The walls of Needle are strong.<br/><br/>Made from the cities famous lumber, they stretch some forty feet into the air and stand tall against the sea of nature beyond their confines. From the edge of the wall and stretching out towards the woods in the distance, a sea of grass sits placidly, rustled in great rolling waves by the breeze. Almost waist high where it hasn't been tamped over in thick earthen paths, it hides the history of the field well. Only in the strongest winds, or with the sharpest eyes, can the evidence be seen--the quarrels of bolts, jutting like weeds. The arrows, more than can be counted, that litter the ground. Bones, bleached by the sun and swallowed whole by the impassive field.<br/><br/>In the distance, great trees stretch to the sky, and they form a wall of their own.<br/><br/>The city of Needle is half industry, half town, and half bastion. Lumber is plentiful, and so almost everything is made of the forest's strong wood. The city center and the east side, the side farthest from the woods, is high and pleasant, built for gentle times and with surprising care for a frontier town--there are craftsmen here, men too old to work at the lumber yards and women who know the value of their professions. As it stretches towards the river, what luxury they have gives way to docks and pubs and the yards where goods are brought in and their lumber shipped out. This is the working quarter, built strong and built to last, and it is here that men spend their wages on women and drink and gambling, a rough place for the rough people that work in it. Towards the wall it becomes at once slum and bastion--none wish to live closer to the beasts than they have to, though until recently none had ever breached the walls. It is here that the Illuminate and the militia patrol most fiercely, and it is here that they maintain their vigil night and day.<br/><br/>The city itself is tense as it goes about its business. For the past week there have been whispered concerns among the cities militant forces--the Illuminate have doubled their presence at the walls, leaving few peacekeepers available for their civilian duties. Only the previous night there was fighting in the slums by the barricade, and though no one is saying anything there are strange weapons buried in the wooden walls and signs of bloodshed. For the first time the wall might not have been enough, and that is not a comforting thought.<br/><br/>Whether by missive or order, you have all been summoned. Those of you who find yourself in Needle have been asked by a superior or by a letter marked in the chain-to-the-depths symbol of the Knights of the Drowned to supply your services in defense of your city. Those sanctioned among you have been brought from Drowned Keep for this service, and have been moving by carriage and march for the past week to get here. By whatever means and for whatever region, you have arrived at the Dancing Barstool, and it is here that you meet Barrett Holt.<br/><br/>For those of you who have come to the city via the caravan from the Drowned Keep, he has been your keeper for the journey. A stocky, barrel chested man of heavy build, he has demonstrated himself to be gruff if not malevolent and treat you relatively freely insofar as you keep walking and don't make his life difficult. For the extent of the journey he has been perched atop your carriage with a rather heavy crossbow making occasional conversation with the carriage master, but now that he's found himself at a proper bar he's taken to the local wares and sits back at a table nursing his third flagon of ale and a hearty pot pie. Trusting that the sanctioned among you know better than to cause trouble, he's left you free leave for the earlier part of the day ("If you want it," he added at the time, "Which you don't, as things like you aren't much welcomed by people like them.") but informed you to meet him back here come sundown.<br/><br/>For those of you that have not traveled with him, you are informed by the letter to ask the innkeep for Holt, and you will be directed to his table and motioned to sit. Should you wish to partake of food and drink, it is offered out of his pocket.