MOOR'S END - 1

[Sorry for the "out of order" here, but finally, here is Mattie's angle on the FAE party's entrance & first day/night in Moor's End]

When they sent out the signal, I wasnt sure who to expect, or exactly how soon, but it was only a few hours until the Furthermoor Adventure Express (FAE) could be seen descending & then gently lighting on the field near the Church, there it pulled up w/ an exhausted Neanderthal hanging by an arm @ its side, which was quite a surprise to the Thief & Monk as they stepped from the conveyance.  The hobbit thief, was named Gileegan, & seemed the questionable sort, while the monk, Devedos, appeared much more respectable. I consulted them about why they had been signaled here, as a recent bandit attack during a procession, had claimed a priceless item from the Church, a foot long, diamond encrusted white widow which most likely is now being transfered through the caves west of Moor's End to potentially end up in the wrong hands. Devedos questioned his involvement, concerned that risking lives for a material possession such as this jewel, was not something he cared to be a part of, but then I explained to him the import: that this was not any ordinary jewel, that it also has magical properties which wielded by the wrong hands, could potentially mean not only the destruction of the Church of the White Widow, but also something much darker in the long run... Devedos agreed this was something the Order of the Guiding Star should be concerned w/ as well, & of course the Thief was ready to get his hands on the diamond spider when I first mentioned it. They asked if I cared to join them, I said I would if I would actually be of help, but first they wished to walk down into Moor's End to purchase armor for their Neanderthal friend they call Link, as well as other general adventuring products therefore I tell them about Oogy's Curiosity Shop that also carries adventuring supplies.

Link took to some leather armor his friends purchased & they bought some other things I wasnt really paying attention. Oogy tried selling them some jacks, as well as something he was calling an Orc Grenade, I felt sick when he said what was in it, they wanted to visit the Forgotten Worm Inn stopped in & they spoke w/ a magic-user @ the bar named Renfro the Regarded. He told us a story of how as a youngster in Furthermoor City he had been observing a battle between two powerful wizards in the street & been struck by a bolt from a Staff of Withering, therefore only 11, suddenly looked 21, & also, began his interest in magic. He also mentioned to the others that he'd heard about a barber in town that had a hair ointment that would increase one's strength. Gilleegan pointed out they were about out of money, so talk turned to venturing to the caves. Renfro was interested in joining us. We left for the Caves, my hopes for locating the Diamond Spider of the Church of the White Widow.

It was around 3 PM as I showed them the secret entrance I knew into the caves, though I had never been inside myself. Naturally, the cave was extremely dark, & narrow, a little less than five feet across, & maybe about eight feet high. Gileegan decided to lead out front w/ his lantern, Link, Devedos, me, then Renfro... The entrance was slow going when after a bit we cut south & then found ourselves rapping around in this thin tunnel until finally I had to stop b/c everything slowed; next thing I knew I heard something terrible, a high pitched scream of some sort & Gileegan was moaning, I was frightened, Renfro moved past me, but then I hastened, another nasty nashing sound & Gileegan clearly hurt, I began to worry, but then I could hear Devedos grunting & a gnarly sound from something... Then I heard Renfro chanting & could see his hands moving in the shadows of Gileegan's dropped lantern & suddenly the screeching of the Giant Rats was no more & a nasty snoring could be heard echoing. We moved into the room & Devedos, after stacking the remaining rats & doing something I had to turn away from. You hear of these Giant Rats, but seeing them is another thing; I hate any living thing to lose its life, but strangely, I felt nothing. Devedos took Gileegan's lantern & began moving around the cave room, examining the walls... In the back of the room, about 10 feet up in a small hole in the rock wall could be seen a small chest. Devedos climbed up the wall & w/ amazing skill both popped the chest out of the hole & then landed on his feet to catch it before it hit the ground. Inside the chest was a cache of silver weapons: a silver dagger & a quiver of silver arrows. On both the sheath & the quiver there was an eagle over a fleur-de-lys w/ some runes written below. I went over to Gileegan & offered him the secret I had brought w/ me, a vial of healing that Brother Lennox had given me. Gileegan drank half of it, feeling much better. Gileegan & Devedos decided to have Link adventure out front & Link seemed honored, we moved out & up a new passage from the room moving west untul we entered another clearing, this time the room was basically bare except for a tall, white stone in the center. The stone was pointed at top & wide & smooth @ it's base. Devedos moved around it a bit but we decided to move on, traveling into a north tunnel then turning northwest we came to a southern corridor - we traveled down it & eventually moved into a small clearing cave room, Link moving the lantern about to reveal silver & gold tossed about the floor in splotches. Happily, we collected the coins & then moved on up out of the other side of the room coming to another tunnel which led us for some time to the NW - eventually coming to a choice, either NW or E, we turned east, soon coming to a south passage into an opening - entering the opening, we found a sizable room filled w/ lush plant life, as if stepping into a jungle... No insects or animals or noises for that matter were about, it was completely still... After searching around the plants a bit, Devedos located 4 green mushrooms w/ white dots. He broke off a small piece & ate it. He said he felt radiant for a a few seconds. He pulled up the mushrooms & we moved back out the room, turning east where again we moved south into another room, this room bigger than any we'd seen, stalagmites about, as we moved down into the large cave room, we noticed someone there, a man @ a table, who greeted us... "Hello travelers," he said. "Can I offer you any of my items? What is it you seek?" I couldnt hold it in, asking if he happen to possess a diamond spider. "Why yes," the man said, "I believe I do have the spider you speak of." He leaned down behind the table. I couldnt believe it, my heart was in my throat. "How much?" asked Devedos. "How much do you carry?" said the merchant, "I believe it will take all that you have, this is a pricey piece." The merchant held up the spider & placed it on the table. Everyone held their breath. I wanted to run up & hold it in joy. But then Gileegan & Devedos began whispering, & then Gileegan stepped forward, "something is strange here, how did you come to gain this spider?" Devedos added, "No, we arent giving up any coin for this, I dont like this." It is then that suddenly, the merchant was no longer there. Disappeared. My heart fell into my toes. What is this place? I thought, where merchants disappear & jungles grow under the earth? We moved back out into the main tunnel & moved east where we soon came into a smallish opening & saw a number of men sitting about... 5 of them... they were surprised to see us enter, & here began the most dreadful part of our adventure. Though we were the ones to leave the cave w/ our lives intact, the five bandits were slaughtered, Link was badly wounded, & we did not find the spider, only more gold coin. Rushing, using Devedos memory, we retraced our steps out of the caves & got back to the Church around 10:00 PM. We brought Link inside & finding Brother Lennox we had him healed; we then moved to the Inn of the Forgotten Worm to split up the treasures we had found.

10:30 PM