Game thread - It begins...

Deprived of your eyes, you can only follow along with your remaining senses. There's movement all around you, and smell of campfires slowly burning out. Before long, gentle hands help you along, and offer you a cord to hold onto. The trip is full of stumbling, but the pace is manageable, but the rain falls on cue. You're all drenched in minutes, and even though you can't see them, so is everyone else in the makeshift caravan.

Through the din of the storm, you can hear voices in the distance, and the pace feels like it's picked up a bit.

Tired, wet, and a little cold from the rain you're ushered into some kind of shelter. You know this immediately because there's no rain falling on you, but the drops are hitting a roof above you. It's then that your blindfolds are removed. You're in a small shelter that has been crudely put together and is just big enough to let you all fit, but no one else. Several people offer you some food, water, and dry blankets. You're told to wait, and there will be some others to come and speak with you as you'd requested before setting out.

You have no idea where you are, or you might meet. However, there's a strong possibility that you could by chance run into former acquaintances from the city.

Swaneke isn't with you, but Arnd is. It isn't clear when you were separated.

Once the blindfolds come off you see that from within the structure it basically just looks like something that was crudely put together. As much for seeking shelter from a storm as it might be for storage or protecting things from exposure to the weather. It's primary wood, with only an earth floor. Everything looks to have been fairly recently built. There could be enough space for a fire, but there's no space in the roof for the smoke to exit, and there are no signs that anyone else has made in here at any point. You still have your weapons, but no gear at this point. Your "hosts" appear to have relieved you of that.

For as long as it took you all to get here, it's surprising how many people you can see. There wasn't much sign of a settlement of any sort from the road, but you had to walk less than a day to get here, and you can't see the whole place.

The time passes quietly while you wait, but it isn't long. Two women and a man come in to greet you all.

"Hello, my name is Brida," a woman of average build. She appears to have not bathed in a couple of days and her hands and arms are tattooed with dirty smudges from who knows what kind of work. "You asked to speak to someone, and here we are."

"I am Chriscona," says the other woman, and the man follows up saying, "I'm called Islo."

They all appear to be all business and have the strained appearance of people who are overworked.

"What is it that you'd like to discuss?" Brida asks. "We have some time for you. Please, make yourselves comfortable." and with that, she sits on the ground and gestures for you to do the same.

"Well, we woud welcome anything you might offer for the sake of re-establishing peace," says Brida. "We didn't know any representing Justitia was on their way. I don't know if would have changed much, but at east it means that perhaps the previous regime had some idea of what was coming. It was a complete surprise for almost everyone.

"You're comparison is a good one, y hoy friend, says Chriscona. "Were frustrated with how things were previously, but no one really believed it ever could have led to a revolt of any kind, but here we are...Most of you are wearing Emi's colors, but profess to have been coerced into helping him. There are others like you here. We'd like to think that Emil doesn't have quite as much supporters as he believes he does. All we want is this conflict to go away. And you all?

Islo stays silent, but Arnd is nodding in solemn agreement almost the whole time.