Home > Campaigns > Book 5, Chapter 6 - Just Exterminators
Just Exterminators
In Shadowdale, the butcher gave us some beef fat. We mixed that with the toad skins and one globe. The mixture smelled horrid. We stuffed some pumpkins with it and placed those in the holes. Mical smoked his pipe, in accordance with Elminster's instructions. Later, we saw that the pumpkins were gone.
The next morning, it was cloudy with light rain. Obviously a yucky day to be out. We strolled to the holes only to be startled by Farmer Beech running past us screaming. We went around the house and gasped. A giant preying mantis pulled its head from the window and stared at us. All of us barraged it with arrows, then Lagasse cut off a leg. It died soon after.
We had just lowered our weapons when about ten stirge flapped out of the woods. I zapped two of them with magic missiles, and the men got three more. One stuck to the back of my neck, then another on my hip. I grabbed one of them and tried to squeeze it to death, but it still wouldn't come off. I could feel the blood getting sucked out of me. Finally, Lyra got one off, and I pulled out the other. The rest flew away. I was woozy, so Mical healed me.
We entered the holes with our light rocks out. The sides were steep until we reached a cliff. Thumps came from below. We could see that this hole was connected to the other holes. I climbed back out and asked the townsfolk to bring rope. The farmer gave me two rolls, so I tied one end to a tree, and connected the rest of us to it.
We descended. Just as we reached the bottom, a giant insect fell to the ground beside us. It lay motionless. I poked it with a stick, and it still didn't move. Mical spotted lizard tracks, as well as big bug tracks. Leaves littered the ground ahead, and as we walked into it, our feet started to burn. We jumped back, noticing our boots were steaming. Another dead bug lay a few feet away.
We left, and climbed into a different hole to try to avoid the burning stuff. More stirge attacked us, and one attached to Lagasse. I couldn't get it off. Mical and Lagasse killed two others. The last one, bloated from Lagasse's blood, flew away further into the burrow. We followed it, and found it hanging from the ceiling. Lagasse got his revenge. We found a pale green potion, some oil, and a 'blindness' scroll.
Further in, we found another hole going down even more. Lagasse stuck his head in and saw a cavern with a large beetle running toward him. He pulled his head back, jumped up, and pointed his sword at the hole. The beetle crawled through. I cast 'magic missiles' at it, especially strong ones. Mical sliced off an antenna, then a leg. It bit Lagasse before Mical killed it. The healers bandaged Lagasse's wound, then cured him.
Down in the cavern, there was another dead beetle. Another hole went down, and lizard tracks led to the east. We followed the tracks until we heard a dull roar. A sudden fiery glow lit the passage before us, and we felt the heat. We ran, but another beetle emerged from the hole. We dodged past it to get it between any lizards and us.
The bug bit Lyra twice, so she backed out of the way. I cast 'magic missile' again, then stayed near her to see if she needed help. Mical then stumbled and cut his right arm with his hand axe. Always eager to top him, Lagasse missed the insect and drove his sword into Mical's shoulder. Mical cursed, then backed out of the fight. He and Lyra healed themselves while Lagasse finally killed it.
We climbed the rope and left that place. The townspeople were cheering again. We must have been a dreadful sight. We went home and rested. Mical and Lagasse were feeling ill again, so both drank another half bottle of Elixir. In the morning, we were sore and tired. I scribed 'blindness' into my spellbooks, then put the big heavy one into the enchanted chest. Too heavy. I also had to recast my 'armor' spell.
Back at the accursed holes, we left our packs outside with some trusted persons, except for the treasure, which I carried. Mical and Lyra both cast 'protection from fire' on themselves. The lizard area was quiet. One slept near the back wall and another snoozed at the entrance. I tried to cast 'blindness' on the sleeping one, but it didn't work, and woke it up. Lyra cast 'prayer.' Both lizards breathed fire at Lagasse and bit him. Mical and Lagasse hit one twice, then I cast 'magic missile' twice, killing it. Everyone was effective in the fight, but the last one still bit Lagasse again and breathed fire twice. The priests' spells worked, but Lagasse got scorched. Mical eventually killed it.
Several decent items were in the lair. There were a few gems, a priest scroll, a 'protection from cold' scroll, and five potions (clear, blue, bubbly clear, amber, and silver). We then went to the last area.
Lagasse peeked into the hole and saw many beetle bodies. He saw some movement in the pile. Three beetles crawled from under their brethren. We started to back, up, but the bugs were too fast. Mical and Lagasse both were bitten, then one of them slashed Lagasse again. Lyra healed him as best she could. I had no idea what was going on, since I was above everyone else with no room to climb down. Both of the men fought well, killing all three bugs quickly. Perhaps the insects were already sick, for they didn't last long.
The room full of dead beetles also contained two small gems, a priest scroll, and two mage scrolls. We left for home, glad that the fiasco was over. We were somewhat peeved at Elminster. He did help us, but we still could have easily been killed, while he could have taken care of the problem in moments with little risk to himself. I hope that he had a good reason for it.
In the morning, the others went to get Boebil while I figured out what the scrolls were. Both scrolls had seven spells, quite a find! Most of the spells were so difficult that I could not hope to cast them for quite some time, if ever. Here are what some of the most exciting spells were: clone, maze, airboat, analyze dweomer, Malec-Keth's flame fist, stoneskin, and slow. I was almost able to learn 'slow' at that time, and eagerly looked forward to completing my training to get it.
