Moon Rabbits - Recap

The Twelve Moon Daughters
by R L McNulty

Thirteen lucky Detectives took on the very first episode of "The Moon Rabbits," one of four new adventures during the summer 2016 season. The Detectives, ages 9 to 12, were a very seasoned group, including one of our first Detectives to reach her 10th mystery.

A delightful and strangely silent Moon Rabbit named Cai wormed her way into the Dragon's Eye headquarters carrying a copy of The Celestial Snews. This newspaper told the backstory of The Nine Fallen Suns, the prequel to this mystery. Our clever Detectives noticed a secret message hidden in the articles that hinted at trouble on the Moon.

Cai led the Detectives to the Palace of the Moon, where Chang-o the Moon Fairy asked for their help finding the twelve missing Moon Daughters. Our group faced a few challenges along the way, fighting off wispy black cloud demons, a disgruntled old toad and moon spiders. Lesson of the week: Take the time to admire the swamp.

Moon Palaces are akin to Sun Palaces -- not so easy to enter when one is a mortal. The Detectives had none of the usual paperwork, so they used the magical artifacts they had from other adventures to obtain the needed paperwork and Moon Gate Pass. Their first attempt with a wish from the Wind Amulet from The Wind Horse failed -- well, technically, it succeeded, only not on the day they intended. They received that Moon Gate Pass on the second in-game day.

Fortunately, a member of the group also had a Selkie Stone, and the Selkie's instructions were much more clear: Bring the Moon Gate Pass back now. The group entered the palace with their Honor intact and met the beautiful Chang-o.

She sent them to the Palace of the Purple Tenuity to talk with the Might Magistrate of Matters of Most Momentous Magnitude. Mind your manners in the Palace of the Purple Tenuity. These deities are all Order Gods, so they like things just so.

The Magistrate is an old friend of the Detectives by now (three cases involve the Magistrate and his brother). He discovers a slight problem in the Book of Matters -- the Moon Daughters are slowly vanishing from the book.

Madame Wu's Caravan by S. Melquist

The Detectives hurry to a meeting with Madame Wu, the oldest of the old storytellers. She lives in a swamp just like the toad, only her swamp is guarded by pesky caterpillars who spit freezing venom. (We've met those pesky caterpillars all summer! They had to make an appearance somewhere on the page!) Madame Wu told the Detectives what they had to do -- and here I shall refrain from giving away too many secrets for future adventurers!

Let's just say that the Detectives did a fabulous job creating new stories about the Moon Daughters. Teams of two or three designed games for the rest of the Detectives to play--and everyone had a chance to see what it was like to master a game for the adventure! it was great fun! The games can be seen here on our Dragon's Eye Facebook page.

The Detectives' own Moon Rabbits helped save the day -- and introduced the first ever Patience Jewels into the game. These lovely jewel are not a school of magic in and of themselves. Patience is not necessarily a goal in itself, but a way to other kinds of skills--so these jewels boost other types of magic.

Congratulations to a delightful team of Detectives who worked hard on their teamwork and their rabbits! Much was achieved by all that work! We had a strong finish and a wonderful week exploring a whole new story--and we ended with an invitation to an interplanetary journey that shall one day come to pass.

Thanks to Ken Walden, Lou Ensel, Isaac Ensel and Drew Walden for playing the Generals this week! Also thanks to Amanda Walden, without whom the Moon Rabbits would still be in pieces! Sewing with thirteen Detectives is quite an accomplishment!

The thirteen Moon Rabbits sewn by the thirteen Detectives