"Well, I'll admit there's a certain appeal in that. How about a downpayment?" Grum turns to the others and says, "Our new friend has greater need of the Redbrand corpses than their former owners now do. I suggest we feed them to it. Any problems with that?"

Speaking back to the... voice in his head... Grum asks "Where do you want us to put them? I don't see you." 

"It wants corpse meat? I think It would be wise to give it to... whatever this thing is. I don't like what it's doing to my head." Garr says as he doubles back, motioning the others to come help him drag the Redbrands over to the area.

Callie follows Garr, and the moment both of them are out of the fissure room she asks, "Are you sure that it's a good idea to give this thing whatever it wants? If it really can just melt our brains and eat our corpses, who's to say it's not just letting us do its dirty work before it kills us all anyway?" It is plain for Garr (and frankly, anyone else in the party) to see that Callie is terrified of the creature in the crevasse. 

"jUst ThRow THEm in ThE PiT, QuiCKlY! tHe PiT WIll KeEP THe MEAt frEsH fOr mE."

"You know I actually hadn't thought about it... Best care scenario it isn't lying and will let us be, but even in the worst case scenario if it were waiting for us to clear out the hideout before trying to kill us then the best we can do is make sure it doesn't sneak up behind us. I think trying to bargain with 'meat' is the best option but you raise a very good point that we shouldn't just blindly trust it."

Garr looks solemly at the slain Redbrand as they drag him to the pit. "It did know things about me and spoke them into my mind..."  Looking back up with a new face he weighs another option. "Maybe we could sneak up on it when we go back in or after we clear the hideout and see what we're really dealing with, although whatever it is seems to be very sneaky. You spotted the secret door without even paying attention and yet whatever is speaking in our minds was nowhere to be seen in that room." He pauses for a moment. "Do you think it could be a human that drank a potion to make himself invisible? Like the one you have?"

Callie frowns in thought, but helps Garr move the bodies despite her misgivings. The thought of an invisible humanoid speaking into their minds is simultaneously reassuring and unsettling. Reassuring, because people are mortal, and probably not too dangerous for a band like their's who work together well. Unsettling, because most people don't demand corpses to eat... or go peeking into other people's heads, for that matter.

She whispers to Garr, "I don't know about the voice, but I do know that the fissure isn't very deep, maybe twenty feet or so. If we throw a few torches down there, we could have an easier time finding whoever's been talking into our heads. We could even tie a rope between one of the bodies and the bridge, give ourselves a way down if we decide to confront it."

"Could you help us kill them? If you don't mind my asking, why haven't you already done it yourself? " 

<Squelch> picks up a pebble and cats light on it. He then throws it into the fissure. <strange voice> "jUst ThRow THEm in ThE PiT, QuiCKlY! tHe PiT WIll KeEP THe MEAt frEsH fOr mE."  followed by <sound of flatulence>

"tHEy bRiNg ME mEAT reGUlarlY. tHey UseD TO bRinG mE lOTs BuT NoT anYMOrE. I woUld rAthER noT geT mY hanDs DirTy HahAHAHAhAhahA"

As Squelch throws the pebble down you he sees a heap of broken and well-gnawed bones next to the corpse of a half-eaten man at the bottom, and very faint mist spills over them in a shallow stream-like flow.

"That sounds like a good idea Callie. Let's see what the others think" Garr replies as he and Callie drag the last body back.

"Well, ok. We've killed 4 so far, you can have them. If we manage to kill the others, you can have them too. Do you know anything about a wizard, by the way?" 

Make a Persuasion check please

(Ah yes, Grum's strong point!)

Persuasion: 1

(Haha rip)

"ThE wiZArd IS tHe oNe Who pROmisEd mE fOoD. bUt HE stOPped LiKe i SAiD"

"Right."

Callie does her part to drag the dead into the room with the fissure, but while she's away from the rift itself, she slips out a coil of rope and ties one end around the ankle of one of the Redbrands. Seeing Grum talking into the void, she's about to turn to <Squelch> when she notices light coming from within the crevasse. With a wary look to Garr she asks, "Anything happen while we were gone?"

"<Squelch> shed some light down the crevasse, but we've gained no further information. Shall we continue to clear out the Redbrands?" Grum attempts to catch Callie's eye and gesture towards the passages on the far side.

(Do we have to cross directly over the crevasse, or is there any way around the side?) 

Callie pauses, then nods at Grum and readies her shortbow before turning to Garr and gesturing to the same passages that Grum did. She quietly takes a few steps towards Grum and whispers, "Should we bother with the body, or just try to sneak or run across?"

<Squelch> shakes his head. <Young man's voice with a lisp> "I'm callin yer bluff. You ain't holdin nuthin, or I am an dragon's uncle."

He then casts guidance on himself, and crosses the bridge.

Grum replies to Callie in low tones, "I think just throw the body down.  I just told it we'd killed 4 Redbrands, so it may get angry if it doesn't get all 4 corpses.  I'm sure we'll have the option with another body on our way back.  I don't think it'll harm us just yet though - it has more to gain from letting us cross safely at this stage."

Grum will then cross the bridge after <Squelch>, taking a good look down into the crevasse as he crosses (Perception: 18)

(The bridge is the only way across, theres one on the northern side (closest to you) and one on the southern side, I assume you go across that one)

You cross the bridge, and although it looks rickety it does support you all as you make your way across. Scanning the crevasse, Grum doesn't see anything new, except for the Redbrands thrown down there amidst the bones and the other corpse. He also doesn't see any sign of the creature or person that spoke to you all.

The other side of the chasm is identical to the opposite, but ahead of you lies a passageway that blends the cavern back into the familiar stone cellar design you have seen in the other chambers. A short flight of stairs upwards lead you to a hallway, and at the end a door to your left and to your right.