>>39836998
"Where is my mother?"

Mirfa looks to the side, rolling his neck around, not incredibly interested in giving a straight answer.

"That's not important right now. Like I said, we need to get out of here. The Sunlit are all over the streets- it's only a matter of time before it's too late. They don't know what you look like, but we-"

You really don't care. None of this really makes sense, and it's extremely upsetting. You just want to see Mother again.

"If you don't tell me where she is I'm not leaving!"

"Ilafi, cut it out! She told me not to tell you! You'll have to trust me!"

He sits down next to you on the creaky floorboards, and sighs.

"I get it, this is scary, and you want to see her, but what's more important is that I get you out of here. I'm only doing what she said."

There's nothing but regret and anguish in his features.

>"I'm not going anywhere without her."
>"...Alright."
>Run away.

>>39837314
>"...Alright."

>>39837314
>ask what will happen to her. Why won't she come?

By the way, who are the dimlit? Are they below or above?

>>39837314
>"...Alright."

No one gets left behind. Stand your ground.

File: ｊｕｄｇｅｍｅｎｔ.gif (978 KB, 500x375)

978 KB GIF

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>39837378 >>39837734 (1)
>>39837682 >>39837747 (2)

ROLLAN

>>39837708
All in good time, anon.

>>39837936
"Fine." You finish up your meal, and he hands you a change of clothes. They're devoid of holes, but you can feel that they've seen a good deal of use.

"Change into this quickly, and let's get moving."

He walks over to the door, watching the outside carefully. You don't waste time switching out of your clothes. The new clothes feel nice compared to your old rags. They don't comfort you, however.

"I'm ready."

Taking your hand, Mirfa leads you out of the building, where Moffa himself is waiting, sitting on a stool outside.

"You have enough time. If you hurry you can be back in time before they reach this place. By then, we can give her the heads up. If it's not safe to come back in, there'll be a shirt sitting on Teyl's roof. I hope you'll be able to see that before you see them."

"Heads up?" You're still very confused.

"Ilafi, I'll explain things later, we need to go NOW."

Moffa turns to you with pity in his eyes. "Be safe, child. You're in good hands."

>Demand to know more immediately.
>Go with Mirfa.

>>39838250
>>Go with Mirfa.
>demand to know more along the way

>>39838250
>>Go with Mirfa.

>elf
Stopped there

>>39838339
>>39838357
As you're hastily led out into the streets, Mirfa's gaze darts back and forth, much like a thief with a heavy conscience. You look around at your surroundings a few times. Above you is darkness, intermittently interrupted by the odd hole to a surface tunnel, always too far away for any man to dream of entering. At your sides are only the same walls of rough stone and dull wood you're accustomed to, carrying pipe-fed gas lamps that guide the way.

A faint memory comes to you. When you were younger, there was a riot in the streets. Gunshots and screams rang throughout the city. Mother pulled you inside quickly, as you were out playing at the time things exploded. You don't really know what started it. But, you do know that the men with guns ended it, as after the gunfire got louder, the people got quieter. One of the few times you actually saw her get scared about anything.

And last night, you could see that same fear on her face.
As you two duck into an alley, Mirfa stops to take a breather.

"We're almost there, Ilafi. Just hold on a bit longer."

>"I'm not going another step until you tell me more."
>"Okay."

>>39838780
>"Okay."

>>39838780
>"I'm not going another step until you tell me more."

>>39838780
>>"I'm not going another step until you tell me more."

>>39838780
>>"Okay."

>>39838780
"Okay."

>>39838780

>"Okay."

>>39839169
>>39839233
>>39839283
>>39839148

You duosyllabic fucks.

>>39839387
Where the fuck did they come from?

>>39838875
>>39839148
>>39839169
>>39839233
You nod, willing to trust Mirfa- at least enough to where he's not lying to you. "Okay."

"I know this isn't ideal, but just stick with me for a bit longer. I'll have you there soon."

You're close to giving up on asking on what "there" is. You know he's not willing to tell you, for whatever reason, but you have a feeling that he's not lying.

You're a little tense, aware that getting caught right now could be bad, but the biggest thing on your mind is the hope of seeing Mother again.

A few minutes later, you reach an old, abandoned house carved straight into the cavern wall. The walls are worn, and the one window it has is shattered and boarded up- however, the wooden door appears to be thick, and reinforced with iron beams. Mirfa pulls out a crowbar and forces it open, looking behind himself all the while.

"We're in the clear, get in."

There's absolute darkness as you enter the dusty, decrepit building. You feel like you can hear various unintelligible whispers in here. As soon as you get in, you quickly desire to leave.

"Ilafi, wait here. They'll be here to get you shortly. They'll take good care of you." A match is lit, and you can see the weary-looking elf staring back into your eyes, as if he remembers something.

He gently places a beautiful, slender silver chain around your neck.

"It's a necklace made of silver. Your father gave it to me before he died. I know your mother never talked about him, but I feel like this belongs to you more than it does to me. He stole it from a Sunlit merchant. I think his intent was to pawn it off, but we both knew that there was no way for people like us to do that."

He sighs. "It's not fair to just leave you without answering questions. Esjah told me not to tell you anything, but you deserve to know something about all this. I'll answer two questions, then I need to go."

>Write in.

>>39839675
Ask where your mother is and where you're going.

>>39839675
Mom and dad history

>>39839675
Will we ever see our home again?

Rolled 2 + 1 (1d4 + 1)

>>39839737
>>39839843
>>39840000

ROLLAN
>1 Where's Mother?
>2 Where am I going?
>3 Tell me about my parents!
>4 I wanna go home.

>>39840108
You take a moment to decide what you'll ask him. So many choices, so little time.
Obviously you're going to ask about Mother, but there's so many things you could ask about for your second question. There's no time to waste, though, so you decide to simply ask about the immediate situation.

"Where am I going?"

"To a place below this one. People don't really talk about them, but people live below us. It's typically seen as a harsher place, but given the circumstances, you don't have much choice."

"People actually live down there? No way!"

"Yeah. They're called the Dimlit, because lamps are dangerous down there. Instead, they use beautiful crystals to light the way. They can explain more. You should be fine."

"And... Mother?"

Another heavy sigh.
"She says she's going to turn herself in after you're safe. If she doesn't, the Sunlit will raze the city looking for that guard's killer. If she does, they'll look for you next, and she refuses to let that happen. She's trying to protect you. That's why I need you to be strong and wait here."

He puts out the match, hands you a small pouch, and turns for the door.
"Here's 45 challs, it isn't much but it should help. I can't guarantee that I'll ever see you again. Just know that you're in good hands, and that your mother loves you."

>Try to get a third question in. (Write in.)
>"Goodbye."

>>39840709
>"Goodbye."

Let's get rolling.

>>39840709

>"Will I be on my own amongst the Dimlit, or do you have friends there?"

>>39840709
Leave quietly.

>>39840709
>"Goodbye."
"I will be back"

bump

I need to stop trying to QM at midnight. It's reckless of me.

I'll continue on Monday at 2:30 EST.
You can get updates at @belowquest.
Thank you all for sticking with me!