Interlude: The Caverns Under Luna

Captain Forsyth: A Letter

Moon stuck….

The ongoing letter that Henry writes to his brother Clarance, which is now addressed to his wife.

Dear Abigail,

I’ve scribbled a few notes as we have gone along, I hope these find you.

The chamber we found ourselves in was vast. Stalactites handing down to a rock-strewn floor.

There were 2 exits one which appeared to go up and the other down. Knowing that the rope bridge we had seen was well below us and that whoever had the survived the crash of Clarance’s ship had gone down, so that was the only logically way to go.

We felt a little heavier down here, but still incredibly light, maybe half of our true weight on earth.

We headed down and into another cavern blanketed with the glow fungus. I spotted those strange insect-like rats moving about, but they avoid us. Again, there was choice between going up or down through a fissure. We continued down.

The cavern we came too was dark, but thankfully Wilhelm has a lantern which he lit. A bright reflection came back from one part of cave. We entered and found the source of this reflection. It is a glass like mineral vein, we could spot of red further within it. Sadly, in the limited light I could not make out what it was, humble quartz or huge diamond or something in between.

My curiosity was peaked. Why had Clarence bought a geologist with him? What did he know and how?

Yet again exits up or down and again we descended.

Another cavern, with only one way out.

We have speculated on the formation of these vast chambers. They are mainly circular in shape. I have determined that they are not the result of water erosion, like say much of the Blue John cave system in the county of Derbyshire, or the better-known sections of Chedder gorge.

Rather we speculate and I confess with really little knowledge, that these may have been created by gas bubbles eons ago, perhaps when the moon was forming and cooling.

The next chamber was level, more illuminating fungus and moon rats running amok. Such was density and smell of the latter that we suspected a nest. While they avoid us, we suspected that should we stumble upon a nest, they would defend it. We therefore proceeded cautiously and in single file to reduce the possibility of such an encounter.

I should explain that the glowing fungus grows to about shin height, is like a blanket, so it hides the scurrying creatures from us. We hear them more than see them. It’s also quite hard work wading through this fungus stuff, a bit like wading through a corn field.

An exit led us to another chamber, which had clearly experienced a major rock fall. It was difficult to navigate and pick our way over and around, but we did so without incident, to an exit on the other side and proceeded to the next chamber.

Again, a carpet of glowing fungus, little else of interest but again an exit on the other side, this time higher up that was going to require a climb.

As we set out across the cavern floor, the fungus again making it hard going, I instinctively felt something was wrong underfoot. So apparently did Wilhelm who also stopped dead in his tracks.

Toe poking ahead gave us to understand there a sharp fall off. In short, a pit that we could have fallen into. The fungus had grown out of there to the same height as the rest, so the danger was hidden. It was the slightest of misalignment in these flowers that got my attention.

Wilhelm too. Thankfully we were alert enough to avoid this peril.

For the first time we had to climb to get out. I volunteered to go first with rope. I’m the best climber, not by much and no expert by any means, but it gives the others a much better chance of ascent if I can deploy a rope.

Another passage leading another chamber. More fallen rock to navigate. These chambers are huge. While I suspect we haven’t gone many miles, it has all been on difficult terrain. We have to maintain our concentration.

I should ask Grant, he has a watch and some kind of compass.

We’d done as much as we could. We were getting tired and it was time to rest, eat and sleep.

I’ve speculated a little on this crazy mass of chambers. They are connected by these kind tunnels that seem to replicate the main chambers, or by fissures that have opened up.

The latter are obvious. Rock falls caused by time and gravity, little as it is, who knows how long it’s had to do its work.

The best I can up with is that maybe some of these gas bubbles had weak spots that they expanded through.

We slept without a watch, there didn’t seem any need and we were all very tired. This type of terrain and concentration takes a lot out one, as I can testify.

The next ‘day’, who knows what night and day are anymore, we entered a large cavern.

With the option of exits requiring a climb or down, we opted for our usual approach. Except when looked down into the dark, with Wilhelms lantern, something was reflecting on the floor that glistened.

Hartwell, as sharp as ever, noted something moving on the ceiling.

When Wilhelm played his light up there, it was clear this was chamber full of bats.

We’d already encountered these; we knew they would attack if woken and it was a long way to the only exit we could see across the cavern. That was down and again the way we wanted to go. But we felt trying cross this chamber was very high risk.

We backtracked to the climb which was the other way out of the huge chamber we were in.

Again, I made the climb with rope and secured a way up for the rest of the party.

We passed through the tunnel and to our surprise it came out looking above a lake filled chamber! The illumination was a bit dim, with only fungi on the side in a limited amount, but good enough to our well-adjusted eyes.

There was an exit on the other side, water slowing appearing to disappear through a cave. But how deep and where did it lead and would we have any control if we went that way?

Hartwell stepped forward to test the waters. Modesty requires me to omit a small detail.

He climbed easily down, not really needing the rope provided.

He waded out to the point of needing to swim, felt a current, then made his way back.

He’d refilled our canteens, the moment he tasted the water.

He was shaking with cold and we had to haul him up with the rope. It took a while for him get warm and we used the opportunity to rest. We determined that that it was not practical to essay the water, aside the unknown position we would find ourselves, the water would probably ruin our equipment and weapons.

After that we were faced with two options. We either tried to essay the bat infested cave, or went a very long back, I thought in the order of nearly a day, to the nearest alternative branch that we hadn’t explored.

We rested again, climbed down and returned to the bat cave. Grant had a bit of a rush of blood to the head and took the lead. He let go of the rope part way down careered down and his momentum carried across the slick bat guano, which is what we seen glistening.

The idiot was hollering like crazy. Americans don’t seem to have much self-control, which is of course, instinctive to us British. (Or at least this one doesn’t.)

Wilheim climbed down and slid into a similar position, although he kept his feet.

It was clear that we could not traverse this cavern. We needed to get people out of there in case the bats woke up and attacked, which Grant seemed to be doing his best to invoke. Eventually we did this, but Grant in particular wanted to return to the lake to clean up.

We did so, filling water bottles in advance.

Then Grant realised had lost his water bottle in his slide down into the bat dung.

It was a very minor point that would have made no impact if we had been on campaign for example, but down here water was at a premium. I suspect there was also consensus that none of us really wanted to share a canteen with Grant.

We returned to the bat cave, spotted the errant bottle, in a pile of bat poo and were able to retrieve it without incident. Grant felt it unusable, given that it was heavily coated in a very unpleasant substance.

We returned yet again the lake cavern, once again I made the climb. Grant got to clean his canteen and once again we drank and refilled before he did.

Wilhelm pulled me aside; he is concerned that Grant is slowing us down. Certainly, he’d become rather vocal and annoying. It was clear that was maybe a little of friction between the two inventors.

I feel we are all a little stressed. Earlier, the first time we rested I confess I had moment when I could have been overwhelmed by it all, fearing the worst for Clarence, but simply humming the national anthem, reminded me what is to be British!

I assured my dear friend Wilhelm that I would a keen watch for any skullduggery, but Grant is our only hope of getting out of here. I feel he is being difficult, or perhaps stressed, or just the worse of American. I also allow he’s not used to these kinds of circumstances. Unlike us three average British citizens, who regularly face the unknown with our natural stoicism.

We climbed back down and returned to the bat cave, but with a very different idea. The great professor Wilhelm simply transported us across. Grant was mightily impressed, but still went on a bit.

In the next chamber the more obvious passage out led us to another lake. A waterfall cascaded from one side. We speculated that this could have been the overflow from the previous lake chamber. The outflow from this was clearly underwater, so we declared it a dead end.

For some time now, Wilhelm has been scratching marks on all the tunnel entries and exits. So, we should have no trouble retracting our steps. Then again, I have my writing bureau, so have been able to take notes so sorts, Grant seems to have been plotting the path and if all else fails, as you know my dear Abby Abi I can rely on my excellent memory.

Forestalled at the lake, not a comment I believe I’ve ever made before, we returned to the previous chamber and exited by the less promising looking fissure.

We found another cavern with a mineral vein in it. I wonder if that is why the Russians have returned repeatedly. Is there some value in this? The rats around us are now almost incidental.

Only one exit, which bought us again to a cavern with the edible fungus growing in it.

We ignored a fissure and carried on in what we though the right direction, but who can tell. We’ve been turned around so many times, heaven knows how far we have really descended.

This passage overlooked another cavern with a giant field of fungus. It’s hard to explain the scale of this strange system.

Exhaustion was again entering our veins. We stopped in the next passage and again believing there was nothing else and no danger down here fell asleep. How foolish of me to neglect my basic military instincts.

I was awoken by the sound of a single pistol shot. Indeed, it rang and echoed in the tunnel, almost deafening us all completely. I just caught the sight of one these giant caterpillar monstrosities with its head half blown away flailing at the edge of the tunnel before falling away to the cavern below. Hartwell’s pistol had smoke still tailing from the barrel. Some instinct had caused him to wake. He’d drawn and fired in one fluid motion all the more remarkable from lying in his sleep.

We know from previous encounters that these beasts are not the easiest to kill, it was on the sleeping Grant and would have surely done for him and it not been for Hartwell’s gallant intervention. So, this was the most remarkable shot in the circumstances.

In response we now posted watches and determined to sleep a little later by way of compensation. Wilhelm on first watch spotted any number of caterpillars in amongst the fungi in the cavern below us, which we’d need to traverse next.

I took middle watch. While I could see a couple of the beasts, I couldn’t see the others that Wilhelm tried to point out. Their appearance from afar is one of camouflage, they blend rather well with the fungus.

Although I tried to point out the creatures, when I handed over watch to Hartwell, he confessed he couldn’t see one.

However, we got to rest and then another cold breakfast. I think I may have to indulge in some devilled kidneys when I get back to the club.

We had some discussion about how to deal with the caterpillar infested cavern.

We could shoot most, if not all of the threat from our vantage point. We could wade across as usual and deal with threat as it arose. But the option we choose was to teleport across.

The next cavern had the grey edible mushrooms we’d encountered before. It’s I may say at best, an acquired taste, which may take some time, but gave us an opportunity to eat and replenish food stocks.

Worryingly we are starting to see evidence of corrosion on our boots and if you pardon the observation on gaters too. We know this glowing fungus has acidic properties and it’s clearly taking its toll. We pressed on to the next cavern.

As we waded through yet another chamber of glowing fungus, a giant centipede erupted out of the large glow mushrooms in front of us. We gather that the natural prey of these things is the rats, but they’ve certainly been interested in the newly presented human alternative.

We drew and fired, but not fast or effective enough before the thing had grabbed Grant in its giant mandibles and was squeeing the life out of him. At which point Hartwell put a huge hole in the thing and it was done for.

Thankfully were able to bring Grant round, once again Hartwell had saved him by means of some excellent shooting, but it was a close-run thing.

We reached the next passage and paused for break. We took what we regard to be lunch, but our next cavern is another bat filled one.

We have to find a way out of this indeterminable labyrinth soon. Blundering around these caverns, is just reducing our capacity. I believe it would take at least two days just to return to the original cavern and maybe more going uphill, before we even consider all the hazards we’ve managed to overcome.

I rather feel like we are trapped in that French writer’s novel, ‘Voyage au centre de la Terre’, published what 25 to 30 years ago? Now I’m starting to question if it was fiction, or did he know something? What was his name, Verde, or Verne, something like that.

I hope for better news, but given our distance I doubt it will be soon. Hope remains.

Henry.

Episode 62: Spelunking on Luna

The cavern the team were in seemed to be a giant bubble blown into the lunar regolith, approximately 50 yds across, with rubble strewn on the curved, dish-like floor, glowing green fungi adhering to the walls and stalactites peppering the ceiling. Water drooled down the walls, and the team could make out two circular openings, one that seemed to provide a path upward, the second a path downward.

Forsyth reasoned that the bridge connecting this side of the chasm with that against which his brother's aethership had crashed was lower down than their current position, and his co-adventurers agreed they should descend rather than travel upward.

The passageway they took connected with a dry cavern devoid of visible water but bearing a dense fungal carpet of mixed green glowing and brown (barely) edible types. Beneath the fungus they could see half a dozen lunar rats, which scuttled away from the earthmen. A fissure in the opposite side of the cavern led downward, and seemed to be the only option vis-a-vis exits in any case, so the party made for it and squeezed through.

The cavern the fissure connected to was dry and pitch dark. Wilhelm lit his lantern and the team could make out a glassy mineral vein of some kind running upward into the ceiling of the spherical chamber. It was, Grant said, as though the rock had foamed in some unthinkably distant past, then hardened before the bubbles could rise to the surface and "pop". The others pondered this as they spotted a second fissure high up on the opposite wall, and a circular portal leading down somewhat off to one side of that. The team made their way to the portal, noting as they crossed the rock-strewn floor that the glassy mineral vein had dark red inclusions deep inside it.

The portal was eventually reached, with only a growing sense of isolation to disturb the travelers Peace of mind. It led downward, and opened into another dry cavern with a carpet of green, glowing fungus and a visible fissure almost directly opposite them. The trip across this cavern was less silent, and rang with the echoing squeals of a considerable crowd of lunar rats as they scurried away from the Earthmen's boots.

The next cavern was dark, dry and featured a fissure up high in the opposite wall, below which a considerable quantity of rock and scree had slumped. There was also a circular portal entrance low down a little further around the cavern. Examination by means of Wilhelm's marvelous lantern showed nothing alive here, but the going was difficult as the floor was also a maze of fallen rock, and by the time the party had crossed to the portal Forsyth and Grant were feeling the effects of fatigue and bruising from countless tiny miscalculations while walking.

The portal opened into yet another bubble-like cavern, but this one was lit by the familiar green glow from the lunar fungi that thickly carpeted the floor and part of the walls. The only exit appeared to be a portal high in the opposite wall, so the team made for it. About halfway across Forsyth and Wilhelm each became suddenly nervous, and, alerted by this sense of looming disaster they spotted a small but deep pit hidden by the fungal carpet. A lucky escape, since someone could easily have turned an ankle in that concealed hazard. Forsyth led the team in the climb to the exit.

The revealed cavern was dry, and exhibited signs of a serious rockfall sometime in the antediluvian lunar past. The crossing to a circular exit low in the wall was tiring and the party became quite dispirited. Forsyth was tormented by thoughts of his poor brother's situation, but managed to pull himself together before he could descend into a funk. Realizing they were now running on sheer willpower the team decided that the connecting tunnel of this portal would make a good camp for the "night".

After the team had rested and slept (fitfully, it has to be admitted), they pushed on into the next cavern, which seemed to have no obvious water supply yet hosted a carpet of mixed green and grey fungi. A fissure had opened high in the wall to one side, and a low circular portal exit offered a chance to descend further, which the team decided to use.

The next cavern brought the team up short. No fungus. No water. A prominent golden mineral vein ran down the wall. But the ceiling was infested by what looked like hundreds of Lunar Bats! Deciding that discretion was the better part of valour our heroes backtracked to the previous cavern and crossed to the fissure.

Climbing up confronted the team with a situation that could very well have demoralized even the hardiest of explorers. The cavern opening off the tunnel accessed via the fissure was flooded. The heroes looked down on a sizable lake. Fungus was growing on the walls, casting the usual wan, green light. The lake had no obvious source, but was draining through a tunnel directly across from the perplexed adventurers.

After Hartwell had taken a dip to clean himself and dried off, the team backtracked once again to the previous cavern, and once again they cross to the portal and return to the cavern with the bats.

The bats seemed to be sleeping, so Grant, rather foolishly, climbed down to the cavern floor, where he immediately lost his footing and fell. The floor, it turned out, was covered with a thick, slimy layer of wet bat guano, which was incredibly slick.

Grant began to complain loudly - rather too loudly for the adventurers' comfort. Wilhelm followed Grant down and managed to keep his feet - just, but slid a good distance on the curved, slick floor. Forsyth threw each a rope and he and Hartwell hauled the stranded pair back to the fissure. Grant was a pitiful sight.

There was nothing for it but to undertake yet another crossing of the previous cavern, return to the lake and clean themselves. Just as they are making camp for the "night" Grant discovers he has lost his canteen.

The next "day" the team once again lowered themselves into the previous cavern, crossed to the cavern with bats where they could clearly see Grant's canteen half buried in the muck on the floor. Grant rigged a rope and climbed down, retrieved his canteen and the others pulled him back up, all without waking the sleeping bats.

Once again the heroes crossed to the fissure, climbed up and returned to the lake, where Grant washed off his canteen. A heated discussion broke out on the subject of options, probably made more heated by the prospect of a seventh crossing of the cavern below them. It was mutually agreed that perhaps a one hour lunch break was called for.

Once again the team retraced their steps to the cavern with the bats, where Wilhelm was about to save the day. After some muttered calculations, Wilhelm tersely instructed the others to gather around him, and he activated his miraculous teleportation device.

The entire team was engulfed in crackling green energy, then with a snap they vanished and a similar display of green lightning erupted at the portal low in the wall of the bat-infested cavern. Everyone was amazed that the noise and light of their journey had not woken these seemingly comatose bats, but the pseudo-bats remained obstinately (and fortunately) asleep throughout.

Walking through the tunnel in which they now found themselves our heroes perhaps wondered why it had taken so long (and so many trips across that blasted cavern that their boots surely could have made the trek without them) to light upon using the teleportation device. In any case, each, for his own reasons, let the matter rest.

Soon the Earthmen's eyes were feasting upon tghe sight of another cavern with no running water yet hosting a carpet of the glowing green fungus. They could hear Lunar Rats scurrying around on the floor, hidden from view, but by now were so familiar with these timid beasts that they felt no qualms about pressing forward. A fissure high up the wall offered a way up, and a portal low in the wall some small distance around the cavern circumference offered the preferred route down.

For the second time the Earthmen found themselves looking at a large lake, but this time with no obvious drain. They decide, with sinking hopes

to backtrack to the previous cavern.

Re-traversing the fungal carpet and nervously probing for hidden pitfalls to the sound of skittish lunar rats, they make their wy to the scree slope under the fissure high in the wall, and climb up into it.

The revealed dry cavern showed a broad mineral vein running down its walls in several places, glassy with dark red inclusions. A small pack of lunar rats scurried away from the light cast by Wilhelm's lantern. Only one exit presented itself, a fissure set midway up a wall almost opposite them. The heroes made for this with some groans of fatigue.

Another dry cavern filled with a mixture of green glowing and filthy brown (but edible in extremis) fungus. A circular portal was set low in the wall opposite. While making for this exit. Wilhelm twisted his ankle and the team took this as a sign that they should camp for the "night" after they examined the next cavern, which had a carpet of glowing green fungus. They could see a fissure high in the walls at "three o'clock" and a portal set low at "ten o' clock".

Exhausted, the team soon fell asleep, but Grant was attacked during the night by a giant lunar caterpillar. Fortunately, Hartwell was woken by the sound of its clawing legs attempting to gain purchase on the loose rock in their tunnel campsite, grabbed his trusty pistol and blew it to kingdom come! The adrenaline pumping in each heroes veins was a clarion call for safety procedures, and they set watches. Fortunately, there were no more uninvited visitors to their camp.

The next "day", Wilhelm used his miraculous teleportation device to carry the entire team to the portal, where the team were able to see a dry cavern carpeted with grey fungus, with an exit portal set low in the opposite wall.

Crossing this cavern was uneventful until the team noticed the clear signs of acid burns on their boots and gaiters. Hurrying out of the grey fungus they entered a dry cavern filled with green glowing fungus and were heading for the only other portal set low in the wall some distance away when the team were ambushed by a lunar caterpillar! A furious fight with the unwholesome beast developed, during which the caterpillar was dispatched but not before it had dealt Dr Grant a lethal bite! Wilhelm leapt into action with his marvelous healing machine and somehow managed to revive Grant and heal the grievous injury that had been dealt to him by the monster!¹

It was disheartening for the team to be confronted with yet another cavern with only a portal set high in the opposite wall. The mineral vein running down the wall at "three o'clock" was interesting, but the ceiling full of sleeping lunar bats was distinctly problematical.

What would the team do now?

1. Professor Wilhelm was certainly proving his worth on this tedious expedition, having managed to carry the team past several hazards unscathed and provided much-needed medical services. Likewise, if not for Hartwell's swift and lethal gunplay the team could well have been killed while they slept. Forsyth was a rock to steady the team despite the worry over his brother's fate, and Dr Grant had, of course, supplied the method of actually landing on the forbidding surface of Luna. Such is the nature of all hazardous expeditions, with each member playing a crucial part, earning his or her food and water rations the hard way.↑