10 Gustacio Subplot:

Gustacio has the Artifact of Truth. The Avatar cannot pass Gorlab Swamp until he has this object.

He can obtain this object any time after Mountains of Freedom, but before (naturally) finishing

Gorlab Swamp. The Avatar might need to return to Moonshade (via Serpent Gate) to perform this

quest, as it is not forced on him during his first visit.

10a) After the Avatar proves his worth by surviving the Mountains of Freedom, Gustacio perceives the Avatar as a potential ally. The Avatar must come to Gustacio’s manor to pick up Iolo. Gustacio is amazed that the Avatar survived the dungeon, and invites him to help the mage with his experiments.

Gustacio laments that his partner, Mortegro, has deserted him. (We send Mortegro to Temple of Tolerance at this time — unknown to Gustacio, Mortegro is now a human lightning rod) There is also now a strange altar in Gustacio ‘s manor (see Tolerance townplot) — he doesn’t know how it got here, either, but suspects a teleport storm. When any container of liquid is placed on the altar, a magic sprite appears, and the container fills with the Water of Tolerance.

Iolo is in the manor library, reading tomes and chatting with Kane and Ale (recurring characters from Bull). The bard explains that Gustacio has promised to help Kane find his missing brother. Mortegro has assured them that Edrin is not dead (seance did not work).

Whether the Avatar accepts the invitation or not at this time is up to the player. If not, the Avatar can always return to accept the invitation.

10b) Gustacio gives a brief discourse on the Teleport Storms. They have three powers —Teleportation (moving something to a different spot), Transposition (switching one item for another), and Transmutation (changing one item into another). Gustacio believes that each power is represented by a different color of lightning strike.

10c) Gustacio can also explain about the aberrant properties of Bane Lightning — that it can sometimes frazzle magic items (such as Rudyam’s Wand, if the player asks about it Post-Madness, or the Daemon Sword from Mountains of Freedom).

10d) Now Gustacio wants to prove the link between powers of lightning and their colors. He tells the Avatar to travel to the tower which Gustacio has erected north of the city. Here, the Avatar will perform an experiment. (Gustacio says there is little risk, but this is not a job which he wants to perform.)

There is a tower, surrounded by poles with small platforms on top. The Avatar must bring the Energy Globe which Gustacio gives him, and place it on the machine on top of the tower. The machine can now be operated (the Globe is an arcane battery).

But first, the Avatar must place eight experimental items, one per tower (Gustacio gives him the items in a bag — an apple, a helmet, a fish, a pumpkin, a cup, a plate, a shield, and a hoe). There are eggs on top of every tower. If the Avatar puts the wrong object on a tower, a Companion corrects him and removes the item (to prevent the Avatar from putting plot-critical items out there).

The machine cannot be started until the objects are in place — if the master lever is pulled before everything is ready, the lever stays “up,” and the Companions say, “Wait!”

10e) Turning on the machine causes a Teleport Storm to glide in (strange clouds, booming sounds, Companions barking about the weather). This also causes the drawbridges leading to the towers to open, and locks the door leading downstairs.

SERPENT ISLE: Moonshade Townplot MOONSHAD.DOC

09/08/92