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Message: <blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 956377" data-attributes="member: 1210">Stealer of EyesMisshapen, paranoid, disgusting- the ocularon rises on the fumes within it, hissing and wheezing, eyeballs everywhere on its moist tendrils.  In the shadows cast by the dancing lights and everburning flames the party bears, it's hard to get a good look at it- but Drelvin's sure it's trouble.  So he fires a trio of arrows with uncanny accuracy and smirks to himself as they all sink deeply into its lumpy flesh.  Then everything goes dark.  Cursing, unable to see, Angelfire readies to strike at anything that attacks him.There's the sound of a blade being pulled from its scabbard and the hissing of it slicing through the air, and the light returns in a brilliant circle as Malford swings his blade overhead.  The strange monster squeals again as Drelving takes another trio of shots at it, again sinking arrow after arrow fletching-deep into the hideous creature.  It rushes forward, hissing like boiling water, its precious fluids dripping out of it messily and giving off strange vapors.  It bats at Drelvin with its tendrils.  The first tentacle blow grabs on to him but he squirms free; then it gets a good solid hold on him and starts to scrabble at his eyes!  Drelvin cries out- he can see that the beast's tentacles have eyeballs skewered on them already.  "It wants my eyes!" he cries out in a near-panic- without eyes he can't shoot!Then scarlet Angelfire is there, whirling his deadly falchion with all the ruthless strength and accuracy he's become known for.*  The tentacle holding the archer is severed in a spray of noxious gas and weird fluid, and Drelvin pulls out his blade, Shastruth- a formidable weapon with the powers of an evoker of some might bound within it.  The archer slashes at the monster, and it quivvers and falls to the ground.  It's still shuddering and is clearly still alive, so Angelfire slashes at it again to be sure- and the eye stealer explodes in a blast of toxic vapors!  Drelvin gags and vomits as he and Angelfire stumble away from it.  "Ohhh," the archer groans, feeling himself weakened from the gas, "I think I'd better go get restored."  And using his trumps, he does just that, returning to Var for some healing before trumping back to the rest of the group.The others, meanwhile, descend the ocularon's shaft to a pool of water about three feet deep.  A search finds several bodies with their eyeballs removed- no doubt those were what the creature's tendrils bore- as well as about a thousand gold coins and a set of five finely-crafted dolls of spicewood.  "I'll take these for the kids," Malford the Magnificent comments, and nobody argues.  Ascending back to the cave wherein the dead ocularon lies, the gnome also takes samples of its blood and intestines- "You never know what'll be useful," he comments to the rest of the party."Say," says Angelfire, "maybe you'd be interested in these?"  He pulls out a bag of rocks he's had for over five years now.  "They're moon rocks.""Hmm," says Malford noncommitally, halting the conversation for a moment to respond to Drelvin's trump contact and bring him through to the group again.  Then he looks over the rocks.  "They look like rocks to me," he comments, then offers Angelfire a bridge for them.Drelvin asks what's so special about them; told they're from a moon, he asks, "You've been to a moon?"  At Angelfire's nod, he inquires, "How many gargantua did you see there?""How many what?"  "You haven't been to a moon!  Everyone knows that's where gargantua come from!"**The conversation continues for a few moments, Angelfire trying to sell the moon rocks, Malford dubious as to their authenticity, and Drelvin just making trouble.  The whole time, Lester is urging them to get back on track- he really can't dawdle, after all.  Finally, in good spirits, the group moves back to the road and forges ahead.  The check a few side paths briefly but find only bats.The road heads deep into the mountain, and soon a strange, acrid smell greets them.  "Yuck," Malford comments, frowning.  After all, his sensitive gnomely nose is more easily offended than those of lesser, smaller-nosed folk.  Soon enough the group finds the source of the stink- a weird creature, bubbling out of its own crusty skin, standing guard at a bridge crossing.  It has no face; in fact, it barely holds a shape.  Weird greenish sludge churns within a carapace-like husk of purplish-black.  "Greetings," it burbles in a horrible voice.  "You come at last."*Two crits in one round- OW!**Drelvin's first adventure was a fight with a baby gargantuan whose egg had fallen from a moon.   The nature of moons in Cydra: Since the world is not a planet, but rather takes place on the inside surface of a gigantic air bubble, moons obviously don't orbit it.  Instead, the average human will see two or three moons during their lifetime.  Moons tend to cross from one side of the horizon to the next.  A quick moon will take as little as 3-4 months to cross the sky; a slow moon, such as the one Angelfire (Angel at the time), Zeebo, Sheva, Sybele, et. al. visited, will take as long as a couple of years.  They come irregularly and vary in size, color, and even shape (though most appear spherical from the ground).  Moons are often portentious.Next Time: Conversation at the bridge, the town of Mud, and the phrase "I blame Lester" comes up again!  Oh, and don't forget the gnomes!</blockquote>

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