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Memoirs of a Lawyer turned Dungeoncrawler (Updated May 13, 2008)
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<blockquote data-quote="Altalazar" data-source="post: 3564186" data-attributes="member: 939"><p>Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Eighty-Four – Colossal Herd </p><p> </p><p> Our search was temporarily interrupted by an earthquake. More like a herd of portable earthquakes. I had never seen such large creatures before. They dwarfed the gargantuan creatures we had just dispatched. They were, for lack of a better word, colossal. They had necks that were so long they made the trees look like short bushes and they were headed our way. Fortunately, we were (almost literally) just small ants on the ground to these creatures, so they ignored us as they left a wide path bereft of vegetation. Had we not flown out of their way, we may well have been flattened underfoot, scarcely noticed. Ee wanted to take one down, but even Ee could not eat so much meat. </p><p> While I could fly myself now (thanks to my recent transaction) Ee was kind enough to take me up to the sky with a big bear-hug. He looked at me and asked, “You want let go?” </p><p> “No, you can hold me,” I replied, and he then gave me the aforementioned bear-hug. I did not mention my own ability to fly nor did I point out the fact that, had he dropped me, I would have floated to the ground as soft as a feather. </p><p> Soon after, we found a large clearing in the jungle, one that was at least a thousand feet wide and four thousand feet long. There was no helpful sign to indicate this was indeed the place, but that would be soon rectified. </p><p> We scouted around until it started to get dark and then Kyrnyn used his divine magic to allow us all to walk on the wind back to Cauldron for the night. It was strange and exhilarating to fly over the jungle as if blown like a cloud on the wind. </p><p></p><p> Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Eighty-Five – Errands before Moonrise</p><p></p><p> The next morning we decided to take care of errands before returning to the site of the temple at dusk. Kyrnyn researched the temple with Tuvstarr and managed to find a map showing the layout of the temple. Amazingly, it fit within a one thousand by four thousand foot space (if one included the twin temple to the Sun that lay with it). I had the feeling we would be exploring that temple on another day. </p><p> I spent most of my afternoon scouting out locations for my soon-to-be planned law library and personal palace. I know exactly where I’m going to put it. Though I suppose my plans may change if I get a Barony. Speaking of which, I noted that Baron Dominick’s Celebration was in eight days, on the summer solstice. So much to do, so little time. First I need to loot a 300 year lost moon temple, then I need to go take down and replace a baron. </p><p> Before we left for the temple, I had one last errand, which I completed, and then we returned to the site of the temple. </p><p></p><p> Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Eighty-Six – Moons over Our Temple </p><p></p><p> It was dusk when we returned. We looked up in the sky and then finally saw what we never saw before. A second moon appeared, as if from nowhere, its dull light casting rusty shadows on the jungle floor. And then the temples appeared. Both of them. Though the sun temple was ghostly and transparent, silent translucent figures walking its heights, the moon temple was quite solid. By the time I looked up at the top of the ziggurat of the moon temple, Morwen was already almost to the top. The rest of us joined her.</p><p> But before I ascended, I took the fruits of my last errand out and planted it in the ground. For I had a large sign made in Cauldron, artistically done. Written on it was the following:</p><p> “Future site of the Secret Temple of the Moon every 300 years.” </p><p> At the summit of the temple, there were two wooden structures about the size of large chairs that were broken into pieces. There were also two large tarnished bowls. We quickly got the idea that to open the door inside (which was solid stone down a passageway at the top) we would have to reflect the light of the secret moon onto the stone. </p><p> First, we held the bowls by hand, but only managed to light up the area a little bit. Then I decided it would be easier to fix the stands. </p><p> “Higgins, mending.”</p><p> “Very good, sir.”</p><p> Unfortunately, he had only one prepared. Larch was kind enough to fix the other by shaping the wood with some druidic magic. Thus we could use the reflectors together, hands-free. Still nothing. Time to deal with the tarnish. </p><p> Kyrnyn waved his hand and magically, one of the bowls was shiny and clean, as good as new. Unfortunately, he could only do that once. We had but one night to accomplish our goals. Thus, it was Higgins to the rescue. </p><p> After a lifetime of acting as a manservant for the truly noble, Higgins was a master polisher. He carefully pulled out a strip of silky cloth with a flourish, then proceeded to polish the surface of the tarnished bowl with a skill and speed that rivaled that of the finest servants in the most lavish palaces on the planet. When he was finished, the bowl was even clearer and shinier than the bowl cleaned by magic. Higgins then returned his cloth to his person in some unspecified location with another flourish. </p><p> “The bowl is clean, sir,” he said with his usual aplomb. </p><p> When we placed the two now shiny bowls into the wooden frames, they reflected the secret moon’s light brightly into the dark hall. Immediately, the stones began to fall and a spiral staircase heading downward slowly appeared, as if the stone itself melted into the steps. </p><p> We descended into the darkness, the light of the moon dimly lighting our way before our everburning torches were brought out. </p><p></p><p> Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Eighty-Seven – Rough Passages to Mountless Beasts</p><p></p><p> The passageways reminded Morwen of an ant hill. </p><p> “This reminds me of an anthill,” said Morewn. </p><p> The mention of ants made me think of the beasts that almost squashed us like ants in the jungle the day before. I took heart in the low ceilings for most of the passageways. We did not find much of interest down the many small dead-end passages, until we came to a turn that opened up into a rather large room. Dimly we could see what looked like the front of a temple across its expanse, but that temple would have to wait. </p><p> Morwen stepped out into the large room and then was immediately eaten by a huge beast. Its mouth came down and snatched her up, and then she was gone. Fortunately, she was not swallowed before she dimension doored herself to another corner of the room. I could hear her relief over our mindlink as she whisked herself away. Those bracers from that dragon certainly are useful. </p><p> Kyrnyn waved his hands and then he was suddenly much larger, the power of his deity giving him great size and strength. </p><p> “Higgins, haste,” I said, and he did, speeding all of us up save Morwen, who was out of his sight. I mentally prepared myself as well, increasing my personal protection with a shield of force. Ee stepped forward, not quite into the room, but into the crevice that led to the room. They tried to eat him, but could not fit within the crevice. </p><p> It was clear there were two of the huge beasts. Strangely, they wore half-plate armor and had empty saddles. I wondered how they remained alive so long, trapped in here. Perhaps when the temple was closed, it put everything in it into suspension. Or perhaps they had a food source unseen. In any case, their riders were not so lucky. </p><p> Higgins cursed them both, making it slightly easier to penetrate their thick hides. It barely helped. </p><p> I spent some time increasing my defenses, splitting my mind, and preparing to do battle with the beasts. Morwen and Ee were both nearly swallowed before Morwen finally retreated from the room with a second dimension door (of her three each day) and Ee also pulled back from the room. Larch then filled the room with three large elementals of fire to occupy the beasts while we prepared our next move. </p><p> Higgins was kind enough to grant great heroism to Morwen before we all joined hands (save Marcus and Larch) and I transported us with a thought to the opposite side of one of the beasts, putting Morwen, Ee, and Kyrnyn all within striking distance (Kyrnyn with his large arms somewhat further away). Higgins was behind me, but we were both too close to the creature for comfort, so I quickly then transported Higgins and I even further away, almost to where the temple lay. Then I began concentrating, to create rather more protection for us both. </p><p> These beasts were horrifically strong. They took wounds that would have felled all of us and kept on fighting. I sent a globe of fire into each, and while it did great harm, it barely slowed them down. Then my final protection finally sprung from the ectoplasm. A creature as large as they, formed up from the ground in front of me, between me and the second beast. I made it very strong, with fearsome claws to attack with, leaving its skin relatively soft. From the fight thus far, it was clear that armor was of little help against the razor sharp claws of these beasts. </p><p> Higgins helpfully sapped away some of the strength of the mostly unhurt one with a ray from his fingertips, but the beast still looked strong. </p><p> Finally, Ee and Morwen took down the first beast and Larch shifted his elementals to the second. My new astral ectoplasmic construction ripped into its flesh, rending it some. Then one of the fire elementals stepped forward and spewed out seeds of fire, courtesy of Larch, right into the beast’s maw. They exploded with fire, fire that would have consumed the elementals, had they not been also of fire. The beast, though hardly scratched, suddenly grasped its heart and collapsed from the shock. The smell of burnt beast flesh wafted through the large enclosed space. </p><p> On the bodies we found nothing but the saddles, their armor, and fittingly, two very large moonstones set into each of their breastplates. We then entered the temple itself. </p><p></p><p> Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Eighty-Eight – Temple of the Moon</p><p></p><p> The first room of the temple was basically a foyer with nothing in it. The second was much more interesting. There was a sphere in the center of the room that was mostly blue, but included large swaths of green and brown. It had two smaller globes circling it. It was when I looked more closely at those globes that I saw that they looked just like the moon and secret moon in the sky! There was a glowing globe, like the sun, in the right near corner. And then the rest of the room was dark, like the night sky, and like the night sky it was filled with an assortment of stars. It was a truly beautiful sight. </p><p> The moons themselves were slowly moving around the central globe, just like they travel across the night sky. Their position seemed to match what we saw in the sky outside. Morwen and Ee quickly determined that the secret moon was moveable, though I don’t know what that means. Perhaps moving it into a certain position allows entry and egress to the temple, something which happens on its own only once every 300 years. </p><p> I was slightly worried when Ee took the moon off of its location and put it down the back of his pants. </p><p> “Ee now really moon someone!” </p><p> Fortunately, he eventually put it back, so we never found out if anything bad would have happened if he had kept it. </p><p> In a room to the left of the globe room there was a large metal ring set into the floor, but little else. To the room to the right was a room with a large, circular table holding fourteen valuable moonstones and a sign warning us to “always keep at least two.” We later determined that having at least two moonstones allows more to “grow” though if only a dozen more were there after 300 years, they don’t grow very fast. But since we also found out later that there are other ways into the temple, perhaps it wasn’t quite that long. </p><p> The next room straight ahead was a long room with mirrors covering the walls. Each mirror had a moving portrait of a globe with a moon or moons, none of which looked familiar. Beyond that, we found the library. First, all we could see were tables and chairs to sit and read the apparently unseen books. Then I concentrated and changed my vision to true vision and looked again. Ghostly shelves held ghostly books along each wall of the room. </p><p> Much fruitless attempts to get the books followed. Finally, we decided to search the complex. Morwen found a door hidden between two mirrors that led to a hall and a large room with a pool of liquid moonstones. She being more adventurous (and less wise) than the rest of us immersed herself in the liquid. </p><p> Then she found a trapdoor in the floor that led to a lever. We pulled the lever, but nothing apparently happened. As hours progressed, we searched every room and eventually found a new trapdoor to a new lever in each one, the new one visible only after the previous lever was tripped, until finally we found the last lever in the library, and when that was tripped, the books and shelves all appeared. Wonderful, now we can get out of here. Except that there are still a few tunnels left unchecked. And then there’s the pool.</p><p> Morwen finally confessed to us that something happened to her when she immersed herself in the pool, then she suggested that we all do so. I was at first dubious, then I decided that we might as well try it. Higgins decided to join me. So we all immersed ourselves. I felt no different. Then I noticed that the light seemed so much brighter. My vision was now adapted to the lesser light. Adapted to moonlight, I would think. </p><p> Further, I felt a strange connection to the secret moon. I suddenly knew that I would now be able to see the moon at all times. I also knew that I could enter the temple at all times. And this strange connection would have other effects as well that became apparent later. </p><p> With this new connection to the moon and the temple, suddenly I felt like I did not want that library emptied. But a deal’s a deal. Fortunately, there was no stipulation in our contract that the books could not be copied. Thus, I contacted Tuvstarr and told her to prepare a bunch of blank books for copying with magic when we returned. </p><p> Our time thus extended, we explored the rest of the complex. We discovered three more items of note. </p><p> First, we found a cave filled with smoke that held a man named Jack, apparently in suspension since the last time the temple appeared. He was quite motivated to find the temple. We tried to talk him into leaving, but he was uninterested. Finally, Larch held him in place with magic while I deeply probed his mind. It turned out he was a lycanthrope, of the wolf variety, who had heard that immersing himself in the pool in the temple would allow him to control his disease in the way that those born to lycanthropy can do. An interesting bit of information that turned out to be true. Feeling for his plight, we carried him to the temple and immersed him (still held) and then transported him back to civilization with us later. </p><p> Second, we found a cave that ended in a wall of invisible force that led to a moonscape. I wondered if it actually headed out onto the surface of the secret moon. That would be quite interesting. That may bear further exploration later. </p><p> And third, we found another pool of liquid moonstone. This one smelled of lotus flowers. Only Morwen tasted the waters, and then none of us decided to join her, given that the immediate effect was that it wiped her memory clean of any and all identity. Kyrnyn was later able to have one of the high priests of his temple in the Capitol perform a miracle to cure her memory loss. Apparently almost nothing else we could think of would have served to cure her. </p><p> Our explorations complete, we returned to Cauldron and made preparations for copying the books before turning them over to our employer so he or she can stock their own demon-moon library somewhere. I had some regrets now about my sign outside the temple, since now we can use it as a secret base, but then I changed my mind. Anyone who could actually survive long enough to even make it to that location probably would only brave the jungle specifically to go to the temple, which would mean that they would not need the sign to find it. Further, even if they did, unless they had been immersed in the pool, they could not enter. And finally, if they had been immersed, well, they already know where it is, so the sign stayed right where it is. Perhaps I can add another sign for the sun temple. </p><p> </p><p> Sir Cordozo – Secret Journal Entry – Problems of the Mind</p><p></p><p> Morwen’s problem, and the intractability of it, reminded me of my earlier travails with my own missing memory. This is something that needs to be dealt with. I vowed to research this problem and come up with a solution of the mind that I could implement to deal with memory loss, restore it, and perhaps, prevent it. I hoped Poseidon would lend me the use of his lab, perhaps if I offered to share the research with him. </p><p> I already had a few ideas about things I could try. The first of them has already taken shape in my mind. I can visualize the inner workings of the psyche and I think I can alter them. I think I can use this to implant powers of my own in another, though it is very taxing. I offered to share this with Poseidon as well in exchange for his sharing of powers of his own. Perhaps something he knows will help me further my research. </p><p> So much to do, so little time. Next, the barony.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Altalazar, post: 3564186, member: 939"] Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Eighty-Four – Colossal Herd Our search was temporarily interrupted by an earthquake. More like a herd of portable earthquakes. I had never seen such large creatures before. They dwarfed the gargantuan creatures we had just dispatched. They were, for lack of a better word, colossal. They had necks that were so long they made the trees look like short bushes and they were headed our way. Fortunately, we were (almost literally) just small ants on the ground to these creatures, so they ignored us as they left a wide path bereft of vegetation. Had we not flown out of their way, we may well have been flattened underfoot, scarcely noticed. Ee wanted to take one down, but even Ee could not eat so much meat. While I could fly myself now (thanks to my recent transaction) Ee was kind enough to take me up to the sky with a big bear-hug. He looked at me and asked, “You want let go?” “No, you can hold me,” I replied, and he then gave me the aforementioned bear-hug. I did not mention my own ability to fly nor did I point out the fact that, had he dropped me, I would have floated to the ground as soft as a feather. Soon after, we found a large clearing in the jungle, one that was at least a thousand feet wide and four thousand feet long. There was no helpful sign to indicate this was indeed the place, but that would be soon rectified. We scouted around until it started to get dark and then Kyrnyn used his divine magic to allow us all to walk on the wind back to Cauldron for the night. It was strange and exhilarating to fly over the jungle as if blown like a cloud on the wind. Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Eighty-Five – Errands before Moonrise The next morning we decided to take care of errands before returning to the site of the temple at dusk. Kyrnyn researched the temple with Tuvstarr and managed to find a map showing the layout of the temple. Amazingly, it fit within a one thousand by four thousand foot space (if one included the twin temple to the Sun that lay with it). I had the feeling we would be exploring that temple on another day. I spent most of my afternoon scouting out locations for my soon-to-be planned law library and personal palace. I know exactly where I’m going to put it. Though I suppose my plans may change if I get a Barony. Speaking of which, I noted that Baron Dominick’s Celebration was in eight days, on the summer solstice. So much to do, so little time. First I need to loot a 300 year lost moon temple, then I need to go take down and replace a baron. Before we left for the temple, I had one last errand, which I completed, and then we returned to the site of the temple. Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Eighty-Six – Moons over Our Temple It was dusk when we returned. We looked up in the sky and then finally saw what we never saw before. A second moon appeared, as if from nowhere, its dull light casting rusty shadows on the jungle floor. And then the temples appeared. Both of them. Though the sun temple was ghostly and transparent, silent translucent figures walking its heights, the moon temple was quite solid. By the time I looked up at the top of the ziggurat of the moon temple, Morwen was already almost to the top. The rest of us joined her. But before I ascended, I took the fruits of my last errand out and planted it in the ground. For I had a large sign made in Cauldron, artistically done. Written on it was the following: “Future site of the Secret Temple of the Moon every 300 years.” At the summit of the temple, there were two wooden structures about the size of large chairs that were broken into pieces. There were also two large tarnished bowls. We quickly got the idea that to open the door inside (which was solid stone down a passageway at the top) we would have to reflect the light of the secret moon onto the stone. First, we held the bowls by hand, but only managed to light up the area a little bit. Then I decided it would be easier to fix the stands. “Higgins, mending.” “Very good, sir.” Unfortunately, he had only one prepared. Larch was kind enough to fix the other by shaping the wood with some druidic magic. Thus we could use the reflectors together, hands-free. Still nothing. Time to deal with the tarnish. Kyrnyn waved his hand and magically, one of the bowls was shiny and clean, as good as new. Unfortunately, he could only do that once. We had but one night to accomplish our goals. Thus, it was Higgins to the rescue. After a lifetime of acting as a manservant for the truly noble, Higgins was a master polisher. He carefully pulled out a strip of silky cloth with a flourish, then proceeded to polish the surface of the tarnished bowl with a skill and speed that rivaled that of the finest servants in the most lavish palaces on the planet. When he was finished, the bowl was even clearer and shinier than the bowl cleaned by magic. Higgins then returned his cloth to his person in some unspecified location with another flourish. “The bowl is clean, sir,” he said with his usual aplomb. When we placed the two now shiny bowls into the wooden frames, they reflected the secret moon’s light brightly into the dark hall. Immediately, the stones began to fall and a spiral staircase heading downward slowly appeared, as if the stone itself melted into the steps. We descended into the darkness, the light of the moon dimly lighting our way before our everburning torches were brought out. Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Eighty-Seven – Rough Passages to Mountless Beasts The passageways reminded Morwen of an ant hill. “This reminds me of an anthill,” said Morewn. The mention of ants made me think of the beasts that almost squashed us like ants in the jungle the day before. I took heart in the low ceilings for most of the passageways. We did not find much of interest down the many small dead-end passages, until we came to a turn that opened up into a rather large room. Dimly we could see what looked like the front of a temple across its expanse, but that temple would have to wait. Morwen stepped out into the large room and then was immediately eaten by a huge beast. Its mouth came down and snatched her up, and then she was gone. Fortunately, she was not swallowed before she dimension doored herself to another corner of the room. I could hear her relief over our mindlink as she whisked herself away. Those bracers from that dragon certainly are useful. Kyrnyn waved his hands and then he was suddenly much larger, the power of his deity giving him great size and strength. “Higgins, haste,” I said, and he did, speeding all of us up save Morwen, who was out of his sight. I mentally prepared myself as well, increasing my personal protection with a shield of force. Ee stepped forward, not quite into the room, but into the crevice that led to the room. They tried to eat him, but could not fit within the crevice. It was clear there were two of the huge beasts. Strangely, they wore half-plate armor and had empty saddles. I wondered how they remained alive so long, trapped in here. Perhaps when the temple was closed, it put everything in it into suspension. Or perhaps they had a food source unseen. In any case, their riders were not so lucky. Higgins cursed them both, making it slightly easier to penetrate their thick hides. It barely helped. I spent some time increasing my defenses, splitting my mind, and preparing to do battle with the beasts. Morwen and Ee were both nearly swallowed before Morwen finally retreated from the room with a second dimension door (of her three each day) and Ee also pulled back from the room. Larch then filled the room with three large elementals of fire to occupy the beasts while we prepared our next move. Higgins was kind enough to grant great heroism to Morwen before we all joined hands (save Marcus and Larch) and I transported us with a thought to the opposite side of one of the beasts, putting Morwen, Ee, and Kyrnyn all within striking distance (Kyrnyn with his large arms somewhat further away). Higgins was behind me, but we were both too close to the creature for comfort, so I quickly then transported Higgins and I even further away, almost to where the temple lay. Then I began concentrating, to create rather more protection for us both. These beasts were horrifically strong. They took wounds that would have felled all of us and kept on fighting. I sent a globe of fire into each, and while it did great harm, it barely slowed them down. Then my final protection finally sprung from the ectoplasm. A creature as large as they, formed up from the ground in front of me, between me and the second beast. I made it very strong, with fearsome claws to attack with, leaving its skin relatively soft. From the fight thus far, it was clear that armor was of little help against the razor sharp claws of these beasts. Higgins helpfully sapped away some of the strength of the mostly unhurt one with a ray from his fingertips, but the beast still looked strong. Finally, Ee and Morwen took down the first beast and Larch shifted his elementals to the second. My new astral ectoplasmic construction ripped into its flesh, rending it some. Then one of the fire elementals stepped forward and spewed out seeds of fire, courtesy of Larch, right into the beast’s maw. They exploded with fire, fire that would have consumed the elementals, had they not been also of fire. The beast, though hardly scratched, suddenly grasped its heart and collapsed from the shock. The smell of burnt beast flesh wafted through the large enclosed space. On the bodies we found nothing but the saddles, their armor, and fittingly, two very large moonstones set into each of their breastplates. We then entered the temple itself. Sir Cordozo – Chapter One-Hundred Eighty-Eight – Temple of the Moon The first room of the temple was basically a foyer with nothing in it. The second was much more interesting. There was a sphere in the center of the room that was mostly blue, but included large swaths of green and brown. It had two smaller globes circling it. It was when I looked more closely at those globes that I saw that they looked just like the moon and secret moon in the sky! There was a glowing globe, like the sun, in the right near corner. And then the rest of the room was dark, like the night sky, and like the night sky it was filled with an assortment of stars. It was a truly beautiful sight. The moons themselves were slowly moving around the central globe, just like they travel across the night sky. Their position seemed to match what we saw in the sky outside. Morwen and Ee quickly determined that the secret moon was moveable, though I don’t know what that means. Perhaps moving it into a certain position allows entry and egress to the temple, something which happens on its own only once every 300 years. I was slightly worried when Ee took the moon off of its location and put it down the back of his pants. “Ee now really moon someone!” Fortunately, he eventually put it back, so we never found out if anything bad would have happened if he had kept it. In a room to the left of the globe room there was a large metal ring set into the floor, but little else. To the room to the right was a room with a large, circular table holding fourteen valuable moonstones and a sign warning us to “always keep at least two.” We later determined that having at least two moonstones allows more to “grow” though if only a dozen more were there after 300 years, they don’t grow very fast. But since we also found out later that there are other ways into the temple, perhaps it wasn’t quite that long. The next room straight ahead was a long room with mirrors covering the walls. Each mirror had a moving portrait of a globe with a moon or moons, none of which looked familiar. Beyond that, we found the library. First, all we could see were tables and chairs to sit and read the apparently unseen books. Then I concentrated and changed my vision to true vision and looked again. Ghostly shelves held ghostly books along each wall of the room. Much fruitless attempts to get the books followed. Finally, we decided to search the complex. Morwen found a door hidden between two mirrors that led to a hall and a large room with a pool of liquid moonstones. She being more adventurous (and less wise) than the rest of us immersed herself in the liquid. Then she found a trapdoor in the floor that led to a lever. We pulled the lever, but nothing apparently happened. As hours progressed, we searched every room and eventually found a new trapdoor to a new lever in each one, the new one visible only after the previous lever was tripped, until finally we found the last lever in the library, and when that was tripped, the books and shelves all appeared. Wonderful, now we can get out of here. Except that there are still a few tunnels left unchecked. And then there’s the pool. Morwen finally confessed to us that something happened to her when she immersed herself in the pool, then she suggested that we all do so. I was at first dubious, then I decided that we might as well try it. Higgins decided to join me. So we all immersed ourselves. I felt no different. Then I noticed that the light seemed so much brighter. My vision was now adapted to the lesser light. Adapted to moonlight, I would think. Further, I felt a strange connection to the secret moon. I suddenly knew that I would now be able to see the moon at all times. I also knew that I could enter the temple at all times. And this strange connection would have other effects as well that became apparent later. With this new connection to the moon and the temple, suddenly I felt like I did not want that library emptied. But a deal’s a deal. Fortunately, there was no stipulation in our contract that the books could not be copied. Thus, I contacted Tuvstarr and told her to prepare a bunch of blank books for copying with magic when we returned. Our time thus extended, we explored the rest of the complex. We discovered three more items of note. First, we found a cave filled with smoke that held a man named Jack, apparently in suspension since the last time the temple appeared. He was quite motivated to find the temple. We tried to talk him into leaving, but he was uninterested. Finally, Larch held him in place with magic while I deeply probed his mind. It turned out he was a lycanthrope, of the wolf variety, who had heard that immersing himself in the pool in the temple would allow him to control his disease in the way that those born to lycanthropy can do. An interesting bit of information that turned out to be true. Feeling for his plight, we carried him to the temple and immersed him (still held) and then transported him back to civilization with us later. Second, we found a cave that ended in a wall of invisible force that led to a moonscape. I wondered if it actually headed out onto the surface of the secret moon. That would be quite interesting. That may bear further exploration later. And third, we found another pool of liquid moonstone. This one smelled of lotus flowers. Only Morwen tasted the waters, and then none of us decided to join her, given that the immediate effect was that it wiped her memory clean of any and all identity. Kyrnyn was later able to have one of the high priests of his temple in the Capitol perform a miracle to cure her memory loss. Apparently almost nothing else we could think of would have served to cure her. Our explorations complete, we returned to Cauldron and made preparations for copying the books before turning them over to our employer so he or she can stock their own demon-moon library somewhere. I had some regrets now about my sign outside the temple, since now we can use it as a secret base, but then I changed my mind. Anyone who could actually survive long enough to even make it to that location probably would only brave the jungle specifically to go to the temple, which would mean that they would not need the sign to find it. Further, even if they did, unless they had been immersed in the pool, they could not enter. And finally, if they had been immersed, well, they already know where it is, so the sign stayed right where it is. Perhaps I can add another sign for the sun temple. Sir Cordozo – Secret Journal Entry – Problems of the Mind Morwen’s problem, and the intractability of it, reminded me of my earlier travails with my own missing memory. This is something that needs to be dealt with. I vowed to research this problem and come up with a solution of the mind that I could implement to deal with memory loss, restore it, and perhaps, prevent it. I hoped Poseidon would lend me the use of his lab, perhaps if I offered to share the research with him. I already had a few ideas about things I could try. The first of them has already taken shape in my mind. I can visualize the inner workings of the psyche and I think I can alter them. I think I can use this to implant powers of my own in another, though it is very taxing. I offered to share this with Poseidon as well in exchange for his sharing of powers of his own. Perhaps something he knows will help me further my research. So much to do, so little time. Next, the barony. [/QUOTE]
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Memoirs of a Lawyer turned Dungeoncrawler (Updated May 13, 2008)
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