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<span class="mu-s"><span class="mu-r">Diplomacy 36 vs DC 20</span></span>
"Good," you nod at Damien's request. Sanctioned by the King or not, both of these heretics concern you, and of the two Damien concerns you more by far. No doubt he wishes to amuse himself with your reactions to his heresy... a desire you've no mind in indulging, if it means he stays where you can see him. "Fiona, what can you speak to of the enemy's forces? They've surely goblin an orc, but what other devilry lies in their camp?"
She gestures at four groups of figures that have been clustered together. "These four areas here have been dug out, and made into breeding pits for the greenskins."
You make an dark face at hearing such unpleasant that news. With a cult to the Dark One, that practically worship his creations as angels sent from on high, it might have been inevitable. Still, you hoped that you had arrived before they began such vulgar rites of heresy. The madness inherent to those places, the cravings left behind in its victims... it is the purest form of the Dark One's taint.
Which must be burnt out, root and stem.
The others' react just as you do. Natasha's face turns to ashen pale, while Eren behind her grips her chair so tightly that his knuckles turn bone white. Even Damien's smile slides off his face, finding no joy in such matters - a shocking turn that raises him ever so slightly in your estimation. Only Chief Rodrim's calm does not break.
"All the more importance to move swiftly, and save those whom we can." The old man rumbles. He looks at Natasha, who shrinks under her gaze. "Natasha, it will fall to you to cleanse them, as the Maiden of Fair Springs. It may be best that you stay back and prepare the temple for the rites of purification."
"But what about Ast-" Natasha cuts off as Eren lays his hands upon her shoulder. Staring up at his grim expression, she stammers out, "E-Eren...?"
"Nat, you need to be here and be ready so that you can save her stupid arse," Eren rumbles, his face a stone mask. "I'll bring my little sister back safe... or do what's needs doing."
"All the more reason for us to act swiftly," you tell them both. You do not give Natasha nor Eren a pitying glance, but one assuring that you'll do everything in your power to get his sister - and, if you've read her right, her lover - back to them. "The longer those pits remain uncleansed, the more orcs will need killing... and less of your tribesmen will be able to be saved. Fiona, how many?"
"Less than I would expect. The breeding pits must be fresh." Fiona's words let Eren slump his shoulders in relief, while Natasha lets out a breath she was holding for a bit too long. "No more than a dozen orcs, two dozen goblins. Two black rites of summoning would produce such numbers."
"Aye, four breeding pits are enough to make a legion in a month's time," Damien offers. His hands play with one of the figurines Fiona set up to represent the orcs. "In a week's time, with pits even half full... twelve will become a hundred."
