I held up my hands in a gesture meant to forestall the growing jubilation of the crowd at large, "Wait there is more to be said. I do not know how, but a device of dark knowledge made its way back into the inner world when we came to it."
There was a collective gasp from the crowd and the woman moaned out in question, "The Orlanis Star?"
I nodded.
"We thought we had freed ourselves from the curse our ancestors had enacted upon themselves to reach this hidden world!" The woman said on a hopeless note of anguish.
I felt like some cheering up was in order as the group before me that had been all smiles had suddenly turned as somber as death.
"Your ancestors may well have welcomed a curse upon their heads, but I believe having been sent here by God that He is desirous of us delivering you from the curses and mistakes of the past. Why else would we have been sent here? I can testify to you beyond a shadow of a doubt that we would not be standing here before you if it had not been for the hand of God preserving us through trial and close calls one after another!"
The woman wiped the tears that had fallen off her face and straightened her shoulders with resolution as many within the crowd did as a little hoped flowed back in.
"Tell me what have they done with that wretched evil device?" She asked.
I told it to her straight, "They used it to unlock some dark Atlantean knowledge that enabled them to complete a satanic ritual wherein they welcomed demon possession and put on the manifestation of the giants of old."
If it was possible her already white skin paled even further. She asked, "What is to be done?"
She'd spoken softly, but her voice sounded out loud in the hush that had befallen the crowd, who looked among themselves in fear.
I looked around at the crowd at large, "We're all going to have to fight if we are to survive this ancient scourge, but more importantly than fighting we are going to need to trust God to win this one for us, because without His help we don't stand a chance."
The Whale People took the news we carried hard, but they showed resolve for the coming struggle. They were brave people to survive as they had and they weren't backing down from the fight that had been a long time in coming.
They agreed to help rescue the other slaves. It stood to reason that in the coming fight it would be good to have greater numbers on our side. I just hoped that there were still slaves alive yet to rescue.