Having now won the support of the kurabanda and the Ul-mor, you hop back in the jetcopter and travel back to the Edestekai.  It is easy to find them, as they have now taken over the pirate compound when you helped them escape slavery of the space pirates based on their belief that the pirates were divinely sent to them.

They still primarily live in their village and near the temple complex.  You land near the Edestekai Holy City.

When you first arrive at the Edestekai village, the Edestekai approach you, forming a circle about you. Then the Edestekai will begin singing and dancing, while waving and clicking their limbs in their peculiar way. An Edestekai priest will throw a handful of grain at you.  From your previous understanding, you realize that this ritual is the traditional welcome.  You are expected to sing and dance in return.  You do a little singing and dancing, and then one of the Edestekai steps forward.  He is a temple official.

You are led by the temple official into the center of a unique outdoor structure, the Crystal Stonehenge. The structure is made entirely of crystals that constantly reflect sun and moonlight, splashing rainbows of color in all directions.  The High Priest is standing in the center of the circle of crystals, facing you. After a slight pause he speaks: "We have heard from the Messengers of the Gods that you were coming, and were ordered to listen carefully to all that you say. You may speak."

"The messenger of the god? What part am I missing?" says the professor in a low voice so as not to potentially insult the Edestekai.

"Beats me" whispers back Sergi "Lets take it easy till we know we arn't going to put our feet in our mouths"

OOC: I guess I'm elected...

BIC: Desiraye bows to the Edestekai Priest before speaking.  "Thank you for seeing us.  It is good to see you are all doing well since my last visit.  I will try and keep this as short as I can only because of the time frame we have to deal with and is not any disrespect to you or your people.

We have been made aware since our last meeting with you that there is an army of aliens that are coming to enslave this planet and it's people, including the Edestekai!  We have already been to the Ul-Mor and the Kurabanda and they have both agreed to join in an alliance to fight these alien invaders.  I sincerly believe that there intentions are worse then what we dealt with, with the Star Devil Pirates.

We are asking you and your people if they will join the other races, and us, in fighting these invaders.  I'm afraid that if we don't all stand together, we will all fall eventually!"

Desiraye bows to the priest again and waits for an answer.

"We have listened carefully, yet it is difficult to believe that we should fight alongside god-killers, such as the Ul-Mor, in any battle. Now hear our decision:

"We will fight by your side only after you have proved that you are worthy of our trust and are blessed by the gods. To do this, you must perform a quest for our Temple."

At this point, the High Priest gestures to the sides, and four Edestekai enter the area, bearing something covered by a large gold-colored cloth. At the High Priest's signal the cloth is removed to reveal the body of a quickdeath.

"As you see," he says, "the spirit of the god of justice has left this body and now inhabits another. You must bring us another such creature, whole and alive with the spirit of the god of justice. If you do so, then we will do as you ask
and join this alliance."

"So, you want a live creature?  Could youtell us where we could find such a creature and we will see what we can do," Desiraye says as respectfully as she can without showing too much concern.  She turns and walks away towards the others and gathers them.

"They want us to capture and bring back a Quickdeath.  These things are very quick and very dangerous!  WE'll have our work cut out for us!"

The High Priest has left, but another Edestekai priest begins walking you back.  He replies, "The most likely site is the Place of True Warriors, the ritual ground of the Ul-Mor."

With his instructions, you will be able to find it from your jetcopter.

He warns, "In nature, these creatures hunt in mated pairs.  It is doubtful you will find just one."

OOC: In game turns, you must return a live Quickdeath with at least 25% of its Stamina intact.

You also recall several other factors about the Quickdeath from your last encounter, including:  They are immune to needlers, take half damage from thrown spears, lasers, and projectile weapons, and ranged weapons attack against it are made at -25% due to speed.

oh... so... does anyone know how to anesthetize one of these living nightmares?
If not, which way back to the pirates?
S'Krllk starts digging through his meager collection of accumulated stuff to find a doze grenade or two... not that he remembers having any, he just figures the action as preferable to general despair.

"We could do it the old way, dig a pit and bait it with something tasty"  He sneeks a glance at Becka and Desiraye, then
"Or shoot enough voltage through it to knock it out.  Maybe rig the bait with a charged cable, or even some knockout drug"

Frisky adds, "Maybe a doze grenade would work."

"Could tangler grenades slow it down? I have some of those, as well as doze grenades."

OOC: Just how large is the creature?

"I think we're going to have to go with the Doze grenade idea for now.  WE only need one of them alive!  Get a count on how many we got and let's get moving!"

The Quickdeath or more common to the area near the Ul-Mor and more rare here.  They are revered by the Edestekai and hunted by the Ul-Mor.

This is what you've come to learn about the quickdeath from your experience and discussions with the Ul-Mor and Edestekai:

Quickdeath

TYPE:  Large Carnivore
NUMBER: 1-2
MOVE: Very Fast
IM/RS: 8/75
STAMINA: 180
ATTACK: 70
DAMAGE: 6d10 bite/claws
SPECIAL ATTACK:
Poison dart S10/T3, (RW 60,
10/20/30/40/50) attacks extra
creature with maw (10 points
damage)

SPECIAL DEFENSE:
Immune to needler weapons; ½
damage from laser or projectile
weapons. 70% chance will remain
unseen until within 120 meters
Sathar Attack Monster - all terrains
except mountains

DESCRIPTION: The quickdeath is the ultimate land carnivore. This creature can propel itself at 100 kilometers per hour with its great legs, which resemble those of a jaguar. Quickdeaths keep the claws on these legs razor sharp, using them to attack prey as well as for climbing. Three sets of smaller, tentacle-like limbs ending in suction cups are attached to the quickdeath's sides. It uses these limbs to catch unwary prey and stuff the unfortunate creatures into its digestive maw. Any creature in the maw takes 10 points of damage until it frees itself (as if breaking free from a hold).

The quickdeath has a long, flexible neck that ends in a snout and large mouth. Its four eyes are mounted on retractable stalks atop the head, while its brain is located at the base of its neck. (The quickdeath is nearly blind when it strikes it prey because it retracts these eyes.) The creature has a long, whip-like tail that can fling a poisonous dart once every four hours. The outer hide of the creature is covered by a moist, reflective armor which provides such good camouflage that the creature is nearly invisible until it approaches within 120 meters. Quickdeaths are constantly on the move, seeking to appease their hearty appetites. They are found in all areas of Volturnus except the mountains, frequently travelling in mated pairs.

Quickdeaths are not native to Volturnus. The Sathar used an advanced form of DNA manipulation to create these hideous beasts from a common type of housecat found throughout the universe. On the ''Day of Death," they released thousands of quickdeaths on the surface of Volturnus to terrorize its inhabitants.

"Wow, those things are really killing machines!  Looks like we may be able to try some tangler grenades on them too=!"

"Perhaps one of us could hold a grenade until the monster tries to eat them, and set it off at that point. On the plus side, if you used a doze grenade you could sleep through the inevitable mauling."

Frisky says, "Are you volunteering to be bait?"

"I think we will each have a chance to be 'bait', given what we face," Becka says, trying to sound hopeful.  "We have gotten this far together, after all."

At the word "bait," the priest says that is a good idea.  He hands you the dead carcass of a small woodland animal.  "The creatures are attracted to the smell," he says.  "Perhaps you can lure one out."

You hop in your jetcopter and go to the place indicated.  You remember the Place of the True Warriors from your last encounter with a quickdeath, at which time you became an official member of the Ul-Mor tribe.

As before, it appears to be an unremarkable area of desert.  You see some straw dummies scattered about.  They were used by you before to help distract the quickdeath beast and are used in the Ritual of Manhood by the Ul-Mor for that purpose.

However, the place is empty now.  There is no quickdeath.

On the way to the place, S'Krllk will remark to Fr'ssky, "I wonder if bait would be an honorable profession? After all, some cultures revere their food animals.