Chapter 3, Scene 10: Scars of Creation

The small vessel hits the Northern bank of the river barely after midday.
Yet, there is something strange in the air.
Different than last time Melia was here, several months ago.
Life... Peace...
The smell of normality that usually doesn't belong in a shadowland.
Mirunda lies just beyond the hill, connected with the river by a large paved road, still in good conditions.
Cicadas buzz placidly.
Birds sing their opera.
Dragonflies, bees...
Close to the mud of the bank, the water teems with fragile tadpoles, just as it used to be.
A few meters further a barge is docked, empty, on what remains of the old pier.
The barge is clean enough to have just arrived.

Cyl, capmadjaq, make your move.

"Thank goodness that was an uneventful trip. What do you say Shadow?" The simhata's tongue rolled out of its mouth and licked it's nose. In contrast to his dark fur, Shadow's tongue looked vivid and very fleshy. Rhapsody giggled when he made a low purring sound in his throat. "it's so good having a big boy like you looking after me. Good boy!" Rhapsody said and reached under to scratch her familiar under the jaw; his eyes screwed shut with happiness.

For the duration of the trip, the crew steered clear of Shadow, uncertain if they'd get to keep their arms during dinner, and would just lob steaks into the brig, where he was kept, and then run. Rhapsody discovered the seperation intolerable, and became impatient in getting lost in his warm, soft wooly body at night again, with his low rumbling purr lulling her to sleep. <3

Melia experienced just how she missed him one night. Rhapsody, in the inbetween of sleep and wakefulness, wandered into her quarters, cuddled up almost spooning, and began petting her with a brush saying in a high cute tone, "Now who's a good boy? Yes, you are!"

On the piers, dressed simply in a hooded tunic and trousers, Rhapsody lead Shadow onto the piers, her boots made a dull thudding noise against the boards with each step.

'Everything looks alright,' she thought, turning a full a hundred and eighty. Shadow's nose flared and then he shook his head and sneezed. "Bless you," she patted the broad bridge of his nose, her large blue eyes gazed over his powerful thick neck, and mane to Melia who was still making her way down the plank,from the ship, and onto the piers.

"I thought you said this place was sacked and teeming with zombies," she said. "So far the air is crisp, it doesn't smell. And nature doesn't seem out of sorts in any way. It looks normal, what gives?"

Rhapsody was aghast, her mouth dropping groundwards, with each of Melia's stories. She felt a coldness seep inside of her and run up along her spine. It tingled painfully, but was soon washed away with a shock sudden of heat throbbed behind her ribcage. Her arms ached with a sudden need to snatch Melia and clutch her to her bosom

"Y-Yo-You should be on the s-stage, not on your back in some bed!"Rhapsody said. Melia smiled and shrugged it off. And she was just about to reply, but the call from the captain to get their things and get ready to go ashore cut her off.

On the deck, she turned to look towards Mirunda to see what she could make out, tendrils of pink whipped around her face gently with a few strands sticking to her wet lips.

"We will see come nightfall,"Rhapsody replied, still petting Shadow. "In the mean time let's see if there is anyone left around for information. Let's start with the captain." she said, and boldly stepped to the end of the ramp and called up.

"Ahoy! Captain! We'd like to know about what you and your crew know of Mirunda, please!"

The ship does not respond to Rhapsody.
It seems empty.
Human footsteps in the fresh mud lead from the vessel to the path to Mirunda.

Roll Per+Inv/Sail
Also roll Per/Int+Occult/Lore

She knelt down to one knee and examined the foot prints, then gazed up at the ship before turning her eyes to the horizon.
"Melia, did you see the crew leave?" she asked. "Shadow, did you?"

Perception
2d10 → [6,2] = (8) - http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3376283/
Intelligence + Occult
6d10 → [8,3,9,7,5,6] = (38) - http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3376290/

Rhapsody giggled. "What are your super ninja senses telling you?"

The ship has barely arrived, no more than half hour ago.
There is equipment, gear and supplies for a rather long journey though.

On the floor of the hull, Rhapsody recognizes a while sign, sketched in white chalk.
It's a journey prayer to what seems to be Deathlord.

Taking in a long breath through her nose, Rhapsody thought for a solid moment and eventually nodded in response. "Let's go. It's too soon to seek danger, so let's find someplace to learn the local talk, hmm?" she pointed to the ship with a thumb her blues eyes shining like diamonds."But first, let's see what's aboard for clues and supplies. Sailors are a superstitious lot, and have their ears to all sorts of gossip. Perhaps the captain has a journal. "

Odd, I know but with the ship being emptied maybe there's a clue to more about the area and why there's a prayer to a deathlord on its hull. This would be something along Melia's expertise, getting on the ship without notice, taking what's needed and getting clues.

The barge contains a few dry rations, cutlery, ropes and not much else.

*Never* in my life I'd expected to live the day an Exalt would have pronounced those words.

After a long minute of commiting the symbols to memory she glanced up to Melia with a sigh, a wry expression twisted her mouth into a deep frown of concern.

"I'm not sure that would be prudent, not now at least. Deathlords are monstrous and a lot for an exalt to confront, much less a mortal." she sighed, her frown relaxed into a pleasant smile and she took Melia's hand, and patted it gently. "However, that said, I haven't heard what your ideas on the matter are. I'm not sneaky, nor is my style of fighting very,uh, strong," she said. "So, before I share my ideas, what are yours?"

10 men would be really crammed on this barge.

Regarding the sign, none of you has ever seen it.
However Rhapsody can recognize it as not belonging to the Walker.

The footsteps follow the path to the city.
There is a hundred alternative ways Melia can approach the city from cover.

Rhapsody giggled and hooked her arm with Melia's. "Sweety, I didn't say that! Rushing to fight a deathlord willy-nilly is just silly. We first need to know more about him or her, and come up with a strategy. That's why I wanted your ideas." she replied, as if she could hear Melia's thoughts. "You're the sly spy, remember?"

"Right! Of course," she whispered to Melia and bent over low and skulked yards behind Melia, following as best she could. First, she tucked behind a slight tree, it's body thin with a sparse smattering of leaves still clinging to the branches. It really hid nothing and her bright pink hair stuck out brightly. After that she pranced, tip-toeing, to a bush and dove behind it. Everything of her was hidden except her bum, which was sticking well above the top of the bush. Shadow, trotting along beside her, didn't know what to make of it. By the time they made it behind the third shrub, he finally understood. Crouching low he slid along the ground, his eyes focused, and his pupils wide. Rhapsody then followed his lead, doing what he did, mimicking his every motion.
'Oh, Melia must be finding me hilarious!" she thought to herself, trying her damned best not to laugh. "I must looks so silly. So, utterly ridiculous. She's probably fighting down a fit of laughter as well. Doesn't she know we performers want to be seen!"