Kris descends into the depths of a cultist base only to be faced with a trial of the stomach. This is part one of a four part story.
I decided to write a story because... well, why not? Hope you enjoy and thanks to  noctoon for the amazing art!
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Kris, the SPTF, story ©  thefirststir
Artwork ©  noctoon

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'Another unlocked door. There's a lot of those in this place. ' These thoughts floated
through Kris's head as she stepped into the next room.

This mission was a simple one. One she had done dozens if not a hundred times.
Infiltrate, Locate, Appropriate. Although this time, there was no target. Just sneak in and take
anything that might be useful or valuable. Most of what she had found had been worthless
books in a made-up language or over-sized cultist robes.

Kris’s eyes lit up and she scanned the room for any signs of magic. The room itself was
mundane. A dining room of sorts. Plates and tapestries lined the walls with images of an
overweight goddess. As she continued to search, two things caught her attention. Firstly, the
door at the far end was enchanted. It was hard to discern from this distance, but it was not
harmful in nature. Second was the table in the center. It was long enough to seat twenty people,
but was only set for six. On the table itself was a veritable mountain of food that radiated an
unknown magic. She approached and leaned in close. The magic was not harmful, nor was it
helpful. It was not used to keep the freshness of the food either.

The feline thought to herself, 'Probably a trap. Shouldn't touch it.'

A low rumble escaped from her. She was hungry, that much was true, but her years of
training have taught her better. She made her way past the table and came to the mysterious
door. She examined the door more closely and came to the conclusion that it was safe, and she
began to work. She took out her kit, grabbed her lockpicks, and started to prod and twist the
small mechanics inside the door. As she was working, a pair of eyes slowly lifted its wooden
lids and opened its mouth to let a loud yawn escape. After a few seconds, it stared down at the
orange thief and glared.

"Say... You wouldn't happen to be trying to break in, would you?" it asked with the
booming voice of a giant.

Kris had frozen in place. Despite her experience, she never was good at decision
making when caught in the act. She carefully contemplated her options. Use her magic to burn
the door to the ground and risk damaging any valuables inside or lie to the door in an attempt to
get inside. She chose wrong.

"I... forgot my key." she let out in an uncertain murmur.

The face raised a wooden eyebrow. "Is that so?" Its doubt quickly turned into a smile and
its voice lowered into that of a gentle grandfather, "Well, why didn't ya say so! Haha! I can tell
you're an initiate, ya know. Ya don't even have robes yet, haha!" It laughed.

"Yeah. I'm new here. I want in." Kris said in a rather feeble attempt to sound casual.

The rumble had returned. Louder than before. Drool escaped from the cat’s mouth as
she thought back to the feast behind her. The door raised its eyebrow once more. "So ya want
in? Well, how about some dinner first?"

Kris snapped back to reality before responding with a short, "No thanks! I'm not that
hungry!"

The door’s lips curled into a smile once again as he boomed in a cheery voice.
"Nonsense! Just think of this as a test!"

Without a second to react, the chair at the head of the table knocked into Kris’s legs,
causing her to sit. It whipped around and brought her to the head of the table, staring at the trial
that awaited her.

Pies of all kinds, roast beasts that glistened with grease, and cakes with layers upon
layers all waited for the so-called “test” to start.

Arcane hands materialized from thin air and had begun to grab at the pies. Each one
brought a piece to Kris's mouth and waited for it to open. The gnawing sensation in her stomach
grew. It took every ounce of her willpower to not open, but in the end, she gave in to the hunger
and let the hands get to work. Piece after piece. Bite by bite. She ate. And each time she
swallowed, she felt her clothes get tighter and tighter. She looked at meals ahead with a mix of
annoyance and worry. She knew that she was in for the long haul.