The Sisters have changed up which student they send from day to day, as many of the girls like the chance to get outside the monastery and talk to someone new and Gaava Gabi lobbied hard to get to read the last chapter, the fable the Sister's invented and added themselves, as is tradition for Erastil's Parables.

A 13 year old girl with a slightly too big smile (smile's are Good, and she is a Good subject of the new Queen) approaches.

"Hello Sower, I'll be you reader for today.  And is this someone new?  Hello!  We're on the last chapter, so unless you think of something new you want read I guess we won't see you again?" She says with a slight pleading tone "Or, we left some blank space in the back for parables of your own, if you think of something you want transcribed in the book we could do that!.  Oh or if you want to do a reread!  You can find our Abbess, Thea, when she goes to get her convention stipend, and I guess you'll see her at the convention itself!"

Gabi is perhaps trying too hard to appear perky.

Relatable!

"I'm Tetula. I'm a new cleric of Cayden Cailean and I'm trying to learn more about him."

New Cleric means Delegate! Yes!  She can recruit sign up to tenancy a delegate herself instead of just spying on them disguised as a street urchin and passing it off to Thea or Dia! 

Let's see Cayden Cailean... Chaotic Good... bigger smile.  (Her smile is now definitely awkwardly big)

"That is so cool!  The older Sisters just finished transcribing some signs of his out of an Asmodean book making fun of them!  You should come back to the monastery with me and read them!"  She suppresses the urge to recite the entire tenancy terms and conditions from memory.

"I mean after I read this parable!"

"That was my plan!"

"I can lead you back after I read the Parable!"

She decides to explain a bit, since this girl is new.

"Traditionally Erastil's Parables have a few unique chapters with the parables and fables and stories based on local customs and traditions."

"So, after liberating a damaged copy of Erastil's Parables from the foul coils of a former cleric of Asmodeus-" Gabi has momentarily forgotten that extorting (arguable stealing from) Asmodean priests is of questionable legality, even after the Four Day War.

"-and transcribing a copy, we, the Sister of the Abbey of Ashes, decided to add a parable of our own invention before gifting a copy to an Erastilian priest"

"Ahem"

and she begins to read:

The Snail and the Snake

By the Students of Irori of the Abbey of Ashes for any and all Faithful of Erastil who wish to hear our wisdom.

A snail once lived by a pond.  One summer, after many hot days without rain, her pond dried up, so she left to go to a stream she knew was a few weeks travel away.

She traveled slowly, inch by inch, but steadily, watching her footing as she went.  And it was for the best, as the drought would continue, so best to get moving now.

One day on her travels, a snake came across her.  He said to her: "Where are you traveling little snail, perhaps I could carry you there?"

The snail replied, "No thank you."

The snake offered "You look thirsty and the sun is hot, would you like to drink some saliva from my mouth?"

But the snail ignored him (for such an obvious trap does not deserve a polite reply), so the snake went on his way.

Her voice is animate and excited, with long dramatic pauses.  She particularly emphasizes the words "watching her footing as she went". 

"...why wouldn't the snake just crush it and eat it anyway, if that's what it was after?"

"Oh you'll see..." Gabi is outright gleeful, but resists spoiling the ending.

Tetula likes this snail but isn't really sure about "confusing story" as a medium to teach about gods. Isn't it easier to just write down in plain Taldane what you're supposed to do perhaps on a placard

She continues on with her parable:

And so she traveled on slowly, inch by inch, but steadily, watching her footing as she went.

About halfway into her journey, the rain briefly drizzeled.  She drank from shallow puddles as she went, but she traveled on.

The snake came across her again "Are you going to the stream?  Why not stop, there are so many puddles nearby."

"They will dry soon enough she said", and she traveled on slowly, inch by inch, but steadily, watching her footing as she went.  And it was for the best, as the sun dried up all the puddles anyway.

She continues to emphasize "watching her footing as she went".  Her voice is a bit less enthusiastic with this part.  (Gabi thought this middle part should have been left out, but Lilly insisted having 3 parts was something lots of other fables did).

What confusing snake behavior.

She's getting pretty invested in this story! What's going to happen to the snail? What is the snake up to?

A few days before reaching the stream, the snake came across her one last time "Are you traveling to the stream, you're so close I wouldn't mind carrying you, why don't you crawl into my mouth?"

The snail ignored him (for such an obvious trap does not deserve a polite reply), and continued on, watching her footing.

So the snake, frustrated his deceits had failed, sprung towards the snail and swallowed her whole.

But the snail, who had been watching her footing, clung to a stone.  As the snake swallowed her, she turned a sharp edge of the stone outward, slicing the throat of the snake open, and leaving the way free for her to crawl free.

She licked some of the blood of the snake to sate her thirst, and continued on her way, inch by inch, until at last she arrived at the stream which had plenty of water.  And it was for the best, as the drought would continue on for a few more weeks.

So always watch your footing and don't let snakes deceive you on your journey, no matter how long it may be.

She's smiling.  It was her idea that the snail used the stone deliberately!

"So... what do you think?  Do you have any stories of your own Sower?  Literal or metaphorical snakes you had to outsmart?" ...or fight, a fight would be cool, but he doesn't quite seem the fighting type?

"Remarkably patient snake. I'm not the story-spinning type... everything coming to mind would just be gossip."

"...why didn't she just kill the snake when she first knew it was up to no good?"

"How in tarnation would a snail do that?"

"I guess maybe she didn't have the sharp stone until then."

"Exactly, the snail didn't have a lot to work with, and the snake was an Asmodean snake, plotting and scheming and dangerous but not without weaknesses.  So the snail had to wait patiently, even more patiently than the snake, and keep her footing, and stay on guard for just the right moment with just the right way to counter the snake!"

"I liked the bit where she didn't even answer when the snake was being particularly obvious."

"Yeah, there is being polite and then there is putting up with blatant malicious deception."  That is one teaching from the Sisterhood that the new Abbess didn't revise, only moderate.  It is one of several reasons the Sisterhood of Eiseth did not get along very well in Infernal Cheliax, despite being a Hellish Order.

Nod nod.

"I don't know if parables are supposed to be accurate but blood is actually very salty and if you drink it it will make you thirstier."

"Will it? How do vampires work, then?"

That's not one of the parts she came up with, but she still feels inclined to defend it.

"Yeah, in parables animals can talk and stuff even without a spell.  It's metaphor.  They represent other stuff or multiple things like the snail is Irori or us and the snake is Asmodeus or his devils and even if they are stronger Asmodeus lacks the perfect discipline of Irori and his devils lack the discipline Irori's students can learn."

"I think Vampires use evil magic?"  The Badger Pamphlets have been annoyingly sparse on practical details.  "Maybe that's why they keep having to drink blood instead of eat food, because it keeps making them thirstier?"

"I'm pretty sure vampires drink blood as a source of positive energy and not because they need the actual blood? But I'm not sure, it didn't come up that much in school." 

"It's a good story! I liked how the snail kept going no matter what."