BENEATH the LUNAR SPECULUM

After laying Daziel to rest and returning Van to life, the Company of the Wolf rests in the cavern outside the Darkcrypt.

There they take stock of their situation.

Velm: "Cousin, thank you for coming back to get me. Clangeddin may not have been guiding my axe this day, but what he withheld in accuracy he gave me back in strength, and cunning and wisdom for us all."

Hnaef: "I too am thankful...long have I heard legends that the Upperlight is populated only by evil and selfish despoilers. Now I see that the legends are wrong. Yet I must admit...the prospect of this 'daylight' you speak of is terrifying indeed."

hrmph

I think I've got post-departum depression.

I liked being a ghost.

Velm: shakes his head "You're an odd bird, Snowcap."

Before we destroy the sons of the coil, let's try and figure out what all the workings of these items we found (uh, that Roman, Sieta, and I found).

Hnaef has graciously offered two pearls that I can use to identify two of these items... but let's try and figure out what they do before we use the pearls.. we'll use them on the one's we just can't figure out.

We've got:

5 Magic Arrows
A Blank Scroll
Silver Bracers (with Selune on them)
Bag of Dust
Cloak
2 Small Jars of Balm
Silver Mask (with moonstones)
Silver Ring of Enthadas
A Wand
A bronze disk with a many armed woman on the front

So we'll need to sit down and try and figure out what these items do.. For example...

*Bronn puts the Silver Mask on*

(Remember me fondly).

Bronn

PS We've also got 7 Volumes of the History of Selunite Faith in Cormyr!

Van glares at Bronn and Roman, wishing for the ability to capture their gaze, but realizing that they've long been corrupted.

"I wonder what wonders Selune would have bestowed on us had you controlled your greed."

Van looks around for Enthandas to ask him about the Selune faith that existed here in Aerunedar.

Bronn: There is no appreciable effect when you wear the mask...perhaps your vision is a bit clearer, your hearing a bit more keen...but the effect is similar to when you tried on those lenses.

Van: Enthandas is a silver ring and one-fourth of the Moonweb. The ghostly priest is the High Seneschal of the Speculum. You find him within the Prayer Room.

Van: Yeah, you'd still be dead and we wouldn't have the ring. Sheesh, you were quieter when you were dead.

Would someone else like to try on this mask? I doesn't seem to work for me.

I'm going to try and use this wand... First, I'll examine the wand to see if there are markings...

OOC: Thanks for the correction, Matt--got confused as to the names there.

Van enters the prayer room and reads out loud one of the prayers, then turns to the High Seneschal of the Speculum and asks him about the moonweb--now that Daziel has joined the moon maiden, it is I who must keep the moonweb from the hands of those who would warp it to evil ends.

Bronn: There is a command word inscribed upon the wand; nothing happens when you speak it.

Van:
"Four silver rings--powerful individually, but together forming an artifact of great power: the Moonweb.

"The rings that make up the Moonweb--Amglaer, Enthandas, Shelmroun and Tilithar--first appear in Realmslore individually, given to devout Selunites by the Shards (servitors of the Goddess) in the dark years after the fall of Netheril. They served as magical aids and as focal points for prayers to the Goddess.

"Eventually, around 616 DR (though accounts are vague), two of the rings were unwittingly brought together when Selunite clergy met to plan the future of the faith at Manystreams. Selune appeared in the dreams of all the assembled clerics, telling them of the four rings and bidding them seek the two missing ones. She imparted the names of the rings, but no other clues that may have aided the faithful in finding them.

"It is said in the secret lore of our faith that one or two of the rings were hidden here by the Moonmistresses of Aerunedar, after they aided the silver wyrm Glamerdrung in the binding of a great evil. But years later, as we know, hordes of goblins swept through this place, and the rings faded from knowledge once more.

"An evil power of terrible proportions is said to be rising in the northern deserts--whole villages, even the city of Tilverton, have been swept from the face of Toril--and the high priest at Immersea dreamt that the Moonweb would soon be found...by Banites.

"I am here to see that they do not take the Moonweb. Not even a piece of it. Singly, the rings hold bits of the Moon's power, but together it is said they can reveal great knowledge. Whoever wears all four rings truly walks with Selune.

"It is unlikely that four, or even two, of the rings are here. But if even one fell into the hands of the Banite scum...it would be an evil day for the people of my faith.

"This must not come to pass."

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GUIDELINES for MESSAGE BOARD "PLAY"

1. There is no action here. No combat, no exploration, no "movement" into any areas other than the one you are in (see first post), unless that area a.) has already been explored AND b.) no possibility exists of that area changing in your absence.

2. Limit the scope. Pursuant to #1, only conversation can happen here. Talk in character, add an OOC for out-of-character comments.

3. As soon as Rule 1. is broken, the conversation ends and we wait for the next session to begin. Please READ THE POSTS CAREFULLY, because important information is conveyed here. If the information is consistently missed, or constantly repeated (by me), I won't include message boards as part of the game.

4. This has to be all-or-nothing. We can't have a game session with less than half the group; we can't do an In Character message board with less than half the group participating. Should we have a Gaming Group vote next time?

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Finally, a "hint" from your DM--all of your enemies have motives, plans and aspirations. They do not sit around in rooms, doing nothing, waiting for you to come and kill them. That may have worked for Gary Gygax, but it's not my style. Careful examination of the clues, along with the information that gets posted on these boards and a little detective-style intuition should allow you to figure out "the big picture," if you'd like to try.

OOC: Matt good rules. I agree with them. Hey, Glen, why don't you go search for some food for us outside?

*Bronn will let Wolf out to explore a bit. Warning him not to go too far (and ignoring his expected rude reply).*

I'll need to study some new spells, why don't the rest of you try out the rest of the items. For example, I'm going to try and determine what the Blank Scroll does. I'll try reading something through the scroll ... or perhaps try writing something on it.

Velm -- These other items don't seem to be working for me. Cousin, will you give this wand and mask a try? The wand seems like Divine magics, and I'm not sure about the mask.

Van -- See what you can make of that ring. I think it holds great power, which we'll need!

Roman -- We have those 5 magic arrows you were admiring. Sadly, we won't be able to figure out what they do or how magical they might be until you use them. So use them well.

Sieta -- Try sparring with Velm with those Bracers and the Cloak. See if they assist in your defense.

Cara -- Keep playing with that drum. We'll need its magics soon enough. Could you take a look at this disk? See if you can determine its powers.. or perhaps you recognize the symbol?

Hnaef -- Why don't you also see what this bag of dust can do? Try taking a tiny pinch and see what you discover (be careful, though). We also have those jars of Balm ... but if you don't feel comfortable, I understand. We can use your pearls to identify them.

I think that's everything ...