Having thwarted some crazy plot by evil monks, the party decided it was time to head back to their tower home for some much needed rest. As they arrived they saw a multitude of gifts, flowers and foods piled outside. These were all gifts from the citizens of Stonekeep for the actions of last fall. The found all manner of incense, blankets, baskets of fruits and breads, small baubles, wheels of cheese, garlands of fresh herbs, bouquets of flowers, small music boxes, fragrant candles, a few small casks of ale, a few bottles of vine and a trio of hand crafted cedar boxes.
They drug all this into the tower and began to rummage through it. Foods were sampled. Alcohol was tried. The blankets were tossed on the floors for inspection. Eventually everything was tasted or inspected. That left only the three small cedar boxes. They were of fine make and must be fairly expensive since there are no cedar trees in this part of the realm. The boxes were opened and inside was the most horrible smell ever. The room filled with an odor that was equal part rotting flesh, dung, putrid water and a hint of bad cheese. The boxes each contained a small wet cloth pouch. These pouches contained all manner of meat bits and wet paste mix of unknown reagents. They quickly took these three boxes several hundred feet outside the tower and lit them on fire to dispose of them. As they lit them on fire they were still working through what this was all about and the idea of bait bags came to mind. The party rushed to the top of the tower to see if anything had followed the smell.
Minutes later and the thick black smoke from the burning boxes was starting to dissipate and still nothing had followed the smell. The dragonborn rouge decided to investigate and snuck down to the fire. The monk and pair of ½ orcs watched from the tower roof. The rouge approached the small fire and still there was no sign of anything. However, from the tower, the party noticed the ground begin to swell in a couple of spots near the thief. They yelled to warn him, but it was too late. There was an explosion of dirt and grass. From beneath the ground a huge armored and segmented worm/bug-like creature. It’s large many faceted eyes stared down at the rouge. It’s large pincered mouth began to click wildly. That is when a second of these creatures exploded from the earth. The party on the roof top began to sprint down to the stairs to help.
The rouge drew weapons and attacked the armored bug-worm. The creature returned the favor by grabbing him in his oversized pincers, holding him in place and biting into his chest. The rouge struggled to break free as the creature continued to hold and bite him.
The rouge eventually was able to break free from the jaws of the bug-worm. He jumped to safety and began to sprint toward the tower. It was then the creature unleashed a gout of fluid at the retreating rouge. The green fluid barley missed the fleeing rouge, but some did manage to splash on his leg. It quickly began to burn through his leather leggings and sting the scales beneath. Acid. The things spit acid as well.
It was then that the barbarian rushed by with sword drawn. He leapt into the air swinging his blade at the creature’s head. The sword fell, followed by the barbarian and then the bug-worm’s head. With only one swing the barbarian had removed the head of the creature. He turned to face the remaining beasts. The monk and ½ orc warrior also engaged the beasts. It was then the two more of these also burst for the ground!
The warrior was attacked and grabbed and held by the mouth pincers as well. The monk was busy leveling a series of kicks and punches into a beast. The rouge healed himself up a bit and dove back into the fray. The warrior easily broke free from the mouth pincers and even managed to take a bit of one with him. This angered the beast and it resumed its attacks. The barbarian engaged a second worm that did manage to grab him, but could not hold him. The monk and rouge easily dove out of the way avoiding a spray of acid. The barbarian quickly took down his target after being grabbed a second time. The warrior managed the same. The final creature succumbed to a series of attacks from the rouge who had managed to find a soft spot in the creature’s neck and quickly dispatched another of the bug-worms.
A couple of minutes after their arrival, the bug-worms had been destroyed.
The party dusted themselves off and began the investigate who sent the boxes of stinky worm bait. Their alchemist contact mentioned that bait bags for monsters was a skill a few in his guild once had. He knew of four alchemists that specialized in this sort of work, and three of them were known to be dead. The fourth was never seen after the night of the great alchemist upheveal. They knew it was probably someone from town. They discovered a trio of woodworking shops where the boxes could have been built. Only one of them had completed an order for three cedar boxes that matched the description. They found the names of three citizens of Stonekeep that placed the orders. They learned the box order was placed a month prior. They split to investigate further.
The first lead was a woman who had been mugged and killed six weeks prior. However, she also placed a box order within the last thirty days. A huge clue there as the undead don’t usually place orders for items. Not to mention a dead lady buying a box might stick out just a bit. They also learned a local baker had placed an order and had not been seen for a few days. They investigated his home. Where they found it reeking of the bait bags from the cedar boxes and the baker dead and his kitchen turned into a small laboratory. Upstairs the party also found a pair of dead and very bloated humans and a very familiar odor. They had seen this before just the past week and knew exactly who was behind this now. The cult they stopped a week prior was obviously still active. They went after their third lead, a local rat catcher who was currently in the sewers doing his weekly patrol/ The parry discovered his patrol route and rushed into the tunnels beneath Stonekeep to find him.
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