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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Gospog" data-source="post: 126699" data-attributes="member: 2348">Another update!Turlo and Bork have finished speaking with the cultists of Yoreb the Jowled.  The cultists are most interested in cooking a stew on their fire, and putting up a small tent, so the PCs there leave in search of Babetta.Before long, they run into Babetta, heading the opposite way.  She is in bad temper, and they sullenly fall into step behind her.Stomping through the woods, none of them hear the stealthy movements of a Deodand in the woods beside them.  The Deodand moves stealthily to best advantage, and surprises all three PCs, seeming to simply appear from nowhere.  Crouching in front of the group, the Deodand addresses them.DEODAND“I hunger!  But I am not a creature bereft of reason. I could never eat you all.  Let the rest shove forward one who is not needed, and I will devour only him.”TURLO“Come, come!  You make an absurdly unrealistic request!”DEODAND“Not at all.  I merely seek to assuage my burgeoning hunger.  Push forth your supplicant and be done with it!”BABETTA“Your reasoning is flawed.  The three choices for supper you see before you are all armed.  Any one of us might prove a wise choice for a meal, were we alone.  As a group…I would look elsewhere for food, Deodand.”DEODAND“Er…you give me pause.  Still, my hunger wins in the end.  And now I shall take the toll of that hunger!”TURLO“Cease proceedings!  I have here a compromise in the body of this corpse.  It is yet fresh and will provide a safer repast for you than three armed travelers.”Turlo pulls forward the dead body he borrowed form Imandolo’s stolen coffin, that he had been dragging this whole time.  The Deodand eyes it with mixed emotions.  Bork hefts his axe for added emphasis.  The Deodand winces and backs off a step.DEODAND“Truly, the wisdom of your compromise becomes immediately evident.  I shall dine on corpse, and thank you to leave me to my supper.”The three travelers back off, and head off towards the tree of Yoreb the Jowled.Meanwhile, at the tree itself, Wisk is still in negotiations with the robed and masked priests of Yoreb.CULTIST“You claim to be the High Priest of Yoreb.  Where are your sacred vestments?  The holy robe and thrice-anointed mask of office?  Explain this base imposture!”WIST“I stand before you in a disguise ordained by Yoreb himself!  He is testing you.  You must be governed not by what you perceive, but by the word of Yoreb alone.  And now his word urges you to surrender your station to me and allow me to guard the sacred tree.”CULTIST“Your words ring of piety, and are pleasing to the ear, but we are resolute in our compact.  We will stand guard here until our brethren arrive with our evening repast.  Stand down, whoever you are.”Meanwhile, back the other way, Babetta has urged Bork and Turlo on ahead of her, and is loitering in the shrubs near the cultists’ camp.  Bork and Turlo proceed on towards the location of the sacred tree.  Babetta crouches low, and observes two of the cultists affixing a large iron handle to the pot of stew.  They lift the pot together (it is quite heavy) and begin to carry it towards the tree of Yoreb, the way the other PCs went.Babetta silently exults in her good fortune.  Readying her sword, she slowly creeps up on the sole remaining cultist, whose back is turned to her.  He is one his knees, praying in the direction of the waning sun.  Babetta takes a step closer.  Babetta steps on a twig that breaks loudly.  The cultist turns around.</blockquote>

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