We finally set off, and the whole caravan is just buzzing with whispers about us. Apparently, they all think Rip is somehow directly involved with Blackwater. A lot of these people are so paranoid they won't even look our way. It's ridiculous.
I bring it up to Hargrove, but he doesn't seem to care. He says we're all here now, and he's had plenty of travelers with a past that others didn't like.
Not long after, we start hearing what sounds like children laughing. As we round a bend, we see what look like small lizard kids and a much larger, very well-dressed lizard man. The way he's just sitting there, watching them play, and the way he talks to us, you can tell he's a predator. He's looking at the whole caravan like we're just a buffet.
Hargrove tells me his name is Moretti, and the way he says it, he acts like I should know who that is. When I ask, he just says he's got something to do with Blackwater. I'd bet money he's following the same item as the others we've run into. Maybe he's here to give us a warning.
Rip does something to get Moretti's attention, and then Bob, being Bob, pops off with some idiotic comment to draw Moretti's ire. I can't believe how oblivious Bob is to the danger he's putting the whole caravan in. He's a complete idiot.
During their little banter, I hear people yelling at Bob, and from Moretti's reaction, it sounds like Bob tried to cast a spell on him. I'm telling you, this guy's a lunatic. We all could have been dead right there if Moretti had wanted to make an example of us.
Bob eventually wanders off and starts walking on the perimeter of the caravan, practically in the woods. When we stop for the evening, the people in the caravan are avoiding him like he's got the plague. He's just keeping to himself on the edge of the camp.
After I get my food, I grab one of my dwarven rations and take it over to him. I just wanted to see if he'd eaten anything. When I get there, he's already working on his own ration and tells me he's fine. He's a bit "off," but I guess that's to be expected after all the crap he pulled today.
While I'm talking to Hargrove, Rip comes around asking about drugs and which cart has them. Turns out, he claims Bob was looking for something. Eventually, Rip moves on to bug the other cart drivers.
As we're getting ready to set off, Rip gives Bob... something. Bob puts it in his cheek and goes absolutely nuts. He starts dropping all of his gear while running between the carts before just taking off into the woods, throwing down his armor, climbing trees, and chasing small animals.
When he finally starts to wind down, he walks over to me, rests his head on my shoulder, and tries to offer me a partially eaten bird.
Thanks, Bob. Just what I've always wanted.
Later in the afternoon, the scout comes back and says in his cryptic way that there's some weird ground up ahead and something looks sketchy. He thinks it's an ambush and asks us to move up and investigate.
We get up there, and Luis and I see something wrapped in a cocoon. Luis makes a small cut, and a sickly-looking goat falls out. Then, some kind of humanoid tick-thing spits a web at us.
I follow it into the trees, and then a giant spider—like five feet across—lowers from a tree to my right. The tick-thing circles back and swings at me but misses. Bob throws a rock, tearing a gash in it, and I land a good punch. The spider bites my side, leaving me weak. Must be some kind of poison.
The tick-thing takes off running, and I land another solid punch. Bob runs up and casts something on me, and I knock the spider out. While it's unconscious, I land a killing blow.
I finally get out of the web, climb a short ledge, and see Luis on the ground with Bob nearby. Some sort of giant ant creature is sticking half out of a burrow. I charge over and hit it, but it bites me back with its nasty pincers, leaving a burning sensation.
Bob moved in behind it, and I was on the opposite side. Luis was standing at the other corner when the creature decided to jump down its hole. Bob and I both landed hits as it dropped back down. Luis yells that we have to go after it because it made off with someone's kid. Bob and I talk it over for a second and decide to hop in after it.
This seems like an awful idea.