It was a few days later, after treasure had been divided, and professional development achieved. Adam, Troy and Zzyggy were again at the Gargoyle Tavern in Longspear. Adam was listening to the crowd’s various conversations, when he overheard an interesting bit of information.
"Well," said Adam to his companions, "it looks like there’s going to be a festival up in Cryllor."
"I know where that is," said Troy. "Up the Davish River, in Keoland. Not all that far from here. About a hundred miles."
"Sounds interesting to me," said Adam. "How about we check it out?"
"Let’s check it out!" exclaimed Zzyggy. Troy agreed with the voluble gnome. And so, after making appropriate preparations, the three adventurers mounted up (Zzyggy riding with Troy) and set off north to Cryllor. They figured it would take about three days to get there.
The party proceeded roughly north by northwest, parallel to the eastern bank of the Javan River. At the end of the day, they made camp in a glade in the nearby woods. Zzyggy took the first watch, while Troy and Adam doffed their armor and slept.
It was around midnight when Zzyggy heard noises from the surrounding woods. He tried to wake Troy and Adam. Not soon enough. Four giant spiders appeared as if out of nowhere, and skittered toward the gnome!
But suddenly, four more Zzyggys appeared. The gnome wizard cast mirror image to confuse the attacking spiders. Two of the spiders attacked two of the figments, which immediately disappeared.
"Wake up, sleepy-heads!" Zzyggy shouted. Adam and Troy sprang up. Troy drew his mace. As he drew, one of the spiders bit him. He shrugged off the poisonous bite of the spider, then swung back, smashing the body of the arachnid. Zzyggy moved back, then sent a scorching ray at another spider. The ray went wide. Adam attacked a spider while still prone. His mighty sword skewered the spider, killing it. He then leapt to his feet, assuming a battle-ready posture.
But one of the surviving spiders sped toward Troy and sank its mandibles into the fighter’s arm! Troy managed to shake off the spider’s venom again. Another attacked one of Zzyggy’s remaining figments, and it too disappeared.
The fighter now grabbed his shield off the ground, then attacked the spider that had bitten Troy, slicing off two legs. A magic missile from Zzyggy killed the spider. A second magic missile hit the other spider. Adam charged the spider and slashed the vermin with a vicious blow. But the spider bit back. Spider venom weakened Adam severely!
Troy, Zzyggy and Adam all pressed their attacks against the spider, but the creature avoided their blow. Adam in turn evaded the spider’s bite. Troy swung again with his mace, but almost fumbled the weapon. Finally, Zzyggy ran up to the spider and delivered a shocking grasp attack, which dispatched the vermin.
"That was close!" said Zzyggy. The adventurers searched the nearby area, looking for any valuable items the spiders might have accumulated. They found a small number of coins, along with a nice piece of jade, a potion, and other items.
Troy shivered. The spider’s poison continued to deplete his strength. "Have to sleep this off," the fighter groaned. He tried to go back to sleep, while Adam took the watch. A few hours later, the barbarian awakened him to take watch, and he reluctantly took over.
Daylight finally came. The party continued to rest until they felt strong enough to continue. Zzyggy prepared his spells. Then the party rode off, continuing toward Cryllor.
Late in the afternoon, the party was almost ready to stop. They came to a cross-road. Sitting in the middle of the cross-road was an unexpected sight: a wounded little boy, begging for help!
Zzyggy walked up to the child, because he was short (!) "Do you need help?" asked the gnome, with a firm grasp on the obvious.
"Bug grabbed my dad, dragged him into a hole!" sobbed the boy. "Please help!" He pointed out where the hole was. "He’s a farmer," the boy further explained.
The adventurers conferred briefly and agreed to help the little boy. The party headed for the hole, about twenty yards away. "I want to go too!" the little boy demanded. The adventurers couldn’t get him to stay behind, so they allowed him to accompany them.
The hole was six feet wide and about eight feet deep. It opened into a tunnel about eight feet high by five feet wide. A sickly sweet smell pervaded the tunnel.
Zzyggy quickly cast dancing lights into the hole to provide illumination. Adam then went down into the hole. "Wait here with the horses," Troy told the little boy. "This could be dangerous." He gave the boy some rations, feed for the horses, and some water also. The boy pouted but eventually agreed to wait. Troy and Zzyggy then followed Adam down the hole.
After about thirty feet, the adventurers came to a large pit, about fifteen feet deep. A hideous sight greeted them: a monstrous insect, ten feet long, with sharp claws and huge mandibles, was chomping on a human corpse. The corpse appeared to be that of the missing farmer.
The insect roared. Spotting the adventurers, it dropped the corpse and burrowed into the floor!
"What was that thing?" asked Troy.
"Ankheg," Zzyggy answered. "Very dangerous."
The party moved back slowly into the tunnel.
Suddenly the creature emerged foom the tunnel floor!
Instantly, Adam flew into a rage and charged at the creature. His attack did heavy damage. But the ankheg’s attack did equal damage to the barbarian, and burned him with an acid spray! The monster then grappled Adam, readying a deadly bite.
With a mighty battle cry, Troy ran up to attack the ankheg with his mace. Foul ichor splashed as the mace crushed chitin. Zzyggy’s magic missile barrage did more damage. The monster was heavily wounded, but still on its legs.
Adam struggled to break the ankheg’s grapple, but the creature was too strong. It withdrew to the tunnel entrance, with Adam still grappled! "Get this thing off me!" cried the desperate barbarian. Troy ran up to attack the creature, but missed.
"Let me handle this," said Zzyggy. From the gnome’s extended finger, a scorching ray seared the monstrous insect into oblivion. "Crispy critter!" exclaimed the gnome, as Adam was released from the charred corpse of the ankheg.
"Thanks, Zzyggy," said Adam. He stopped raging and quaffed a potion of cure moderate wounds. The others went to recover the body and search the creature’s lair. They retrieved the unfortunate farmer’s corpse, and also recovered a magic chainmail, a potion of healing, and a hunk of partly melted gold pieces.
Meanwhile, Adam went back up to the surface to rest and stay with the boy. Soon, Troy and Zzyggy returned with the corpse.
"We’re so sorry about your father," Zzyggy said to the little boy. He told him what had happened to his father, and offered to help bury him.
"Oh well, he wasn’t very nice anyway," the boy replied. "Perhaps I’ll play with you!" Before the adventurers could reflect on this odd response, the "boy" suddenly changed – into a doppelganger!
"It’s trap!" shouted Troy. Without hesitation, he attacked the doppelganger with his mace. The doppleganger laughed off the minor damage, then stepped to Zzyggy and tried to grapple the gnome. Zzyggy managed to evade the grapple, but his shocking grasp failed to connect.
Not so Adam, whose raging assault seriously wounded the shape-changer.
Troy stepped up to the doppleganger, but his mace missed its target. But the doppleganger nnow realized that was outnumbered and outmatched. It dropped a small bag, then withdrew and fled the area.
"Well, that put him to flight," said Troy. "So much for trusting strange little boys," grumbled Zzyggy.
Adam grabbed the bag dropped by the doppleganger. The bag held many coins, two fine gems, and a vial of some liquid. "At least we got something for our trouble!" the satisfied barbarian observed. On further examination, the vial proved to contain an elixir of love. "You need this more than I do," Adam teased the gnome.
The party then continued on its way. They camped for an uneventful night, then resumed their journey in the morning.
On the third day of their journey, the party arrived in the town of Cryllor. While Troy and Zzyggy went to look for quarters, Adam looked for healing potions and other needed supplies.
Eventually Troy and Zzyggy found an inn called "The Home of the Moose". It was a good quality inn, so they checked in, then went to their rooms to rest. In the meantime, Adam had found a magic shop having healing potions for sale. The party obtained a good supply of the potions.
After a hearty dinner, the party retired for the night.
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