Chapter 19 - It Appears She Wants Them Back

Day 40

As the party made their way westward on the Old Highway, Aldur began looking for signs of the passage of the elven wagon. This section of the highway appeared to be much more frequently traveled than any section of the highway since they had left the lands of the Empire. Cottages, many of them apparently new, dotted the lands to either side of the highway and the party met groups of Genasi peasants. After a few hours of checking the highway and any roads leading northward, Aldur found the tracks of a wagone leading off to the north. He could not be sure that it was the wagon they sought, but the party decided to follow the trail anyways. As they made their way northward, signs of the wagon soon disappeared, but it was getting late and they decided that this was as good a place as any to stop for the night. Some brief foraging found no food, so the party broke out rations and set their watches for the night.

In the dark hours after midnight, Trykaar heard something in the darkness to the northeast. Before he could pinpoint the location or nature of the sound, it changed from the sound of motion to a faint muttering, and the ground beneath the party began to writhe, the grass and shrubs contorting and hardening into a matt of spikes. As Trykaar moved out into the darkness in search of the origin of these magics, a swarm of centipedes suddenly appeared from the ground beneath him, tearing and biting at his feet and legs. He quickly freed himself of the insects, but found that another area of vegetation was writhing as it was transformed into an entangling mass. And from another direction came a swarm of rats! By this time, Aldur, Jrak, and Neela had also joined the struggle against the vermin, and all were trying to pinpoint the location of the invisible entity that was responsible. Jrak, Trykaar, and Aldur eventually chased her off to the north, only to have another swarm of centipedes emerge and overcome the elf. Luckily, Jrak was nearby, and was able to pick up the unconscious Aldur and run for the safety of the campfire. Neela ran to meet him, drawing one of the Genasi flasks of alchemical fire that he carried in his backpack. She threw it at the mass of centipedes that was following Jrak, but her throw went wide and instead splashed the firey liquid over the half-ogre and his unconscious cargo. As Jrak dove to the ground, rolling to put out the fires. Neela moved to distract the swarm, drawing it away for the time it took Jrak to recover. Decidin to try another form of fire, Neela drew and lit a torch, and waded in to the centipedes. A few successful swipes of the torch's fire burned enough of the insects that the remainder lost their cohesion as a swarm and dispursed.

The night grew suddenly calm in the silence after the battle. In the distance, a cry was heard:

"Give me back my turnips!"

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