Home > Campaigns > Book 7, Chapter 1 - Two-headed Freaks
Two-headed Freaks
The next morning, I tried to identify the 'Wyetokaya' dagger with the staff. I concentrated with all of my might, and began to rise into the air. Too bad I hadn't waited until the others returned from the fletchers. I studied the worn boards of the ceiling for half an hour, listening to the otter eat my morning bread. Finally, I sank back down and tried to cause no more trouble.
When the group came back, we left Arrowmark. Our first day of travel was completely uneventful, except for having to constantly cast 'shrink' on the otter. It had to be large and conspicuous some of the time, as I just couldn't keep the spell in my head that many times.
The next morn, the darn otter ran off into the woods. Mical chased after it as Lyra loudly exhorted him to leave it behind. When Mical found it, it was answering the call of nature, so to speak. No wonder it ran off. However, he heard a twig snap behind him and turned to find an ettercap. It was around 6 feet tall, with long fingers and claws. We heard Mical bellow, "Attack!" as he is wont to do and rode toward the sound. We spotted him just as it clawed him. It was already bleeding, so he wasn't doing badly. I magic-missiled it, Lyra cast 'prayer,' and Lagasse joined the fray. Soon it was dead.
The next town we approached was Archtassle. According to signs, it was the annual Fur Festival. The hunters and trappers we passed on the road stared at the giant otter with something akin to lust. One fellow offered us 4000 gold for it. I had no idea otter fur was worth so much. We were all possessive of our furry pal, so Mical and Lyra circled around the town with the creature while Lagasse and I went to buy more fish. The thing ate over 25 pounds a day! I thought I spotted that annoying mage, but he disappeared into the crowd. To misdirect him, Lagasse and I asked townsfolk about Highmoon, then rejoined the others.
Another day passed uneventfully, but during Mical's watch that night, he spotted a large brown bear near our horses. Being Mical, he of course approached it and tried to feed it. It accepted the food, so he scratched it behind the ears. It knocked him down and began licking his face. He did smell like fish. Mical led it away from our camp with a few trout, only to have it return during Lyra's watch. She used her ring of mammal control to make it stay away.
The fourth day of travel brought some surprises. Several frightened-looking people ran past us, refusing to stop for questioning. A short distance later, we spotted an upturned cart and two dead horses near the road. Two two-headed giant-like things were approaching (ettins?) a male gnome, a female human in shiny armor, and a male human in monastic robes. Suddenly a monstrous yellow worm burst out of the ground beside them. It had six legs and a pink belly.
The worm shot acid from its mouth, hitting the cart. We charged toward the melee, except for Lyra, who paused to summon a glowing blue bear. I enlarged Lagasse, so his next blow was deadly. Between my group and those we aided, the worm was dead in short order. The female was a paladin, named Rebecca, and the man was Kip. The gnome was called David, though that wasn't his real name.
Lyra sent her bear to find the two-headed beings, which had fled when the worm died. It found them and attacked. Since only enchanted weapons can harm the spirit bear, the creatures' weapons just passed right through it. Eventually though, the spell wore off and the bear vanished.
True to form, Mical yelled, "Attack!" and charged off. Unfortunately, they had run away again, so I asked Spartan to spot them from above. When the guys found them, they saw that the ugly things had green, mottled skin and long pointed noses. Lagasse stood about nine feet while enlarged, yet they were still taller than he.
Both guys hit one monster, but Lagasse was bitten and hit with a club. Mical was clubbed, bitten, and clawed. Lagasse chopped off one scaly arm, while Mical was clubbed again. He needed healing, but Lyra and I hadn't caught up yet. Lagasse killed his, and then started on Mical's. I finally arrived and cast magic missile just as it bit Mical again. He started to fall, so I cast levitate on him and lifted him away from the danger. Lyra healed him as he rose. Lagasse finally killed it. Then both clerics focused on healing Mical's wounds.
We were just catching our breath when they got back up. I blasted the nearest one with magic missiles while Mical shot arrows, killing it. Lagasse re-killed the other. That time, we poured oil on the corpses and burnt them. We cleaned up and continued riding along the road, with the other group following us. The two humans were to wed in the next town, so were especially cheerful traveling companions.
