LXXVII. What’s Cooking?

Next morning, fully refreshed, the adventurers went to the common room and ordered breakfast. As they ate, Troy overheard some of the other guests talking about the local "Festival of Meat and Tomatoes".

"Can’t wait for this year’s!" said one guest. "Looks to be the biggest ever!"

"Yes," someone else at the table said, "but haven’t seen Andolyn and Gendrew in town for two days now. If they don’t show up, who’s going to do all the cooking?"

"Well, there’s still two days," someone else said. "Maybe they’ll turn up."

Troy was intrigued. He approached the table and said, "We couldn’t help but overhear. Where were Andolyn and Gendrew last seen?"

"Here in Cryllor," one of the locals answered. "Last I saw, they were heading home. Live in their own house on the outskirts of town."

Troy thanked the guests for the information and returned to his table. He told Zzyggy and Adam what he had learned. "I say we find them," Troy suggested. "If they’re the chefs, maybe we’ll get some free samples."

"Say no more!" exclaimed Zzyggy. "I’m in," Adam agreed. And with that, the three adventurers finished up and set out to investigate.

The house was a quarter mile outside of town, to the northeast, in a little grove of maple trees. The party rode up to the grove and hitched the horses to a convenient tree. A gate in the grove led to the house: a tidy, unassuming half-timber structure.

The adventurers moved cautiously toward the door of the house. At the door, Troy checked the door for traps, with Zzyggy and Adam standing by. He found no traps, then listened at the door but didn’t hear anything either. The door was unlocked.

"Clear," Troy reported as he opened the door, sword and shield readied. Zzyggy readied his magic missile. Adam followed.

The door opened on a hallway leading into the house. To the right, an archway led to a cozy sitting room, with a large sofa and an overstuffed chair facing a fireplace in one corner. There was a small reading table next to a curtained window, on which a small book lay open. A statue stood nearby. To the left were two closed doors.

"Let’s check out this sitting room," Troy suggested. He entered the room, Adam following along. The barbarian passed in front of the reading table.

The book attempted to slam shut on Adam’s passing hand!

Swiftly reacting, Adam pulled his hand away from the hostile tome, then shredded it with his sword. But no sooner had he defeated the book than the draw cord of the curtain animated and attacked! It wrapped itself around the barbarian and attempted to constrict, but Adam managed to escape.

"Die, cord, die!" shouted Troy, as he slashed at the draw cord and sliced it to quivering threads.

Adam scarcely had time to thank Troy before he was struck yet again. The fireplace poker had animated and attacked, drawing blood. The barbarian swung back but missed, as did Troy.

Zzyggy watched the humans fighting the animated objects with amusement. "Need help?" he called out, as the poker slammed Adam again. "Enough of this nonsense!" the barbarian cried. A mighty blow finally sundered the hostile implement.

Without warning, the statue then animated and attacked Troy. The surprised fighter’s return blow chipped the statue. The statue continued to exchange blows with Adam and Troy. Zzyggy fired magic missiles at the statue, scorching its marble body. The gnome failed, however, to connect with his shocking grasp.

The battle continued, both the statue and the humans exchanging hits. Adam landed a massive blow that cracked the statue in several places. The statue was obviously almost destroyed. At last, Zzyggy’s shocking grasp shattered the statue, and the party could catch their breath.

"Have to hand it to whoever came up with this," said Adam, as he picked up a broken arm. "Very funny," Zzyggy replied to the barbarian’s attempt at humor.

Opposite the window, an archway led to the home’s dining room. A table was set for two. There was a silver candlestick on the table, and silverware in a cabinet to the side. The barbarian grabbed them all, almost automatically.

As the adventurers entered the dining room, Adam heard a muffled cry from across the hallway to his left. Immediately, the party hurried to investigate.

The two doors on the left side of the hall were closed. Another cry was heard, coming from the door adjacent to the front door of the house.

"This way!" urged Adam as he made for the source of the cry. Reaching the door, he heard a cry of pain. The barbarian kicked in the door and rushed into the bedroom of the house, followed by Troy and Zzyggy.

Bookshelves lined one wall of the bedroom, below which was a writing desk. A large bed occupied most of the remaining floor space.

On the bed, a battered, bloody man was tied, wrists and ankles. Perched atop the headboard of the bed was a small, bat-winged humanoid creature, with a tail ending in a nasty stinget. A second winged humanoid was sitting on the writing desk, tearing up a book.

"Imps!" cried Zzyggy, recognizing the fiendish creatures, who instantly flew at the adventurers, eager for combat!

Adam swiftly attacked the first imp. The devilish creature evaded the blow, then landed back on the desk and disappeared. The second imp flew at Troy, and stung the fighter. The painful sting made Troy fumble clumsily, but not clumsily enough to keep him from battering his impish antagonist. The damage inflicted, to Troy’s dismay, seemed to be much less than he expected.

Zzyggy’s crossbow shot missed the second imp. Adam’s raging assault was far more effective. The imp, severely wounded, used its power of invisibility to disappear. Not good enough: Troy managed to kill the creature with a final blow of his mace.

Suddenly, a fierce boar burst into the room! It attacked Zzyggy and gored the gnome, wounding him severely. Zzyggy retaliated with a scorching ray. The damage, although severe, appeared to begin to heal almost immediately.

"Fire resistant?" shouted Adam at the boar. "Are you sword resistant too?" A devastating slash gutted the boar, and it fell dead. As it fell, its appearance suddenly changed.

"The other imp!" Zzyggy exclaimed. "And I was looking forward to roast pork," sighed the disappointed barbarian.

While Troy and Zzyggy quaffed healing potions, Adam untied the man on the bed and began to tend to his wounds. The man was very weak and clumsym as well as bloody. But Adam noticed something odd: some of the "bloodstains" were actually tomato sauce!

Once untied, the man thanked his rescuers profusely, and introduced himself as Gendrew, one of the missing chefs the party was searching for. Adam asked the man what had happened. He began to relate the recent events. Then Adam interrupted him.

"You did WHAT?!"