While hunting Hill Giants in the Nashkel Foothills Valiant was surprised by a group of Spitting Spiders, who attacked as soon as he turned his back on a passage from their lair. He had apparantly come too close, and caused them to be aggresive.
Bewildered by the sudden attack, and the sticky webs and paintful acid being spat, Valiant slew one of his assailant and then quickly retreated. The spiders observed him leave and then quickly vanished. Not long after Valiant met with Popi and explained what had occured. Popi did not seem to care overmuch, remarking that she had seen many types of spiders, and that they all die. During their discussion the pair were beset by a pair of Sword Spiders.
After defending themselves Valiant and Popi went to Nashkel to seek clarification from Hunter Harrow on the Sword and Spitting spiders. Hunter Harrow explained that Sword Spiders are not common in the foothills, but that it's not unknown for them to pass that way, and that they are known to burrow for heat.
The spitting spiders Harrow described as a species which prefers to attack from the back, using webs, and its acidic poisonous spit. Hence the name. Hunter Harrow then remarked that the Nashkel garrison had experience smoking out lairs of spitters too close to the town or caravan routes. A fire is placed at every lair passage but one, while at that one passage a ring of soldiers with heavy shields and long spears await the inevitable attempt to escape.
Hunter Harrow also regaled the party, joined by others from the inner Circle, that such a smoke out went wrong ten years ago, causing the ill remembered spitter attack on Nashkel of 1340. Although no one got hurt, he explained, the town guard had missed one passage out the lair. The Spitters in turn escaped and chose to follow the guardsmen when they returned home, attacking as the garrison went to sleep after an un-eventful and frustrating day of waiting. Though quickly and easily taken care of, and not often remembered, if brought up many citizens will recall the sight of spiders on the roofs, spitting at frustrated guards with their pikes and shields.
At this point the party was resolved to smoke out the Spitting Spiders from their lair, though short of a tracker capable of finding the entry passages. Deacon had been eavesdropping however, and decided to offer his services. As the group entered the foothills they were joined by a lone traveleing adventurer and former gypsie, Mab Berrach.
While fending off Hill Giants the party attempted to track down passages to the spider's lair. At one point they were attacked in the back by a pack of spitting and sword spiders. The group finally thought to track them to a nearby incline in a hill, which presumably laid to a cavern holding the lair. A strange scurrying noise could be heard from the cave, which was omniously surrounded by skeletons as well as grisly heads on pikes.
At that point, while preparing to enter, the party were attacked in the back by spiders. Undaunted, they believed themselves on the right track and continued preparations to go underground. They were interrupted however by the scurrying which kept getting louder and closer. Both Deacon and Lisanna decided to pepper the passage with spells, to thin out the approaching spiders.
What errupted from the passage were not spiders however. Floods of irritated scarabs washed forth from the passage, much to everyone's surprise. Mab was quickly able to identify them, thanks to her gypsie lore heritage and Deacon quickly concurred with her findings. Intrigued, the party decided to press on and explore where these exotic beetles had come from.
The party entered the passage but quickly found that it narrowed, so much that they needed to crawl on. At this point Kagger, the largest of the group, got stuck. Lissanna cast a spell of size reduction on him, freeing Kagger once more so the group and members behind him could continue on. At the front, Valiant asked to take over point from Mab, and tried to pass her. Unfortunately he could not squeeze past her, and they got stuck side by side, until Deacon and Lissanna reduced their sizes too.
Now reduced in size Valiant could walk on his knees and went forth alone to determine what lay ahead. Valiant found a hot spring, though he did not know what it was, and many scarabs scurrying around it. Turning back, Deacon interpreted his findings and deduced that the reason the party had not been eaten yet was because the sulphur and and ammonia smells from the spring masked their scent.
Undaunted by the prospect of being eaten Valiant and Kagger proposed to go ahead and see the venture through, they had come this far after all. Deacon was not convinced, and neither was Lisanna as she realized casting spells in the confined environment would be difficult, especially with tiny beetles trying to eat you.
Before the party could decide to go back however, Valiant passed gas. Although he did so quietly the person behind him, Mab, was unpleasantly surprised, and leveled a barrage of curses and grumbles at his ancestry, particularly their cooking. Mab's curses echoed through the passage, causing Deacon to immediately call for the party to retreat. Indeed, not a minute passed after Deacon began making his way out, ignoring the others, before the scurrying the party had heard earlier returned, and the smell of sulphur and ammonia slowly began drifting in their direction.
Their courage finally giving out, the party beat a hasty retreat from the passage. At the rear, Valiant mumbled to himself and Mab: 'Don't worry... I can always make us invisible'. At which point Deacon decided to hurry the party along by telling them scarabs can hunt by scent, so that they should not count on the dark or invisibility so save them.
Making it outside in time, ahead of the flesh eating beetles, Lisanne quickly reacted and prepared to unleash a spell to collapse passage entirely. Once the last party member exited the passage, Valiant, the spell was cast and the passage collapsed.
In hindsight the party then deduced that the nearby skeletons had probably been strippted clean by foraging beetles, and that the heads on pikes were meant as crude warnings by the nearby Hill Giants, presumably to their own kin.
Returning to Nashkel the party was upbeat at having survived a harrowing encounter. Lisanne and Deacon proceeded to meet with the Mayor, to warn him about the scarabs presence. The mayor asked Hunter Harrow to take care of the problem. Hunter Harrow then explained that two years ago a caravan had come from Amn carrying the beetles for a mage in Luskan. No ship captain had been willing to take a compliment of flesh eating beetles, and magical transport had been deemed to expensive. Unfortunately the caravan was waylaid by Hill Giants. When the Nashkel Guard arrived and found the Giants had made off with their ill gotten gains it was decided they could reap what they sow and that no further effort should be wasted.
In a flash of foresight the Amnish commander requested instructions on how to deal with scarabs, should they become an issue. The Army replied not to worry, as scarabs can only survive in hot environments. Hunter Harrow concluded that with the passage collapsed there was no further reason to worry, since the scarabs were now trapped with their hot spring.