“Where are you going with that bird?” Guffo asked Thal.

“To the Temple of the Green Goddess,” Thal replied.

“You dare sacrifice a bird when circumstances are this dire?” Guffo bellowed. “The Green Goddess will understand the lack of a sacrifice if there are stomachs to feed!”

Thal shrugged. “I’m going anyway.”

“No!” Guffo interjected, impeding his path. “The Green Goddess likes sacrifice, true, but in the end, that’s not what she cares about! She only cares whether or not someone is truly devoted to her! If there’s an emergency—”

“Then she will applaud the devotion of a scarce supply given over freely to her,” Thal finished coolly. He pushed Guffo aside.

Guffo was speechless for a minute, then continued. “But she knows, Thal! She only wants—needs—us! She cares not for the glories of the land! She said so herself! Her words are written! ’”Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she with silent lips! “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free—”’"