Game Thread

Seeing the knowing look from Reojk -- and misinterpreting the motion as clearance to continue, the man loudly proclaims, "Redeemers of the Afterworld! We need your help. There is a situation..."

A passerby and his companion stop and ask the man, "What's this then? What are you talking about?"

The old man gestures, "These men. Their help is fore-ordained! With the death of the old gods, we have had no hope. But hope is coming and they.." he points to Dikaios and Reojk, "..are a key to help us! They are connected!" The man and his companion -- and a few more on lookers begin to look uneasy at the man's talk.

The man and his companion move along, shaking their heads. They have little time for such antics and one of them spits at the ground near the old man's feet. Another passerby shakes her head suggesting that such subversive street art is, "...quite likely to get you in trouble. With the Redeemers no less!" and she stalks off on a huff.

The rest of the passerby have sensed, as crowds do, the disturbance in your area and have begun to flow around it -- creating a bubble of space for the moment as the old man himself stares at the both of you in some disbelief. "What is it you are doing, divine ones? I do not understand!"

Drug along by his beard -- and under some protest -- the man nods to Reojk. "Good! Good! Then you likely already know!" He smiles and says, "I am Dershan. A woman by the name of Sephoni needs your help! She is with child -- and all alone -- and soon to give birth to the Gift of Spring!"

He nods a few times at Reojk, ascertaining whether or not the divine one has already figured this out. Knowing secrets and all.

"This is the first ray of hope the Nightland has seen since the Fall! And your arrival is timely and no doubt connected!" He smiles, "The old gods moved in mysterious ways! And I see the new ones are no different!" He looks askance at Dikaios.

Dershan pauses and looks somewhat affronted. "Of COURSE I didn't shout this out all over the city. She told me what you looked like and where I could find you. Don't you understand? Dark forces seek to destroy what's to come! She and the gang members I rounded up and the midwife have already withstood attacks from nasty little biters out of a nightmare!"

He looks back and forth between Reojk and Dikaios. "And she said that worst attacks would come and sent me to find you!"

Dershan looks quite happy at your decision to proceed. "Excellent! Most fortuitous!"

He begins to pull you along, "Come! The lower city where she is, is a bit of a walk -- we must move quickly!". As he leads the way he talks to you in hushed tones of the little biters. About the size of children and a strange mess of bone and flesh and hair -- lots of hair. Prone to scratching and biting. The couple gang members he recruited to help managed to hold them off -- but it really shook them.

Dershan hurriedly leads you to a place known as Caladar Keep in Lower Corso. Both of you are new enough to Corso to not know of the Keep's past, but it is imposing and seems like it had an important role once. Now it has elements to it that appear to just barely be hanging together.

You approach the front gate and are ushered in thanks to Dershan by two of the street thugs he recruited to help protect the forthcoming birth. They do not appear to be anything too special and introduce themselves as Nia and Mulin. Once through the gate you walk into the keep itself. The main hall was clearly once a grand place -- but statuary is broken and fallen down, decorations are decayed and faded and all the big oaken doors that lead to secondary chambers have fallen from their hinges except those on the western wall.

Through these Dershan takes you into the presence of Sephoni, a woman who appears to be a midwife and another five street toughs (who introduce themselves as Corbet, Brista, Faaline, Grisina and Zek). Dershan, for his part, introduces you both as the "Divine ones you sent me for" but forgoes names. When he does so, it's evident that the midwife looks uncomfortable at the news.

---