The Case of the Carried-Off Crawlers

There are a lot of bad guys in the world. They range from petty halfling pick-pockets to extra-dimensional demi-gods with a taste for blood and conquest. All of them are struck numb with fear at the name of Aspenville. Aspenville is just a small town, a pleasant little place and you wouldn't give it a second thought, except that if you break the laws (of man or gods) you will be caught and sent to jail. No matter how devious or clever you think your plan is, you will find yourself in gaol very quickly. And the secret of Aspenville's success in stopping evil? A 12 year-old human named Compendium Jones. His real name is Edgar, but everybody calls him Compendium because he's always reading vast tomes of knowledge and he never forgets what he reads.

So whenever Compendium's dad, Reeve Jones, is faced with some mystery he can't solve, he comes home and has dinner with his family. Over dinner, he'll explain the problem and before pie is served, Compendium will probably have the solution. Compendium doesn't just help his father uncover the sinister mechanations of snake-cults either. He also offers his services to locals in town. Every afternoon, Compendium Jones sets up his small "office" outside The Leaping Oak Tavern in a small stall formerly used to kennel halfling wardogs but which now sports a sign reading:

 
To Answer a Conundrum, Consult the Compendium!
Compendium Jones -- Private Detective
2sp (plus expenses)
No Case Too Small

On this particular afternoon, business was slow. From out of the tavern came a hulking young woman. This was Compendium Jones's junior partner Molly Heartstone. Although she was just a year older than Jones, she was also a Goliath and that meant she was bigger than most of the human men in town -- and according to her folks she hadn't really hit her growth spurt yet. Compendium kept her on as a junior partner for two reasons. First, she was handy to have backing you up in a fight (or to prevent a fight from breaking out). Second, even though she too was underage, no one stopped her from going into the Leaping Oak and buying a drink -- or buying one for Compendium.

Molly set down a large tankard of cold root beer. "Here you go, Compendium," she said.

"Thanks, Molly," said Compendium, "it's really warm out today and we haven't gotten a single customer. We should close up early and go swimming."

"Sounds good to me," said Molly.

Just then an obnoxious stink came around the corner followed by a grubby little Gnome. "Phew!" said Molly, "It's Moskin!"

Moskin Boddyjon was well-known to the citizens of Aspenville, especially if they stood downwind of him. His father was an alchemist and Moskin was working as his apprentice. Alchemy (and Gnomish alchemy in particular) requires a lot of unusual ingredients and many of them stink, stain or otherwise tend to leave a huge mess. Like all apprentices, Moskin was tasked by his father to do the dirty work which meant preparing the worst of these ingredients. Moskin's dad said this "built character". If so, Moskin's character was decidedly solitary since few people could stand being in a room with him for long.

Moskin strode right up to Compedium's stall and slapped down two silver pieces. "I need your help," he said, "I've been robbed!"

Compendium shifted trying to find an escape from the acrid smell. "OK," he said, coughing, "start from the beginning. Actually, why don't you stand to this side and tell me so I can hear you better."

Moskin moved downwind and Compendium and Molly let out a huge sigh. "It's pretty simple really. This morning, my dad got in a shipment of carrion crawler eggs."

"Carrion crawlers?" asked Molly shivering, "what on earth do you want carrion crawler eggs."

"We raise them and then harvest them for their paralytic tentacles and other parts," said Moskin. "Carrion crawler can provide a ton of useful ingredients, but it's hard to get the eggs. My dad is always keeping a lookout for a new supply and always lets adventuring groups know he'll pay for them, but it's been a long, long time since he's last done this. Getting these eggs is a big deal for him and he was excited about being able to teach this part of his craft to me. But now the eggs have gone missing and he'll be so mad if he finds out. You've got to help me!"

"You've paid your silver, I can hardly say no," said Compendium. "So you got these eggs this morning?"

"Yeah," said Moskin, "they came packed in a stasis box. It keeps the eggs frozen in time so they don't hatch or anything. There's some instructions on the box for breaking the enchantment and leting the eggs loose, but my dad had to go and buy some supplies to create a pen for the creatures. So he left the shop and put me in charge of keeping an eye on the place. It was a real slow day, I think only one person came into the shop. The box was on the counter and I got a little distracted by some distillations we were running in the back and when I came out, the box was gone. I closed up and came over here right away."

"Do you remember who came into your shop?" asked Compendium.

"Yeah, it was Seloric Thorn."

"I might have known," growled Molly. Thorn was an elf and a local bully who terrorized the kids of Aspenville. Considering that he was a 160 year-old adolescent, that did give him something of an unfair advantage. He was the head of a small gang called the Dragons. Thorn hated Compendium because he was always foiling Thorn's schemes and making him look stupid. Thorn also hated Compendium because he had Molly backing him up as a bodyguard and after a few unfortunate tussles with her, Thorn realized he couldn't just punch his problems into submission.

"OK, Moskin, we'll take the case," said Compendium, "but before we go talk to Thorn, you need to cough up a few more coppers."

"I thought it was 2 silver to take the case," said Moskin.

"Plus expenses," said Compendium. "Before we can see Thorn we need to stop off at the general store to pick up some necessities which you'll be paying for."

"What kind of necessities?" asked Moskin.

"Clothespins for our nose so we can stand to stand next to you," said Compendium.

A short time later, the trio made their way to the Dragon's clubhouse. Thorn had set up a table with a large, covered box on top and a sign in the front that read:

SELORIC THORN ZOOLOGICAL RARITIES
THIS WEEK'S SPECIAL -- CARRION CRAWLER HATCHLINGS 200 GP
CRAWLER KISS -- 1SP

Thorn looked up at their approach and if his smile slipped a bit it soon found its place. "Ah, if it isn't the perspicacious Compendium Jones and his oblivious friend Molly! And the...aromatic...Mr. Boddyjon as well! What brings you to my humble stand today?"

"Can it, Thorn," said Molly. "We're here because you stole those crawlers from Moskin."

Thorn drew himself up to his full height, although this effects was somewhat lessened in Molly's presence. "I resent that accusation! I came by these hatchlings through a lot of hard work and effort!"

"I haven't seen any hatchlings," said Compendium.

"If you knew the first thing about carrion crawlers," sniffed Thorn, "you'd know that they're creatures of the dark. I couldn't risk exposing these little beauties to the sun. Hence the cover."

Thorn drew back the cloth covering the box on the table and Compendium could see that it was a cage. Inside the cage were a number of partitions and in each partition had a squirming baby crawler in it.

"You broke the stasis seal," wailed Moskin. "You let them hatch!"

"I don't know what you're going on about, Smelly," snarled Thorn, "but these hatchlings are mine."

"Perhaps you'd care to explain how you came by such a clutch of hatchlings then," said Compendium.

"I was leading the Dragons on one of our many forays into the Waggasinni Caves just outside of town. We were checking to make sure the place was clear of kobolds and goblins and such. We got down to the lower level where the underground lake is. We were about to take a rest when this crawler comes rushing out of the dark at us. We only just managed to avoid the terrible paralyzing tentacles and then I drove it off with my torch. Probably crawled off to die from the terrible burning I gave it. Then we went down to the lake and that's when I spotted the egg mass floating in the water near the shore. Looks like we'd had a tangle with mamma crawler. So I scooped up the eggs and brought them back here to hatch out. It's a lot of trouble finding ingredients made from crawlers so having a hatchling near to hand is a huge benefit. I'm took a lot of risks and now I'll reap the rewards."

"You didn't take any risks at all," said Compendium. "Other than stealing the eggs from Moskin. You're story is a lie."

HOW DID COMPENDIUM JONES KNOW THORN WAS LYING?
( Turn to page 63 )

later
Tom

The Case of the Carried-Off Crawlers

There are a lot of bad guys in the world. They range from petty halfling pick-pockets to extra-dimensional demi-gods with a taste for blood and conquest. All of them are struck numb with fear at the name of Aspenville. Aspenville is just a small town, a pleasant little place and you wouldn't give it a second thought, except that if you break the laws (of man or gods) you will be caught and sent to jail. No matter how devious or clever you think your plan is, you will find yourself in gaol very quickly. And the secret of Aspenville's success in stopping evil? A 12 year-old human named Compendium Jones. His real name is Edgar, but everybody calls him Compendium because he's always reading vast tomes of knowledge and he never forgets what he reads.

So whenever Compendium's dad, Reeve Jones, is faced with some mystery he can't solve, he comes home and has dinner with his family. Over dinner, he'll explain the problem and before pie is served, Compendium will probably have the solution. Compendium doesn't just help his father uncover the sinister mechanations of snake-cults either. He also offers his services to locals in town. Every afternoon, Compendium Jones sets up his small "office" outside The Leaping Oak Tavern in a small stall formerly used to kennel halfling wardogs but which now sports a sign reading:

 
To Answer a Conundrum, Consult the Compendium!
Compendium Jones -- Private Detective
2sp (plus expenses)
No Case Too Small

On this particular afternoon, business was slow. From out of the tavern came a hulking young woman. This was Compendium Jones's junior partner Molly Heartstone. Although she was just a year older than Jones, she was also a Goliath and that meant she was bigger than most of the human men in town -- and according to her folks she hadn't really hit her growth spurt yet. Compendium kept her on as a junior partner for two reasons. First, she was handy to have backing you up in a fight (or to prevent a fight from breaking out). Second, even though she too was underage, no one stopped her from going into the Leaping Oak and buying a drink -- or buying one for Compendium.

Molly set down a large tankard of cold root beer. "Here you go, Compendium," she said.

"Thanks, Molly," said Compendium, "it's really warm out today and we haven't gotten a single customer. We should close up early and go swimming."

"Sounds good to me," said Molly.

Just then an obnoxious stink came around the corner followed by a grubby little Gnome. "Phew!" said Molly, "It's Moskin!"

Moskin Boddyjon was well-known to the citizens of Aspenville, especially if they stood downwind of him. His father was an alchemist and Moskin was working as his apprentice. Alchemy (and Gnomish alchemy in particular) requires a lot of unusual ingredients and many of them stink, stain or otherwise tend to leave a huge mess. Like all apprentices, Moskin was tasked by his father to do the dirty work which meant preparing the worst of these ingredients. Moskin's dad said this "built character". If so, Moskin's character was decidedly solitary since few people could stand being in a room with him for long.

Moskin strode right up to Compedium's stall and slapped down two silver pieces. "I need your help," he said, "I've been robbed!"

Compendium shifted trying to find an escape from the acrid smell. "OK," he said, coughing, "start from the beginning. Actually, why don't you stand to this side and tell me so I can hear you better."

Moskin moved downwind and Compendium and Molly let out a huge sigh. "It's pretty simple really. This morning, my dad got in a shipment of carrion crawler eggs."

"Carrion crawlers?" asked Molly shivering, "what on earth do you want carrion crawler eggs."

"We raise them and then harvest them for their paralytic tentacles and other parts," said Moskin. "Carrion crawler can provide a ton of useful ingredients, but it's hard to get the eggs. My dad is always keeping a lookout for a new supply and always lets adventuring groups know he'll pay for them, but it's been a long, long time since he's last done this. Getting these eggs is a big deal for him and he was excited about being able to teach this part of his craft to me. But now the eggs have gone missing and he'll be so mad if he finds out. You've got to help me!"

"You've paid your silver, I can hardly say no," said Compendium. "So you got these eggs this morning?"

"Yeah," said Moskin, "they came packed in a stasis box. It keeps the eggs frozen in time so they don't hatch or anything. There's some instructions on the box for breaking the enchantment and leting the eggs loose, but my dad had to go and buy some supplies to create a pen for the creatures. So he left the shop and put me in charge of keeping an eye on the place. It was a real slow day, I think only one person came into the shop. The box was on the counter and I got a little distracted by some distillations we were running in the back and when I came out, the box was gone. I closed up and came over here right away."

"Do you remember who came into your shop?" asked Compendium.

"Yeah, it was Seloric Thorn."

"I might have known," growled Molly. Thorn was an elf and a local bully who terrorized the kids of Aspenville. Considering that he was a 160 year-old adolescent, that did give him something of an unfair advantage. He was the head of a small gang called the Dragons. Thorn hated Compendium because he was always foiling Thorn's schemes and making him look stupid. Thorn also hated Compendium because he had Molly backing him up as a bodyguard and after a few unfortunate tussles with her, Thorn realized he couldn't just punch his problems into submission.

"OK, Moskin, we'll take the case," said Compendium, "but before we go talk to Thorn, you need to cough up a few more coppers."

"I thought it was 2 silver to take the case," said Moskin.

"Plus expenses," said Compendium. "Before we can see Thorn we need to stop off at the general store to pick up some necessities which you'll be paying for."

"What kind of necessities?" asked Moskin.

"Clothespins for our nose so we can stand to stand next to you," said Compendium.

A short time later, the trio made their way to the Dragon's clubhouse. Thorn had set up a table with a large, covered box on top and a sign in the front that read:

SELORIC THORN ZOOLOGICAL RARITIES
THIS WEEK'S SPECIAL -- CARRION CRAWLER HATCHLINGS 200 GP
CRAWLER KISS -- 1SP

Thorn looked up at their approach and if his smile slipped a bit it soon found its place. "Ah, if it isn't the perspicacious Compendium Jones and his oblivious friend Molly! And the...aromatic...Mr. Boddyjon as well! What brings you to my humble stand today?"

"Can it, Thorn," said Molly. "We're here because you stole those crawlers from Moskin."

Thorn drew himself up to his full height, although this effects was somewhat lessened in Molly's presence. "I resent that accusation! I came by these hatchlings through a lot of hard work and effort!"

"I haven't seen any hatchlings," said Compendium.

"If you knew the first thing about carrion crawlers," sniffed Thorn, "you'd know that they're creatures of the dark. I couldn't risk exposing these little beauties to the sun. Hence the cover."

Thorn drew back the cloth covering the box on the table and Compendium could see that it was a cage. Inside the cage were a number of partitions and in each partition had a squirming baby crawler in it.

"You broke the stasis seal," wailed Moskin. "You let them hatch!"

"I don't know what you're going on about, Smelly," snarled Thorn, "but these hatchlings are mine."

"Perhaps you'd care to explain how you came by such a clutch of hatchlings then," said Compendium.

"I was leading the Dragons on one of our many forays into the Waggasinni Caves just outside of town. We were checking to make sure the place was clear of kobolds and goblins and such. We got down to the lower level where the underground lake is. We were about to take a rest when this crawler comes rushing out of the dark at us. We only just managed to avoid the terrible paralyzing tentacles and then I drove it off with my torch. Probably crawled off to die from the terrible burning I gave it. Then we went down to the lake and that's when I spotted the egg mass floating in the water near the shore. Looks like we'd had a tangle with mamma crawler. So I scooped up the eggs and brought them back here to hatch out. It's a lot of trouble finding ingredients made from crawlers so having a hatchling near to hand is a huge benefit. I'm took a lot of risks and now I'll reap the rewards."

"You didn't take any risks at all," said Compendium. "Other than stealing the eggs from Moskin. You're story is a lie."

HOW DID COMPENDIUM JONES KNOW THORN WAS LYING?
( Turn to page 63 )

later
Tom