(Scars do not appear to be cause of death –shock ... - Bad Request

"Why was the deva imprisoned?"
He looked at me closely to see if I was joking with him. "I told you they
discovered him buried in the earth, right? That means I have no idea how he
got down there. I wish I was powerful enough to trap a deva. That'd be
some power worth havin'."
I gave a wry nod. "Seems like such a friendly town, though. Still, doesn't
seem like the folk here are the type to be capable of offering a deva that
sort of... hospitality."
Tainted Barse shook his head, but he seemed to agree. "What this place is,
more than anything, is a hotbed of rumors and innuendo. No one trusts no
one. Y'don't do favors for someone without makin' sure they're in your debt.
Everyone hates everyone else, and everyone's looking for a hold to get on
everyone. Someone like you... you're a ripe target of opportunity for people,
because you don't know the politics. And I guarantee you'll be sucked in."
I grunted, "What's with the town being so abandoned?"
"Heh. Troubles a-plenty, as always. First, they keep digging holes in the
ground to make the prison bigger - and they discover this deva, wrapped up
in a big obsidian bubble, chained to the floor. They take his sword and use
its power to keep the criminals in their cages. They're busy debating what to
do about the celestial, tearing their hair out trying to figure out how they
can make a profit off its discovery and cross their 'friends'... and then the
plague hits."
"Plague?"
"That's right. Something that lays folks low. Makes people all ornery and
bad-tempered - and too weak to do anything about it. The guards've closed
off portions of the town, and they're all tight-wound. They'll take you into
jail on the slightest pretext these days. I don't know how you got in to town,
but you ain't getting out unless you find a portal." He scrubbed a glass
impatiently, his hand so tight on the rag that it squeezed out a bit of the
drippings. Green-brown water trickled down the inside of the glass, "Ye'd
best talk to Marquez, cutter."
"Will do," I nodded. It was as much eagerness to get started as it was the
need to get away from the nauseating sight.
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