Communication is a problem, though. We need some equivalent to message or the like, except usable by a noncaster. Something to think about.

Anyway, we yet again got randomly distracted from our mission by a shiny bauble. This time, though, I think it's a good idea. The rewards are high enough that it will likely significantly improve the party's resources.

Of course, it turns out that it's pretty challenging, too. These ants are vicious! We seem to be able to take them in a straight fight, at least so far, but it worries me that as they send more and more dangerous opposing parties or tactics don't change at all.

We need to think about how to tackle the nest. Vaugner thinks we should just camp outside and kill them as they come out -- eventually we'll get them all. That could take a long time, though. Errol is for sneaking through the nest, and fighting them as we have to, hoping to get to the corpse we're looking for and out without having to kill them all.

I'm not sure which I prefer. Web seems to be pretty effective, so we could probably seal off the passageways behind us if we need to escape. That'll work well for the entrance tunnel, but will be less effective as we get deeper into what is likely to be a maze.

Still, on balance I think that a recon trip into the tunnels is worth trying. We have web to cover us, and we just need to be careful not to get too deep. And we still have one or two tricks that may surprise the ants, and it would be nice to finish this side trip without having to kill every ant. Besides, we don't even know how fast they breed.