade's oil around the axel  on the upper
tunnel hole and drops the rest down to the lower
tunnel. He ignites the oil then picks up Chalk
and leaves.

Vishler climbing out of the hole, alerts Molbo to
the situation. Molbo takes off to warn the
caravan & runs into Gabriella. He urges her to
get them moving. She does her best to hurry them
along & Molbo races back to guard the hole.
Taliesan and SpringRight get to the top of the
tunnel and note that the caravan isn't moving.
Taliesan does his best to get things going. He
tells Fimbert that they may be pursued and
Fimbert gets things together rapidly.

Underground, the rest of the party reach the
large open space that is the worms lair. They can hear faint voices from way
behind. On the surface, SpringRight lays Reju's
body a little ways outside the hole. He searches
Reju's body for his healing stone but can't find
it.

Below ground, Mace, Shem, and Nightshade are crossing the large worm's
chamber. Shem re-draws his sword Mace says he
wants to check out the dung piles first for Chalk
was sure there could be magic items in it.
Nightshade will keep an ear down the tunnel to
see if she can understand what the voices are
saying. Mace said he ignighted the axel to make
theDark Elves  exit from the hole more difficult.
After a bit, Mace finds a silver piece in the
dung. A couple minutes go by & Nightshade hears
faint voices & now footsteps coming at a decent
speed towards them. Shem tells Mace to place a flask of greek fire on
the ground & for Nightshade and Mace to head up
the tunnel.

Meanwhile, back on the surface, Molbo wants to
know where the enemies are when Nightshade comes
up. She explains that Shem and Mace are setting
up a bomb to stop their progress. Molbo steps
away from the hole and goes over to see what
SpringRight is up to. SpringRight asks Molbo to
help him lift Reju into a wagon.

Down in the lair, the dark Elves emerge out of
the tunnel into the chamber.
Shem tosses the Greek Fire at them and turns
visible. They shoot a LIGHTNING BOLT at Shem who
takes a massive hit. Shem is badly shaken, but is
still on his feet, so he takes off out of the
tunnel at full speed while the heaps of dung
burst into flame behind him.

Molbo helps SpringRight get Reju's body into a
cart. Mace carrying the dead Chalk, and finally
Shem emerge from the tunnel. Mace dumps Chalk in
the wagon with Reju. NightShade unfastens the
rope from the cooking pot and coils it up, and
Molbo stores the pot on his yak. The caravan
takes off a bit earlier than expected. Molbo
gives SpringRight a CURE moderate WOUNDS spell
that helps heal him. Paul gives Shem a cure light
wounds spell but it only helps him a bit. Vishler
rides up & warns Shem of possible Dark Elf
raiding parties coming after them at night. Shem
wishes his TURN EVIL was more effective ; he
thinks his deity doesn't trust him enough yet.
They discuss the nature of the Sciences that may
play in a battle. Shem questions how Vishler will
report this incident. Vishler: Your party was a
bit fool hearty after hearing the loud noises
behind the door. You were going to go back down
there after Odifferus, etc. etc. Shem's response
is very stole. At lunch, Molbo will give his last
Cure light wounds spell to Vishler. Molbo is
tired, but will keep vigil on the camp while
others rest. Ravin, the caravan leader, goes to
see Shem who explains what happened. Ravin
expresses his concerns about this groups ability
to keep watch on the caravan. He doubts Glar's
wisdom in hiring us. Ravin: I am reconsidering
having you continue as our guardsman after
Shaiyo. Shem: You will do what is best for your
business. They renegotiate ;we'll stick with
Glar's agreement to reach the city of Shaiyo. Ravin: I am unwell to
commit to anything beyond that. Ravin: You will
get 5 gold pieces per day for this half of the
journey.

The caravan makes it as far as the next lodge
without any difficulty.

At the Lodge.

The caravan arrives at the lodge at about 4 PM.
Taliesan goes to clean up. Paul gives Vishler and
Shem each a Cure Light Wounds spell. Mace asks if
anyone has any more healing spells. Molbo and
Paul say no luck. SpringRight and Taliesan are
down at the water. The rest go inside the inn.
Molbo finds a cot in a corner of the lodge and
rests. Shem looks about and sees a well-dressed
female elf among the others in the lodge. Their
is also an Elven cleric ;neatly dressed with a
heart medallion with an arrow through it.
SpringRight returns and sits near Gabriella and
chats. He's not feeling particularly well. Andy
and Paul are willing to take watches at Shem's
request. Molbo is willing to help if needed, but
is not alert as he should be. Taliesan when he
returns to the lodge, looks well rested. Shem
also goes to see Gabriella for her guarding aid.
Gabriella: I only cast 1 spell.

I shouldn't need more than a little time before
breakfast. I can take a watch early in the
evening. Nightshade chimes in her okay as well:
Yeah, we do need help. Nightshade and Mace can
help in an early watch. Nightshade tells them to
rest. We may need you tomorrow. Mace hopes he can
get some healing in the morning. Taliesan notes
the 2 well-dressed Elves. He introduces himself
to the female elf who is preparing a stew by the
fire. He tells her of his mission. She isn't
particularly interested and they part ways.

Taliesan is about to go to the male elf, but he
has            since walked out of the lodge.
Nightshade asks Taliesan about the female elf-
Nightshade says she'll have a chat with her. If
there is something going on in Shaiyo, we need to
know about it. Nightshade chats with the female
and tells her of the Dark  Elves we encountered.
This peaks the stranger's interest and she'll
need to get a message to their king in Shaiyo.
She offers her sword. Nightshade recommends she
talk to SpringRight about our mission. She
suggests she join the group to chat. Andy & Paul
are out on their watch. Nightshade introduces
Alustrial to SpringRight and Gabriella.
SpringRight introduces Mace, Vishler, Fimbert.
SpringRight tells her of all the monsters we
faced and the Drow underground. Alustrial's still
very concerned about how close the Drow were,
despite being underground. The elf priest comes
in and noticing the injuries of several group
members, offers his services as a healer. His
name is HeartString, Priest of Liyyera, the
goddess of love. SpringRight asks if he has
Resurrection. HeartString: alas I am too young.
SpringRight says Mace is the spokesperson of the
group if HeartString is looking to join.
HeartString mentions that he is on his way back to his home temple in
Shaiyo. Meanwhile, he has many healing powers that he could share,
and also does marriages. He says this while
looking at the two elves sitting together. The
group banters about SpringRight and Gabriella.
Ultimately, it is suggested that the priest join
as there is safety in numbers. The conversation
turns to things going on in Odifferus. While the
party talks of who gets HeartString's healing,
Alustrial heads to sleep. Gabriella settles down
to study spells before taking a watch.
HeartString gives a Cure Light Wounds spell to
Mace, SpringRight, and Vishler, and a Cure
Moderate Wounds spell to the sleeping Shem.
Taliesan checks on Paul and Andy ;all okay ;just

disappointed nobody wants to go to the desert to
help with their quest. The next morning about 4
a.m. (sunrise) SpringRight and Mace on last
watch. Shem asks SpringRight about the 2 new-
comers. Mace asks SpringRight of the female elf.
SpringRight seems to think there is more to her
than just a hired sword. Mace wants to test her
skills in Shaiyo. There we will need to take a
couple days rest. Shem thinks Molbo will want to
press on. Shem goes to do his prayers. Over the
next hour of so, the rest of the party begin to
stir. Molbo and Vishler are up to pray at 4. The
Rest of the caravan are up at 5 for breakfast.
The Caravan is planning on leaving at about 6
a.m. Alustrial comes to see SpringRight. I am
willing to join your group. Molbo walks around to
see who needs healing. Molbo heals Shem,
SpringRight, and Vishler. Molbo and Shem go to
meet Alustrial & HeartString. The main party will
discuss how long we stay in Shaiyo.

SpringRight introduces Molbo and Shem to
Alustrial. In the discussion of Alustrial's sword
skill, they learn of her psionic abilities.
Ravin, the caravan leader comes over to Shem: Are
you prepared to move out? Shem: Yes indeed e are.
Ravin: We'll be leaving in no more than 15
minutes. HeartString introduces himself to the
caravan leader who accepts his coming with us. On
the Road Again We will discuss if the 2 newbies
will join the

group in Shaiyo. We leave at about 6 a.m.
32 HeartString is riding a small one horse
carriage which has 2 seats behind him. He rides
between the forth & fifth wagons. Ravin: We want
to balance HeartString & Talisan's vehicles. His
is just back of center,  Between sixth & seventh
wagons, don't want any weak spots. Alustrial has
her own steed and rides near the front of the
caravan. The morning passes uneventfully. At
lunch Ravin informs Shem that if we keep up this
pace, we'll arrive at Shaiyo in about 4 to 5
hours. Shem comments to Ravin, no patrols? Ravin:
The patrols don't go beyond a few miles beyond
their borders. Shem: no farms or life further out
than the 5 miles? Ravin: Not that I'm aware of.
The city is pretty unusual. You'll have to see it
for yourself. Shem nods & Ravin goes back to his
duties. Taliesan comes to talk to Shem about our
mission. Taliesan: My plans after this are
unsure. I want to see the King of Shaiyo, but after that, no plans. I'd like
to learn more about your mission.

Shem: We'll be moving on towards Molbo's
home country. I do not know what is going to
happen after that. With us losing a couple
members, we'd have some room. It will be a rough couple of weeks, though.
Taliesan: I think we'd be willing to come. My
wagon can carry some of your supplies to make the
journey easier. Shem: I travel light. I do not
know about the others. What other skills would
you bring besides your copious liquids to cheer
us. Taliesan: I can assist with gaining secretive
info. I can sing well. Fimbert is a skilled
huntsman. Shem: (brightens at mention of the
huntsman) If you insist, you would be welcome.
Taliesan: I am in it for the adventure. I want to
learn more of the area. I want to know what
Odifferus has in store. They part ways with the
understanding that Taliesan will be coming with
the group.

The party sets off and after travelling 15 to 20
minutes, SpringRight spots 3 figures standing
alongside the road ahead. They are on horses &
potentially elf sized and shaped. SpringRight
signals to Molbo who slows down to allow
SpringRight to approach the figures. Alustrial
will also come forward to greet them. They don't
respond to SpringRight's hail, but Alustrial
recognizes one of them as Logo. They have a brief
exchange and Qually is sent back to alert the
King of their approach and the exchange of
serious news. Logo wants to go back and see Glar.
We tell him that Glar is no longer and he shakes
his head. He starts heading back to the caravan.
They meet Molbo and then continue to the cart
with the caravan leader. Logo: Twan, stay at the
front of the group while I go talk to Ravin. Twan
assumes a position parallel to Molbo. Logo  rides
up to the cart, nods at Shem. Alustrial explains
that there are several spokespeople ;Shem is one.
Logo rides over to greet Ravin. Logo: I am sorry
at your loss of Glar, I knew the previous caravan
leader well. We will escort you if you wish.
Ravin: If you like, you can speak to Shem about
all the monsters we faced. I just want to get the
goods to Shaiyo safely. Logo rides up around the
back of the wagon to come up beside him. They
chat and Shem tells him of the Drow a day and a
half from here, the worm, and how we came upon

their lair when ensuring no more worms were
coming. Logo indicates that this is closer than
they've been thus far. Shem doesn't want to go
into too much detail as he doesn't know the elf.
He will give all details to the King. Logo
assures him that an audience with the King will
be arranged. Shem notes that Logo wears a Holy
Symbol, but doesn't recognize it. They discuss
the role of Vodyus & Varice. Alustrial was able
to get her message through and get one in return.
Logo & she discuss the Dark Ones. Perhaps
something more is going on that they are so
close. We're heard that there've been
disturbances to the South. If they are from the
North as well, this is ill indeed. Some force has
arrived on the scene that has driven away the
wildlife. It is quite powerful & evil in nature.
We wanted to send folks to investigate it, but no
decisions have been made yet. She tells Logo of
the groups going on to Odifferus and beyond, but
would give no details. Logo: We will see what
comes out during the talk with the King. We must
determine of they are up to investigate on our
behalf. If not we'll send our own party. The
caravan travels for a couple hours without event.
Shem calls out to Twan: are we almost there?
Twan: Yes, I can see its outline now. SpringRight
sees a medium-sized dot of greenery in and
amongst grey, white and brown surroundings. It
looks like someone took a southlands forest
;maybe 2 miles on a side ;and plopped it next to
the lake. It sticks out from the rest of the
surroundings disiduous trees. The third elf
returns and heads to Twan first. Qually: The King
wants to have an audience with the group. You can
go back if you like. (She then rides on towards
Alustrial and Logo) The King wants an audience
with this group for first thing in the morning.
He is quite upset regarding the closeness of the
Drow. Alustrial, you should deliver your message
immediately. To Logo: The King has invited the
entire group to stay within the city. It is not
something that is done very often. Qually rides
back to let the King know they have accepted the
invitation ;a place will be presented to you by
sunset.

Logo goes to Ravin, the caravan leader: Wait
here. We shall bring bearers to take your goods
into the city. We will bring ours out on the
morrow. Ravin calls a halt. HeartString will go
back to his temple to see if he can join in on
the audience with the King. Ravin comes over to
Shem and hands him a sack. Ravin: As we agreed,
here's the pay I promised, 330 gold pieces. We
will be remaining here for the next couple of
days. We do need to be getting back to Tommard
soon. Shem wishes him luck. Ravin: I would be
open to your group accompanying us back. Mace
wants a message to get back to his homeland.
Ravin agrees

& Mace will draw it up for you. Shem pays each
member equally, Molbo, Mace, 2 Elven sisters,
SpringRight, and himself. Mace mentions the
machinery sound to Shem that was behind the door
underground. Shem: We can discuss this more with
the King tomorrow. Alustrial approaches Shem and
Mace: I  must go deliver my message forthwith. I
will be very interested in your adventure. I may
wish to come with you as you are headed South.
This, after what news I heard from the city. Shem
asks if there is a temple to Varice in the city.
Alustrial tells him there is a shrine on the
eastern edge. Nightshade asks if outsider elves
are allowed in the city or should we wait outside
with others? Alustrial: No, you may come in. It
is very different from your city-style.

Taliesan: What about half-elves? Alustrial: As
you are not quite a member of this party & thus
the invitation hasn't officially been extended to
you. I will allow you to come in. But I must
accompany you. Taliesan accepts graciously.

Alustrial "warns" Nightshade not to practice her
"art" inside the city. Nightshade is mock-
shocked. I shall not do such things in such a
fair city. I shall let Gabriella & SpringRight
know. Twan "suggests" that Alustrial deliver her
message. Alustrial heads towards the city.
SpringRight asks Alustrial if there is a Shrine
to the god of travelers. Alustrial: We have a
shrine at the entrance to the city. Taliesan
speaks up and offers to say a few words about the
deceased. Molbo says that Reju is happy now.
Vishler: perhaps since we are on mission for the
temples ;maybe they'd bring them back? He then
asks if he can take part in the

meeting as well. Vishler tells
Molbo he wants to continue to Odifferus & Molbo
is okay with that.

In the Elven City After Taliesan makes his pitch
to join the group Vishler talks to Shem and Mace.
I will go with you if you agree to check out the
drow tunnel after we take care of the Maluur in
Odifferus. This took place underground with
Nightshade, Mace, SpringRight as witnesses. It
was a deal I'd only made with Reju. I want to
know where you stand on aiding me with this after
the current mission. Vishler wants the group to
come back and tell him what happened in the city.
At sunset, Logo comes back to invite us & our
mounts into the city. Andy and Paul are asked to
stay with Fimbert. The subject of the dead ones
comes up. eight of the group eventually agree to
go. When the group approaches the forest, they
definitely feel a slight tingling sensation in
the air. When they cross through the trees, the
temperature shoots up to seventy five degrees.
The amount of activity also is dramatically
increased. The trees are interconnected by
platforms, rope bridges, ladders, etc. None of it
is on the ground. Shem asks Logo how it is so
warm.

Logo: We don't keep it this warm. The rest of the
world changed to be colder. It is a long story.
Perhaps one of our bards can tell the tale later.
Logo lowers a ladder to the group. They all make
it up the ladder with some minor slips. The party
is  thirty feet off the ground when they reach
the platform. Molbo asks if they will get wet
seeing the easily made holes in the leaves
surrounding the sleeping area. Alustrial assures
him they will be dry. We are well protected.
Logo: We will meet with the King tomorrow morning
after breakfast ;8am. Someone will be sent. Logo asks if
Alustrial will stay ;I will for for some time.
Taliesan has a written message for the King. Both
Alustrial & Logo are taken aback by this. It is
against protocol. Taliesan: it is a message
requesting a diplomatic audience with the king as
representative of Taliesin's kingdom. Logo: I
shall take your message to the council and see if
one of them will speak to you. He then stuffs the
message into his belt. He descends the ladder.

Alustrial whirls on Taliesin and rebukes him for
overstepping his bounds. Taliesin explains
apologetically that he was doing his duty in the
most efficient way possible. HeartString says he
can contact one of the dead members to ask them
some questions tomorrow. And suggests the members
think of which would be most needed. Alustrial
"asks" if Mace wants to have their sparring
session. Mace is hesitant but Shem is game. Molbo
wants to watch the session & tags along.
Alustrial is very strong in her sword arm. Her
speed is good. She wears a very fine chain mail
armour. Shem is injured in the match but gains
health thanks to Alustrial's expense. He sees
wounds open up on her body as his  quickly
vanish. Shem is shocked. Mace shares in the
feeling.

Vishler checks things out. Alustrial then "heals"
herself. She assures the group that one who is
evil only uses her special healing power in
reverse. Vishler wants to experience it himself
and Alustrial offers to "show" him. HeartString
asks about her healing power. Alustrial:    ?
;the power to do this comes from inside. I must
"recharge" before  I do it again. Molbo expresses
his concerns about this ability putting herself
in danger during battle. Alustrial assures Molbo
that she has other abilities to use. HeartString
gives SpringRight a Cure Moderate Wounds spell
and he's almost back to full strength.
After all that, Alustrial looks a little green
around the gills. The next morning* Twan comes to
the tree. HeartString asks us again if we have
questions for the dead ones. Molbo says we
already know what killed them & so we do not need
to ask them questions. The rest agree. Shem asks
of etiquette points. do not speak unless asked to
do so. ;I think this may be an open session, tho.
Standing upon King's arrival. Do not interrupt
those who are speaking. Taliesin ;how shall we
address the King & councilors? Twan: Address
councilors by their given names & the King as My
Lord. The group gets to the tree and climbs sixty
feet up by ladders that are already in place.
There is one table ;Logo already there with a
couple of other Elves. There are Seats set across
from the table. Twan gestures the group sits in
these ;audience style (4 rows) Alustrial already
there & seated in this group of chairs. Twan
leaves the chamber as the party takes their
seats. They chat as a few other elves either.
Seated separate from table and audience chairs.
At 1 end of the table there is a very elderly
looking Human man with a bandage around his eyes.
Molbo recognizes him & mentions this to Shem, Name of FaSeer ;says a lot of
strange things, but knows a lot. A gong is heard
& a young elf steps forward and announces the
King's arrival. All in the room rise in
acknowledgement that Lukeon The King arrives: he
appears quite young for an Elven monarch, has
golden hair, fairly short yet wavy, carrying some
kind of scepter, decked out in very bright green
robe with nice embroidery, looks uneasy as he
takes his place at center of semi-circle table.
Lukeon makes a downward motion with his hands &
the council & we sit. He addresses the assembly.
Lukeon: I received a Message from Alustrial from
the East: much strife. It is spreading & it may
be north of us as well. There may be Dark Ones as
well near us. He asks for 1 among us to tell of
the Dark Elves.

Mace tells the assembled of the experience in the
purple worm's lair. One councilor wants to know
if we have any idea of how big the complex may
have been. Mace cannot elaborate & asks
SpringRight to fill in the details. SpringRight:
We only saw a small amount of their tunnels. They
were quick to react. Logo: Could you tell if they
had any connections to any other goings-on in
this part of the world? Alustrial points out that
Vishler may have more info. Vishler rises and
steps forward: When I listened beyond the door &
heard something of what the others heard: The
sound put me in mind of machinery at work. I have
never known the Dark Ones to use such devices. I
think this may indicate they are in cooperation
with another party. I do not know who that'd be,
however. I could make a better guess if I knew
what they were doing. Lukeon: We will get to
that. Is there anything else to bring forth.
Molbo brings up the One-Eyed Things & this seems
to please the King. Lukeon: You know of the
Maluur then. Shem explains in brief on how we all
came together in Nazivonema.

Lukeon The King tells us that the land of PeLing
is experiencing the same fighting situation as
Odifferus. He says that FaSeer may shed further
light on things. FaSeer rises & then addresses
the assembly. The Maluur's destruction of the
Nexus at Shall I'vor is only the beginning. They
are still fighting to get the nexus under Thair
Mountains. And they are now trying to take
control of the nexus near Odifferus. He then
explains their origin. The Maluur want to control
all nexus magic on Ardrana. They can be defeated:
I will tutor those who will face them. I do not
know who their current master is. He controls
them from a great distance. I would like to
travel with you in an endeavor to destroy the
Maluur. He then returns to his seat.

Lukeon asks Alustrial and grants HeartString to
go with the party. Molbo asks why they want the
crock of cheese. FaSeer says it protects Molbo's
people from the Maluur's power. That is why they
fight amongst themselves. The group all in their
own ways accept the mission. The King says they
should leave as soon as possible  but tomorrow is
okay for them to leave as FaSeer will be able to
join them then. Lukeon dismisses the council &
they leave. Logo stays behind and wishes the
group all luck. Lukeon tells the group to make
lists of what they require of a magic nature to
help them in their defeat of the  Maluur and give
them to Logo. That afternoon, Logo returns to the
group with a young elf, carrying a couple of
baskets. First, he addresses Mace: "Friend, I
would gladly grant your request to learn spells
among us for this trip, but time is short. I have
therefore brought for you three scrolls of a
power that may suit you. Do with them as you
wish." Logo then hands Mace a small bundle.
Assuming you

open them later, you discover that they contain
the spells Fly, Lightning Bolt, and Protection
from Evil, 10 foot Radius. Then, Logo turns to
HeartString. "Your faithfulness is appreciated by
our people, and by the High Priests of all
Shaiyo. For you, a measure of protection is in
order." Logo then hands HeartString a Cloak (this
would be a Cloak of Elvenkind). He then turns to
Alustrial. "Your prowess in battle and in the
mental disciplines is known. Your requests for
equipment of an archer were therefore the cause
of some confusion. However, we gladly will grant
this small boon."

With that, Logo hands to her a rope of climbing,
in case you didn't guess). Alustrial looks at the
60-foot long rope which is as thin as a slender
wand and weighs three pounds. When held at one
end, Alustrial  can command the rope to snake
forward, upward, or downward at 10 feet per round
and attach itself securely wherever she desires.
It will unfasten itself and return in a similar
manner. The rope can also be commanded to knot
itself at one-foot intervals making climbing
easier. Logo then turns to Taliesin. "Would that
we had a Harp such as you requested, but I know
of your fondness for stringed instruments.
Hopefully, this will be a suitable substitute."
Logo then hands Taliesin a small, three-stringed
instrument -- a Fochluchan Bandore. The harp
allows Taliesin  to Cast many spells including Faerie Fire, which
outlines objects or creatures with a pale glowing
light. It can also allow him to use charm spells more effectively, and has
the powers of levitation and invisibility amongst others.

 He then turns to Molbo. "I understand your
desire to get back to your people quickly. We had
thought to provide you with Horseshoes of Speed,
but we have none that will fit your steed, nor
that of Shem. Fasir, it seems has discovered a
rare incantation that will allow great numbers to
be teleported. He is in his chambers, researching
this magic, so that he

might transport you all immediately to Odiferous.
In addition, since your mighty ax is already
enchanted, we shall, with your permission, add to
its power by allowing it to glow with a faint
light in the presence of Evil on command." Logo
then turns to Shem. "To you, as to the others, I
will relay a message from Fasir: 'Strength
against the Maluur will not avail you. They
cannot be harmed by weapons unless they are
enchanted.' We know of your blade, and that of
Alustrial, and of the ax of Molbo -- if there are
still any of you who carry no enchanted weapons,
speak now, and they will be provided. Also, for
you, Shem, this item was chosen." Shem is then
handed a Ring (a Ring of Blinking,

to be precise). When Shem issues a verbal command he will be able  to
teleport from one point to another at a random time and in a random
direction, so attacks against him
would automatically miss after he has blinked. Logo then turns, finally, to
SpringRight. "Since you asked little, you will receive what you need." Logo
then hands SpringRight two quivers of magical arrows. I will enumerate
to you what they are, as there are several kinds,
20 in all. Logo also hands SpringRight a plus 1
shield. Finally, Logo addresses the group as a
whole. "Your safety is tantamount -- you must
reach the Nexus safely. Shem suggested a
particular item, which we will provide. This will
keep you from the view of enemies while
encamped." Logo hauls out a large, packed-up tent
(a Mist Tent). On a command word it will set
itself up, and repack itself. When the flap is
closed it turns invisible from the outside and
raises ten feet into the air. From the inside the
walls look like opaque white mist and the fabric
is fireproof. "Finally, one item that should be
of benefit to you all, as requested by
HeartString."
Logo hands to the priest a wooden Staff -- a
Staff of Curing, to be exact. "All of the Elves
of Shaiyo wish you well on your journey. Our
future may well hang in the balance."

Shem: "Your generosity
knows no bounds.  Your sage advice, powerful
gifts, and hospitality will prove essential when
the time comes to eradicate the evil from this
land.  May Varice send his warming rays down on
your lives, and the light of goodness never fail
you."

Molbo's eyes open wide as he hears of how much
shorter the journey to Odifferus will be.

Molbo: "We cannot rid this land fast enough of
this terrible evil. To detect such things before
they know their enemy approaches is a VERY good
thing!" (he pumps his fist in the air, then
pauses and looks at Logo) "Where shall I bring my
ax to be enchanted?"

Mace, after taking the scrolls says "with these
scrolls that I am accepting I hope to conquer all
foes of this land."" these tools that you have
bestowed onto me will assist me with the
challenging task ahead. ""I thank you for your
generosity." HeartString says, Logo, would you
please thank his magisty for his gracious gifts.
The Cloak of Elvenkind will truly allow me to
heal the others while lessening the chance I will
be attacked myself. And this staff will indeed be
of great help in healing our party. I would hope
to know how potent a thing it is. I have heard
that some staves can be used up to twenty five
times before needing a high priest's attention.
Alustrial: Thank you my friend.  The generosity
of our king and our people is with out bounds.  I
will treat this gift with the up most reverence
thank you. Taliesin Accepts the instrument,
eyeing it reverently.  He bows respectfully, I
thank you for your generosity.  Please pass my
appreciation on to the king. Looking down
Taliesin says "I

carry no enchanted weapons, as well as my
companion, fimber. Molbo listens to the rest of
the party as they thank Logo for their various
gifts. He seems pensive as he stares at the
bundle that was identified as the tent that would
keep us from enemy sight. Molbo: "I am curious
about that tent, Logo. Will it keep our animals
from being seen as well as ourselves? It is a
very good gift, but if our animals cannot be
hidden, they will give away our position." He
looks at Shem for some support as he seemed to be
the one to suggest the idea. "Shem, our mounts
are a most certain giveaway if there are evil
things that know us and follow us. We must
protect them." He turns back to Logo. "I do not
mean to seem ungrateful for the gift. I do not
want to see my faithful m