Sue Can I see into the distance?

Dionysus Not by much. You are in a landscape with thick vegetation, violet-leafed trees, & thin green mist in the air.

Dionysus It's very dark here on the voidscale.

• Sue climbs a tree and tries again.

Sue Oh, am I on the day side?

Sue If not, I'll try Sana instead.

Dionysus Yes, the day side. I assume you intend to teleport to the part you can see, because that's the part you imagine.

Dionysus It's just very magical here, is all.

Sue Right. Anyway, I'll spend up to an hour looking for civilization before returning in shame.

Dionysus Two things stand out while searching through the lunar jungle: butterflies that seem to be mde of crystal, sparkling like tiny prisms in the air, & the song og frogs.

Sue Frogs? Huh.

Sue I'm trying to get around by climbing trees and teleporting over the canopy, if possible.

Dionysus Neat.

Dionysus If you do the line-of-sight trick, you manage to find a small village before not too long. It's in ruins. It looks like it's been burnt, & there's a lot of magic in the air. It makes you tingle all over, like it's sucking the void from you, almost. And there's just a few charred elven bodies to denote the people who once livedhere.

Sue "Hello?"

• Sue calls into the village.

Dionysus No response.

Sue Any roads?

Dionysus A few trails lead away from the village.

• Sue follows a trail until the end of the hour or finding something else.

Dionysus About thirty feet down the trail, you hear a screech similar to the airship takin off.

Sue How far? Can I see it? If I climb a tree, is anything visible?

Dionysus Above you, soaring through the ksy is a ship of a design you've never even imagined before. It's like someone took mud & clay & shaped a spearhead with tubes sticking out of it, then added huge, unbendable bat wings.

Sue How fast is it moving?

Dionysus It's above you long enough for you to wonder, then out of view into the thick, gray cloud cover.

Sue I'll head from where I think it took off.

Sue s/from/to/

Dionysus Through the thick jungle, you find a clearing that is also a little scorched, though a different pattern of scorching.

Dionysus A dead being that looks like a twisted, skinny human, or a particularly tautly skinned skeleton, lies on the ground with a hole burned clean through him.

• Sue searches the body.

Dionysus His clothes are brown & gold, in tatters, & his body is light, though this moon is more similar to Shem with gravity. He has a belt that looks like it has a gun holster & a dagger sheath, but both are empty. He has nothing else but what appears to be a cosmic holy symbiol on him.

• Sue contemplates the body for a moment, then moves on.

Dionysus Where to?

Sue Still searching for civilization. Moving back to the trail if possible, otherwise going back to the canopy.

Dionysus You can find the trail, but you find no more signs of civilization before the hour is up.

• Sue makes a note of the surroundings, then goes back to the airship.

Dionysus I'll let you know when they catch up or when I arbitrarily decide to say you're back.

Dionysus You are at the bottom of a very deep pit. You can see the starry sky above.

Sue Like a crater?

Dionysus Yes.

Dionysus Exactly like one.

Dionysus The ground is gray & dusty.

Sue Is there anything visible in it with me?

Dionysus Rocks everywhere, & a few strange crystals.

Dionysus No civilzation visible from the bottom of the pit, nor lifeforms.

• Sue tries talking to the crystals. "Hello?"

Dionysus They fail to respond in anyway.

• Sue swords to the rim.

Dionysus You see from here that you are on a crater-scarred plain of gray dust & rocks, strange crystals & one tiny structure far in the distance.

• Sue swords 3/4 the way to the structure.

Dionysus You see it's a tiny shack made of some odd metal. It's half open, & there's a trail near it, a road.

Dionysus A sign above it says "Martul's."

• Sue swords to the door and knocks.

Dionysus There is no apparent door. When you get close, you see that it's more like a stall, for a merchant.

Sue "Hello?"

Dionysus If you teleport to it, a tall, thin blue man with a strangely pointed bald head looks down at you.

Dionysus <How may I be of service, stranger?>

Sue <I'm looking for a composer, information on trans-lunar shipbuilding, and maps of the three moons.>

Sue <My name is Subiquim Ixioj, and I'm participating in the First Song contest.>

Dionysus <Well, you've come to the right place! At Martul's, Martul has everything! Maps? I got maps of the best places! Maps of Kyellezhi, maps of Lunaria, maps of Uur Sodzul, even one rare map of ancient 'Sana before the wars.>

Dionysus <I'm Martul, & I'm a merchant.>

Sue <I see. What do you take in trade? I can probably bring you any small commodity or lore from the planet.>

Dionysus <Ahh, a Shemmish one? I thought I recognize your speech before. Well, didn't recognize it in the way to indicate you weren't from up here. What do you have to trade, Master Ixioj?>

Sue <Gold or diamonds, shemmish foods, void-stuff?>

Sue <Maps or books from Shem?>

Dionysus <Maps for maps sounds fair. One empire of Shem mapped for one lunar empire mapped.>

Sue <Thank you, I will return shortly.> He steps outside and swords back to the ship.

Dionysus <You go, you come back! Very impressive.>

Dionysus <How much for the Sword?>

Sue <I'm afraid I and my friends would be killed if I lost it. I have brought maps.>

Dionysus He sighs, <It's always so. Yes, maps. What of?>

Sue <Akazad, Maraddon, and Kren'atan. The empires of Dwarves, Talents, and Dragons on Shem.>

Dionysus <Lovely! And here are the maps I promised.> He makes the exchange. <Now, what else may I help you with?>

Sue <I need to learn how to build a trans-lunar ship that doesn't rely on magic.>

Sue <Specifically, I need a propulsion method.>

Dionysus He taps his chin, thinking.

Dionysus <What about void?>

Sue <I know how to use void to null gravity and inertia, but I still need to provide a positive "push".>

Dionysus <Hmm.>

Dionysus <What about burning some sort of highly flammable fuel?>

• Sue nods. <Yes, our best option at this point is gunpowder. I guess we'll have to find a way to manage it. Now, there was one other thing:>

Dionysus <Gunpowder? What the dickens is that?>

Dionysus <Don't you all have oxygen down there? Isn't that what burns?>

Sue <We swim in it, but we need an oxidizer. Gunpowder is the most powerful one that we can make.>

Dionysus <Well, I'm afraid I don't have any of that. What else did you need?>

Sue <Per the terms of the contest, we need to gather songs from each empire which no one else knows. I represent a second band, so I need two. I am a composer, so I can trade songs.>

Dionysus <That no one else knows? Does that include me?>

Sue <It's fine as long as you don't memorize it and give up all your notation.>

Dionysus <Well, I have a lot of old songs here. I know a few of them, but not most of them. Dunno who migth, though.>

• Sue scratches his ear thoughtfully. <The set-list can identify acceptable songs. I'll return with it. What would you like in trade?>

Dionysus <Song for a song sounds good, I suppose.>

Sue <Are you sure you wouldn't like some additional compensation for the exclusivity?>

Dionysus <What?>

• Sue hesitates. <I'm not sure. Wait, how does this sound:>

Sue <I'm building a trans-lunar ship which will be turned over to the empire of Maraddon after the contest, so that they can use it for trade and defense. How would you like me to deliver an advertisement for your trading post to their leaders?>

Dionysus He blinks, <That sounds a little too suspicious for my tastes. How do I know you're even remotely telling the truth?>

• Sue pauses for a long time.

Dionysus Look, this is a waste of time: he doesn't have usable songs. Can we abstract past this?

Sue Sure.

Dionysus You barter for a bit more, but when he shows you the songs, it becomes clear they're not ones he's written, so if he's seen them, they're useless.

• Sue gives up on trying to convince him, comes back with the ticket, checks all the songs, and apologizes for wasting his time, then goes back to the ship with the maps.

Dionysus Noted.

• Sue was thinking of saying "Because I have a magic fucking sword that teleports me across space?"