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They were to meet their future priest in the tavern as was decided time ago, they were not sure what to expect as we heard rumors of how it was a little strange and yet from all the things that crossed, his head the last thing that could think it was surprising when the door opened and a little lamb half-ling approached their table a little shy. She looked to be not more that ten years old, her whole body was covered with wool and wore a pretty red mantle that was held by a giant bell that managed to show her little hooves that maintaned her standing, that was also accompanied by a red hat with a strange eye symbol. It was certainly not what they expect when they were told about how they were going to meet the future priest even if they were already told she was going to be little strange but she was a priest, and the party was urgently in need of one, yet with even the innocent look and smile in her face there was something that made him feel wrong, even if she presented herself very happy to offer her help the leader could not shake up the paranoia.
It did not take much time for the party to go to reserved table, drinking and eating. The food and drinks managed to release their tongues and soon everyone began to talk about themselves, their past, their favorite things and everything they could think, soon it was the turn of the new member of the party and she began to talk about her little village, even if she did not say exactly where it was located, she talked about how she sometimes collected flowers to help the infirmary and the sick villagers, or the port where a lone fisherman always was fishing and available to buy and sell many different fishes, and about the strange elders and their game of Knucklebones or how everyone in the village worked together to the betterment of the village even the head priest that made food for everyone in the village almost every day, running around dangerous places.
Until that moment everything looked normal and a idilic peaceful village, and he could see that the party was looking to the little priest thinking about the village in their heads, but then things began to get more and more strange. She talked about four evil cultist that the head priest fought and reedeemed, about strange mushroom people and their leader and many strange places. She talked about how in the village everyone was together as a big family and her sisters, cousins, aunts and more were a very big family and how she was one of the small number of lambs that continued the teachings of the Head Priest, spreading the word about 'he who waits'. It was that moment that completely broke the idea that the village could be a nice place. When she mentioned the strange god they venerate, everyone in the party could feel a cold flushing around their body, it was a little uncommon for a Priest to respect strange gods, but the name 'He who waits' made him feel something strange, as something that should not put a foot in this realm, at a greater danger, she continued talking this time about the strange rituals dancing around the fire, rituals that made food appear from nothing and a brainwashing ritual that helped everyone to work very happy for days without any worry, or when they put hoods and sacrificed one of them to what could be described as a strange horrible beast and how there was a big statue in the center of the village that everyone prayed for hours, and yet while the little priest talked about it the party could see only happiness in the face of the little lamb as she explained everything about the village, the leader was seriously musing if maybe they should report to someone about this strange village.
The leader of the party was doubting, they were really in need of a priest but somehow they were not sure if the little lamb girl could really be of use or if they should really trust her, while the little lamb looked fragile and innocent, the leader could feel doubts rising and for a moment the sensation that the eye drawing in the hat of the little girl was looking at him but soon was dismissed. There was a little paranoia that something could go very wrong and he was doubting about recruiting the little lamb when the little halfling offered to teach them a dance. She said it was a little dance that all villagers learned from the head priest, and how each day after the talk in the church the head priest offered to dance a very happy dance with everyone in the village. The leader was going to negate but one look at the little lamb as she looked at him with pleading eyes and the image of her sad made him agree, after all it was a little dance, surely there could be no harm in that.
The little girl raised one of her tiny hands in a signal of victory and the adventurers followed her to her room so she could show them her dance, it was a short, only a couple of minutes that passed quickly, five at the max. As the little lamb danced, she muttered something like a mantra that no one could really listen, and yet it did not seem important, soon the leader joined the dance and the rest of the party with him as they could not stop themselves to join the dance. All the doubts they had about the little lamb disappeared after they finished the dance with a big laugh. The leader decided then to recruit the lovely little halfling and from the looks of the rest of the party, the others agreed
Great adventures waited for the party, between many games of Knucklebones of course, but that will be another story