A Late Appointment (Sunrise)

She smiles. "Thank you, but no; I just came from the festivities over at the Olidammaran temple. Mother Reverence, I presume? I'm Sunrise, she of the house of Veshti Selmer."

"Names which deserve respect," she observes with a smile. "I am Mother Reverence, she of Sehanine's embrace. How can we be of service to you on this fine night?"

She smiles slightly. "I actually do have questions for you, but it's late; right now, I just need to pass on a message." She hesitates, glancing at Freed. "It... might need to be private?"

Freed thins her lips and looks ready to fight, but Reverence shoos her away with a smile. She leaves in a huff, closing the door behind her with slightly more force than necessary.

"For future reference," Reverence says, looking amused, "I have no secrets from my daughter. If you ever need to pass me a message but I am not here, she will convey it with utmost secrecy. And only a little extra attitude," she adds with a chuckle.

She nods. "Apologies; I didn't know she's your daughter." She takes a deep breath. "Thorn and the babies have been safely found," she says bluntly. "They're currently with Rik and Quivyll at the home of Luther Rivvers. But it wasn't secret; the Redfangs know they've been found. Which means your missing messenger is in danger. If there's any ace in the hole spells you've been holding back on using, now is the time, before they decide he isn't useful to them anymore."

Her expression falters as relief and worry war on her face, each fighting viciously against her valiant attempts at composure. "Thank you," she says, her voice hoarse. "I am relieved the little family is safe. I will continue the search for my young cousin." She sighs. "So far, all roads have been blocked."

She frowns. "I was supposed to come visit tomorrow, with a wizard friend; we hoped she might have some suggestions. We can still do that, but given that the situation has changed I thought it was best that you find out quickly. Rik says scrying only shows pitch-blackness? What about a Sending?"

"We tried that at first," she says with a sigh. "He was initially alive and capable of response, although he had no idea where he was; he'd been knocked over the head from behind and woke in darkness. But now his responses are garbled and unclear, as though he's been drugged. He talks about darkness and 'the boss' and the color purple."

She closes her eyes and lets out a heartfelt groan. "Fuuuuuuuck. We've been assuming he was grabbed by the Redfangs, but maybe he wasn't." Opening her eyes, she looks at Reverence. "Do you know anything about a gang of tieflings in Westside? Lucky spoke about them like they were a known quantity, but I hadn't heard of them. Apparently they were also looking for Thorn; ended up fighting us and the Redfangs in the street." She shakes her head. "One of them was purple, and they referred to their leader as 'the boss.' Hardly unique, I know, but then Thorn said the leader of the Redfang family is called 'Mama,' so."

Reverence snorts. "And my children call me Mother," she points out. "Simple nicknames are easiest to avoid legal problems."

Sighing, she moves to sit in a chair, her movements slow and faintly pained. "I know of the Westside gang, yes," she says. "This latest iteration is relatively new and unusually effective. They keep the peace in the slums very well, but have a penchant for overkill. Kidnapping my messenger and fighting orcs in the streets would certainly qualify."

"I managed to speak to one of their people during the fight," she says thoughtfully. "She seemed... okay? Like someone you could reason with, at least. And they wanted Thorn and the babies alive, for whatever that's worth." She sighs. "I'd planned to follow up with them in a day or two, if only to satisfy my own curiosity. But if you think he's in danger..."

Reverence sighs and taps her fingers, looking thoughtful. "Wanting them alive isn't necessarily a good thing in this case," she points out. "Treygis wanted Thorn dead because he could control the children better in his absence; anyone else who wants those children needs the mother alive and on their side. That doesn't mean ethical tactics would be used to get him there on that side, of course."

She shakes her head, considering. "But I don't believe they've substantially harmed my cousin, and I know they haven't killed him. It's possible they won't now that Thorn has fled; he's not yet useless, but even if he were, I have a slim hope they wouldn't murder a tiefling who is no real threat to them and who has done nothing wrong." She sighs. "Call it a hunch."

She sighs too, a note of relief in it. "Oh good. Because if you thought it was a race against time I was about to ask if clerical magic can take away fatigue, because, uh. I'm about dead on my feet, I won't lie."

She takes a deep breath. "I'm meeting my people tomorrow; I can ask them to accompany me to the slums to meet with these people and work out his return." Tilting her head, she adds, "Do... you know what's going on? Has Rik told you anything? Or am I just some random person who mysteriously seems to know all about your business?"

"When Sehanine sends a blessed stranger with fair countenance and fine gifts, do not turn them away," Reverence says with a touch too much piety in her voice, even as her white eyes sparkle. "But I do admit curiosity. Rik did mention some compatriots, but it was unclear who or how many--and I got the strangest impression that he believes you're all personally hunting Betreygis Redfang, which I think unwise."

"Technically we're hunting Korogur Redfang, which isn't all that much wiser," she admits. "He kidnapped a girl, or possibly seduced her into running away with him. Either way, the family sent a threatening ransom note in his name to the grieving mother, who hired us to bring her home." She shrugs. "But of course nothing's ever simple, hence getting involved with Thorn and everything else."

Reverence arches an eyebrow at this explanation. "How curious. The Redfangs do seem to have a penchant for treating girls shabbily."

"Possibly," she says with a shrug. "Maybe not. The motives on this one are... still up in the air a little." She shakes her head. "But knowing why the gang wanted Thorn might help shine some light on what the Redfangs want too, which can only help us. See, now I've justified why rescuing your cousin is actually on-task for us." She gives Reverence a crooked grin.

Reverence smiles back, but her expression is thoughtful. "The Westside gang is territorial," she admits. "That's why I placed them there after Rik was killed: I knew no orc would be allowed to search the slums unchallenged. It is possible they wanted Thorn simply because he was there and ought not be."

Her frown deepens. "Be careful who you take into the slums with you, little daughter. Not every race is welcome to intrude where tieflings have been forced to huddle together."

She sighs. "My team doesn't have any other tieflings," she admits. "I'll do my best."

She hesitates. "By the way. Assuming we do manage to bring him out safely... any chance I could be let in on the plan to bring down Betreygis?" She gives Reverence a hopeful smile.

Reverence laughs at this. "I suppose that could be reasonable," she allows. "But you'll want to be better rested for that conversation. It's not thrilling, just business." Rising, she offers Sunrise her hand. "If you find my cousin, be gentle with him, please."

"What's his name?" She takes the hand warmly. "I ask because he might be disoriented when we find him and it could help if I use his name."

"His name is Skamos," Reverence says with a rueful smile. "May Sehanine's light guide you to him."

"I'll take all the help I can get," she agrees.

(OOC: I feel like this is scene? I would like her to steal a few minutes at some point to ask Lucky about this gang and the best way to contact them, but that doesn't need to be roleplayed out if we can just talk about it over hangouts or something.)

[OOC: Agreed. You may now go home and sleep, ha.]

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