Part 9: Eye See You

Dear Diary,



Immediately upon entering Tuhn we were accosted by a seeker after Water Flying Cloth. While we weren't here for precisely that reason, I was curious as to what made this cloth so fantastic that people would travel across the globe to find it.



More intriguing was the mention of an isolated tower holding a piece of the moon. Such an item had been mentioned as key to finding the Eye of Malroth and opening the road to Rhone.



The business with Roge Fastfinger and the watergate key makes a bit more sense now, although I felt no real urge to return the key. Small-town yokels would be all too likely to make baseless accusations and raise a fuss.



We certainly didn't want a fuss to be raised with such fine goods available in the market place for purchase. I was particularly curious about the Falcon Sword, although it looked a trifle frail.



One of the locals was helpful enough to explain how we might gain access to the tower by ship, a necessity given that this is the one location in the world where there doesn't seem to be a convenient bridge.



A shack in the center of town, locked with the golden key, contained the legendary weaver Don Mahone. I'm not even going to ask how he lost his Loom, but something has occurred to me regarding the Dew's Yarn..



A good example regarding my comments about yokels could be found in an arguing couple. I'm not sure who to side with, as it seems disrespectful to name a dog after your father but at the same time who cares enough about a dog's name to argue about it?



Of greater interest was an isolated pond locked away in the northwest corner of the village. I'm not engineer, but...



Using the watergate key in the basement unleashed the water and opened the way to the Tower of the Moon.



The purpose of the Tower itself is a bit of a mystery, as both the tower and the watergate seem to be the product of more advanced technology than what we observed in the village.



Strange idols decorated the floor of the tower, whose origin and purpose we couldn't guess and didn't wish to imagine.



Proof of the strange rites practiced here came in the form of abominations such as the floating eye creatures we located within the tower, with their nerve tendrils dangling limply beneath them. The evil eyes split with satisfying ease, but could bewitch the unwary and steal away their magical power or send them to sleep. We destroyed them wherever they appeared, although I fear our efforts cannot have permanently cleansed the tower.

50 hp, 77 attack, 30 defense and 55 agility. 25 gold and 92 experience.



Large numbers of flesh-eating monstrosities also wandered the tower in search of prey. While notably less Hardy than the Horks we had encountered earlier, Ghouls were in some ways rather more dangerous. Their blows were more powerful, and they were capable of using Fireball spells, which they seemed to prefer to hand to hand combat.

80 hp, 120! attack, 19 defense, 41 agility. 100 gold and 61 experience.



Some few treasures were scattered about the tower, although hardly worth the danger that coming here presented.



Perhaps the greatest horror of the tower was discovering that the Evil Clown in my father's basement was not a singular anomaly. It seems that children are right to fear clowns.



It was all too much for Lars, and he fell into a faint while we were climbing the tower. Luckily we had a Leaf of the World Tree on hand, as I would not have relished the trip back without being successful.



The tower grew progressively narrower the higher we rose, a change in design from previous towers we had entered. I find the difference fascinating, as it seems to indicate that a different culture was responsible for this tower.



Naturally, when we reached the very top of the tower we found that the treasure chest there was empty. As a seasoned adventurer I would find it quite strange were we to climb a tower and actually find the treasure at the top. We began seeking side passages.



The tower was home to a close cousin of the Metal Slime, the Metal Babble. Larger in size they also possessed fiercer magic, such as the Firebane spell. Being more liquid in form these babbles were much more difficult to damage than metal slimes. It should go without saying that they ran in each case before we could destroy them.

35 hp, 75 attack, 255 defense and 200 agility. 255 gold and 1050 experience



In a tiny chamber near the base of the tower an old man babbled about the moon and the tides. Ignoring him, we took what we came for. I imagine that being stuck in the tower for so long after the Watergate Key was stolen had driven the old man quite insane.



A quick trip back to Tuhn to check on Don Mahone proved disappointing. Weaving is a slower process than I had imagined.

Seriously, this takes FOREVER.



The cave we sought were located off the shore of Osterfair, but on the way we stopped off in Welgarth for a new sword. The Light Sword was enchanted to use the spell of Surround on command, but this was far less useful than de-limbing and decapitating enemies with it. Lars has done fairly well lately, so I used the profits from selling my old sword to buy him some armor.

As a note, unless you do something I'm planning to do later, this is the strongest armor available for Lars. It ties with the Full Plate Armor that Caimalot had back in Moonbrooke.



The effects of the Moon Fragment were awesome to behold, although having lived by the sea I can honestly say that I'm fairly certain that tides do not actually work like that. I'll chalk it up to magic.



The interior of the cave was lit with a dull red glow from magma flows covering portions of the floor, although through some trick of the sea the passageways were actually tolerable so long as one didn't step directly on the magma. Unfortunately, much of our route led in that direction.



It was all quite too much for Lars and Peta initially, and ended up with me having to fight my way clear and exit. We had stopped to pick up another Leaf from the World Tree, but with two corpses we were a bit short. I had to make the hard choice of using it on Lars so that he could Return us to town and seek aid for Peta. The only problem with this approach was that the nearest House of Healing was in Leftwyne.

Bit of a bad design decision, I think. There's not one in Osterfair, and Midenhall doesn't have one since if you die at that point it's a game over.



Our return trip went more smoothly, although for the first time on our journey we encountered trapped treasure chests. While it's hardly less random than spreading boxes full of treasure about in random caves, spreading trapped chests just seems mean spirited.



I have no explanation as for why there was a guard posted here, although in retrospect I suppose he must have come from Osterfair.



This conclusion comes as a result of locating Saber Lions roaming the cavern, finally explaining where the king of Osterfair had captured his beast. Either that or one of them escaped the cave and swam to Osterfair for some reason. I can't decide which is more unlikely, but take your pick.

These Saber Lions are about the same as what you face in Osterfair, except that they're a bit more vulnerable to magic. Good call on them not being unique.



We also encountered mummies roaming the caverns, barely distinguishable from the mummy men we had encountered earlier in our travels. It would seem that those who fell here and did not have companions to haul them to safety were condemned to roam this cavern until we came to put them to final rest with fire and the sword.

75 hp, 70 attack, 26 defense, and 42 agility. 60 gold and 62 experience



The more we explored, the more obvious it became that this cavern was not entirely natural. Someone had been at work improving it, although the fact that they used something as simple as a Silver Key indicates that they must have been on a budget.



At the end of a long corridor a plethora of stairs led ever downward, in an attempt to confuse and demoralize treasure hunters. In our case, this was a failure.



Through trial and error we eventually found our way forward, although the experience was quite painful.



The residents of the cavern came out to meet us, although their claim to being wizards was laughable. I hope Lars took note, as such hubris is a leading cause of living in a volcano lair.



The so-called wizards were in fact Evil Clowns, just like the one in my father's basement although sadly not carrying Thunder Staves. If we don't do something about all these evil clowns, we'll be up to our balls in juggles in no time.



Far more interesting and challenging were the armed and armored skeletons in the chamber behind them. Similar to the common Undead, these undead knights were both more powerful and possessed of higher quality arms and armor. Their desiccated state made them less resistant to physical hardship, however, a trait that we took full advantage of.

72 hp, 93 attack, 28 defense and 53 agility. 80 gold and 89 experience.



Beyond their cracked bones we came upon the Eye of Malroth, the only thing remaining that kept us from the Road to Rhone. It was time to seek the way to Hargon's kingdom.

End of Update Summary



Level 21. Light Sword, Erdrick's Helmet, Armor of Gaia and Erdrick's Shield.



Level 19. Iron Spear, Magic Armor, Leather Shield



Level 15. Clothes Hiding and Staff of Thunder