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Broken Lords. Thank you. Can I find my shield through it? Oh?
Thank god? Okay, Ricord It clings to his shields very protectively,
like a they're kind of like, you know, pretty swabbing a baby dud's
chest. I wonder how many more of those were in here. If there's
any kind of stuff that you want to harvest, like the horns are large
and harvestable, that sort of thing. Them horns are absolutely going on the
dock end. We'll do that. Yeah, I'm going to say, I
don't see something else making off with the goods. By morning, you were
thinking more things like this. Yeah, I am. There's probably gonna be
one something like that at the end. Of the swamp or something smarter than
the This thing could talk nothing before it could. This thing was some semblance
of intelligence. Yeah, and that bothers me, especially because we're no closer
getting back after killing it. So whoever this is has nothing to do with
why we're here. Wait, that means a source. You can employ something
like this. Ricardo makes a face. Yes see that's yeah. Well,
if I can just get my hands on real steel, put him in the
fucking dirt, that might not be enough. The card, too will make
it enough. I don't want to think about it either way. Come,
this will make us, It'll make us hard as sleep at such thoughts.
We did a good thing. We've slayed a vicious foe. It's time to
take a nap, all right. How do you guys want to manage your
resting rotation? I'll think first, Oh, we'll go mad, I'll go
last, I'll sleep. Yes, could I have observation checks from you guys?
Can do? We said? Vega was first? Yes, I got
the UNO all right, Carl Stern the dose at three three all right?
And one from optomer cleans there you got two all right. There is a
brief moment during Vega's watch where he thinks he hears something, but there is
no sound or again after that, and everything is all quiet for our other
two watchers. That's good. In the morning, the sun is up,
guys, had to sleep a little bit late to get a full rest.
And you pack up your camp and start moving back towards the clearing, and
you find next to the demons corpse there is a familiar looking, very very
large tiger. It is basically it's laying down. When you first see it,
you think it to be asleep, but then it opens one large glowing
eye. Oh no, no, no, no, what do you mean.
No no. It stretches languidly as it stands up, and then it
shifts to a sitting position. It is just watching you guys. Oh wait,
it did lead me away from the dragon. Do you sell the journal
from the hut? Yeah? One of you is carrying it. I imagine.
I don't remember who. I do remember you guys saying you were bringing
it with you, but I don't remember who had it. So okay,
I'll put like the up sword of Dad. I'll take like one step toward
it. Does it like you know? If I get somewhat close to like
you know going to the other side of the clearing, doesn't move to stop
me. No, well, we've got a ten standoff. We could just
move on towards the corpse. It's right next to the corpse as basically,
the corpse and the tiger are between you guys and the other side of the
clearing. Okay, yeah, but it's a big clearing. We could go
around, and from what Cory said, it didn't really impede me from moving
to the other side. No, it's just kind of watching you. Okay,
I need you guys to decide who is carrying the book though, since
you've lost checked, I could have it all right. So, yeah,
you walk across and then you're gonna go back and pick up your stuff,
I imagine, or you just could leave it there. Yeah, I'll pick
up my ship. Yeah. Absolutely. You pick up the sword, and
it very slow fully casual posture, stands up and walks over to you and
starts nosing at your pack like the satchel that you made to carry your stuff.
Okay, Like I will open it. I mean, I guess you
can have the last of the hug. Like, I'll open the pack up,
put it down. It's head is too big to fully fit in.
But it still it sticks and snouting, and it pulls out the book,
drops it on the ground, looks up at you, and it slaps its
paw down onto the book. Good wait, well, okay, there's no
animal that would ever act like this and not eat me in this situation.
So so this is your fate. It releases like a like a chocolate chop
at this close the wind from the kind of you like you could feel it,
like this thing is big, bigger than the tigers ever has any right
to be. I think it wants us to open the book. I'll open
the book up again. I'll go a couple of pages in. Is there
any difference? No, everything looks the same as when you last left it.
I think this was his the big heavy blast of air from its nose.
It's looking up that you. Vega makes eye contact and it's definitely not
animalized that are looking at you. Oh no, unfortunate is it? I
would not want this to be my faith. We don't know if this is
a sorcerer or its pet. This was the man that tried to escape.
We do not know that. I feel it also, it is responding to
me. Hey, when I imply that, which kind of gives a recard
to an idea if you insist, I'm actively thinking about, like, is
this a thing? Is it a thing for malicious sorcery to be used to
change the form or shape of someone like this? You recall that some sorcerers
can change their own shape, but another shape? Is that a thing?
I mean, none of us are real magic boy, No, it's true.
I'm just wondering. Pedre does have ranks in sorcery, which is a
lower skill if you're not a wizard. Yeah, I was trying to more
flavorfully ask can I make a role to see so I know what the hell
might be going on here? I have the one success. Now, you
recall in the final passage, after everyone had read had had their vision in
the journal, it gave you the information on how you need to proceed,
And you recall the sorcerer writing the journal said, most of my magic does
not work here, but I have found a few meager workings that may be
performed by starlight and spilled blood. So, while Phedro believes that it is
possible to forcifully change the form of another, if you were to do so,
you might not want to turn him into a giant, powerful beast.
Well, in this instance, maybe you do, if you're just going to
leave them here. But he's not hunting you guys, which means the monsters
aren't just like people turned into monsters, or if they are, if this
guy is une to some portion of the effect, or perhaps perhaps you also
think it's possible that he transformed himself, but that he's stuck now perhaps the
form cannot cast the rituals the same way you said the answer, Gio Ricardo,
I mean I implied that he was the owner of the book, and
it made a noise like did it sounded like an agreed Did he change himself
again? There is the blast of air from the nostrils when Phaedra says that
too would end survival. Probably for survival. Yes, they can see that
are other beasts here, former men. It dips its head kind of looks
like a shrug to you. You've been here a long time, haven't you.
There's like a sigh that comes out. It seemed to have helped us
so far. Is this is this as far aasy go? If we can
find a way to take you with us, we can try and make that
work. Get out the other side of this god forsaken place. It looks
out in the direction of the swamp, which now the smell is reaching you
in a way that it hadn't before. Yummy. It looks out in the
direction the swamp and it growls, Yeah, Ricardo doesn't want to go there
either. I suppose that's the only way. It gets up, and it
positions itself on the other side of the corpse, like towards the towards where
you came from the southern side, and it minds moving towards the swamp,
but stops at the body and then turns around and goes back the other way.
Wait, then it looks at you, guys. It looks at the
dead body, and then it walks past it. Um, so this was
stopping him from moving, got him? Oh hey, since it's not blocking
the body anymore, should we pick up some goodies? Yes, I need
some tending here so I can fix it. Walks up to Vega again as
you guys are discussing, and it bumps its shoulder into you, which causes
you to stagger a little bit. Yes, yes, because this thing's shoulder
is like chest high on you and ways probably it looks out at this womb
again. It lays down its ears and it hunches down. It bears its
teeth. There's something it does not like out there. I mean, there's
a lot of things I don't like in this place. Yes, that is
true. But is the snake out there? I ask the tiger. There's
a big puff of air again, but this time it's decidedly, almost like
a chuckle. Okay, maybe not. Usually the rear guard when you guys
march, is Call right or is it Vega? Now? I'm usually in
front. I feel I think it's Octamer in Vega. In front, I
think it's Call in the back. So it walks over and like rubs its
side against Call on the way past, and then it gets into some bramble
bush and hunches down like it's sneaking, but it's pointed at him. There
are things out there. They're going to try and take us unawares. Huh,
it shakes its head. No, it's been following us completely unaware.
Shit, I see damnation. What it makes sense. It's showed up in
our one moment of need. And now that we've beaten something that seemingly is
incapable of beating on its own, it definitely looks like it could have put
up a fight. You think it might not have been able to find the
thing on its own. Whatever the reason, it needs us, apparently,
and it huffs out its agreement, and then it hungers down again and very
exaggeratedly makes sneaking motions, but keeping its distance from call. Well. It
looks out at the swamp, and then it repeats the motions. If you
want to follow us, by all means half of agreement. I might not
be able to hunt enough to keep you fed, but we stop by our
camp fire, I'll certainly feed you. I mean, I'm pretty sure eat
it will maybe it once it keeps its distance, because it knows if the
Sorcerer thinks it's teaming up with us, you'll throw a bigger fit of us.
It not quite roars, but it crowls very loudly. In your reasons
are your own, even just at the mention of the sorcerer, it's first
stands up. That's fair. Well, whatever the reason, it's not the
active eatrying to eat Ricardo is okay with it. Come, let's get some
of these horns from this big fucker. Hen we'll see if you can make
out town. I guess we're stopping to do some impromptu butchery. As you
guys gather up some tools and approach the carcass, it is going to stand
up, stretch one more time, and it is going to charge off through
the rambles back towards the woods. Lunchtime. You think, probably there's a
lot to feed. Yeah, what an animated cat and yet not a cat.
I'm very confused. I hate this god forsaken place. Soon when we
get out, the better. Now, let's cut up this corpse. Yay.
So the party gathers up their knives, they get their equipment together,
and they set about trying to salvage some usable material from the beast of the
demon. And as more and more of that strange, other worldly smoke dissipates,
the path before them becomes more clear. They could smell the rock of
the bog and the swamp. The heat is beginning to make them pour sweat,
and when the light cuts through the brambles just right, they think they
can see the glint of water in the distance. The path ahead has become
much clearer and more dangerous.