Chapter 328 – Disguise on shore
Chapter 328: Disguise on Shore
Emerging from the flaming doorway were Alice, well disguised, Vanna, who had changed into her unusual clothing, and Maurice, who carried a cane and wore a dark gray coat.
Duncan needs Maurice’s knowledge to help him understand the city and find out what happened to the “Brown Scott”, Vanna’s expertise to find out what happened to the Cultist and to establish contact with the local church if possible, and Alice… …
Well, not really, but Alice wanted to come and visit – on the other hand, considering that Alice had the face of the Frost Queen on her, Duncan thought it might be a bit of fun to bring her along.
The ethereal green blaze of the spirit quickly escaped and disappeared in the air as Aye took dove form once more and landed in the branches of a nearby tree, Maurice tightened his thick coat in the frosty cold and looked up into the nearby lit city center, Alice was curiously surveying the surrounding area, and Vanna had already taken note of the lanky figure standing in the darkness.
It was a horrible looking body, the posture of a man who had returned from the fire did not look like he could still be standing here alive in any way, but this body was standing so calmly in the darkness, looking at this side with a calm gaze, and the fragments of clothing that remained on the body showed who this body had been.
An indescribable “connection” emerged in her mind, and after a moment’s trance, Vanna was certain that the figure she had first met was the Captain.
“Mr. Duncan,” she came to Duncan, and couldn’t help but look him up and down again, although she knew that the Captain used an occupied “avatar” when he acted in the city-state, she couldn’t help but frown a little when she saw the state of this avatar. “This body of yours ……”
“It’s actually in pretty good shape – it’s just that it can be a little scary on the outside,” Duncan said in a low voice, “Finding an incarnation in good shape and in a good enough ‘fit’ is all a matter of finding the right one. ‘ incarnation is all a matter of luck, and this body is better than that ‘offering’ you saw in the sewers in the first place.”
Vanna instantly remembers something less than wonderful, the corners of her eyes seem to shake a little and her voice is low, “…… Kind of don’t really want to remember.”
Duncan laughed and looked up at Alice, who was still looking around, and beckoned, “Stop looking around and come help – do you have everything?”
Alice only then came back to her senses, hurriedly ran to Duncan in three or two steps, while raising the small box carried in her hand: “With it with it! Clothes and bandages …… Wow! Captain you this face is so black ah ……”
Duncan did not pay attention to the voice of the mannequin’s fuss, but just casually took the suitcase brought by the other party, opened it and examined the contents: a long black trench coat suitable for concealing the details of the body, a wide collar that could cover the face and neck when it was raised, a wide-brimmed bowler hat that was also black, gloves, shoes, some bandages, and some cash and a neatly folded map of the city-state.
Duncan raised an eyebrow – the stuff was more well thought out than expected.
He’d put most of his consciousness on this side of the ship to get used to this new body and hadn’t paid much attention to what was going on on board, and when he’d asked Goathead to send a message to Alice, he’d only said to prepare clothing and bandages, and as for the rest of the stuff including the cash …… didn’t seem to be something Alice’s head could have thought of of on its own accord.
“Mr. Tirion helped prepare them,” without waiting for Duncan to ask, Alice took the initiative to explain next to him, “He heard that you were going to be active on this side of the city-state, so he asked me to bring these along as well – oh yes, he also asked me to tell you that the map is the latest, and the ones with red markings on them are the secret contact points of the Sea Mist Fleet, and there are some informants …… lines and whatnot ……”
“Informants, living members of the periphery of the Sea Mist Fleet,” Duncan said casually, and in his tone there was some emotion, “said that he would not set foot on the land of Frost again …… His sight, however, has never left the city, and that’s as close to setting foot in it himself.”
“Oh yes, Informant,” Alice nodded her head back and forth, then asked while probing the contents of the crate, “Are these things useful?”
Duncan nodded slightly, “All of it will come in handy, Tirion was attentive.”
As he spoke, he had picked up the bandages and raised his hand to hand them to Vanna next to him, “Help – you know how to get them, don’t you?”
Vanna, who had thought of Duncan’s intentions when she saw the contents of the crate, took the bandages, but before wrapping them around the captain she asked, not quite sure, “Is this really okay? I feel like it’s still a little too visible ……”
“It’ll be fine, I don’t plan on settling in the Frost with this look,” Duncan said as he matched Vanna’s movements, “Just don’t attract the sheriffs when you walk down the street, but if there’s a situation where it’s just too inconvenient to move around, I’ll need you and Maurice to help me out. ”
“Good.” Vanna nodded, while already beginning to wrap the bandages around Duncan’s body with deft hands and feet, her movements skillful, obviously having done something similar more than once.
On the front lines of the fight against heretics and evil spirits, treating wounds was as common and inevitable as breathing.
Alice looked a little eager to help even as she watched Vanna go about her business from the side, “Can I help?”
Duncan inclined his head slightly to look at the six-foot-something mannequin, and then at the five-foot-nine Vanna in front of him.
He then looked down at his own body, which should also be over a meter nine today.
“Forget it, your head will fall off again if you tilt your head,” he rejected the mannequin, and at the same time, he uneasily instructed, “Don’t forget that this is a city-state, and it’s a frost city-state, pay attention to a good camouflage, not only don’t fall off your wig and head, but don’t take off the veil on your face as well, remember? Your face here will easily scare over middle-aged and old people over fifty years old.”
Alice immediately agreed, “Remember!” Duncan nodded slightly, and his gaze then fell on Vanna.
To start an operation in the unfamiliar Frost, she of course could no longer be in that eye-catching outfit of armor + giant sword, and in order to facilitate her activities in the city, she had now changed into her regular clothes.
A woman’s gray waist-length trench coat, the lower body is black leather boots and pants, gray-white hair is still casually draped over the back of the head, still looks like the usual heroic, but without the armor and the huge sword, this posture looks more or less a little softer.
Just after all, the height of one meter nine is here, she this dress may not attract interrogation, but want to low profile is still not much possible.
In the middle of her thoughts, the bandage had already wrapped around her face and wrapped layer by layer around her disfigured head.
Except for his eyes and a small piece of relatively intact skin near his left eye, eventually his entire face was covered.
He then put on the black trenchcoat with its high collar, shoes, gloves and the wide-brimmed bowler hat.
It was a good thing that the body was so stout, and the sizes were so different from his own, that all these things fit well.
Duncan gave his clothes a final tidy up, meticulously buttoning the long trench coat to the last button.
He couldn’t see what he looked like today, but he could well imagine it.
The long black trench coat that covered his entire body, the wide-brimmed hat and collar that hid his face, the black leather gloves, and the layers of bandages that loomed between the seams of the coat and hat.
He thought for a moment and turned his head to the young inquisitor standing quietly to the side, “Vanna, tell the truth ……”
Vanna sighed, “I’m afraid the inexperienced magistrates and guardsmen will be the first to stop you for questioning.”
Duncan was silent for a moment, “…… What about the experienced ones?”
“They will call for backup.”
Duncan: “……”
“Well, it’s not really that serious,” Vanna suddenly laughed and shook her head, “The above scenario is limited to core urban areas with a high enough level of security – there are ample guards there, and if it’s an average urban area, you should not run into trouble. This is my judgment based on the situation in Prand, but it should be similar in Frost. The only thing to worry about is probably just this bandage of yours ……”
“Bandages should be a better disguise instead,” Vanna said before her words fell, and Morris beside her suddenly spoke up, “These bandages might just happen to avoid quite a bit of trouble.”
Duncan cast a glance, “Hmm?”
“Frost has the god of death as its main belief, customs and symbols related to death are characteristic of this place, devout believers will even intentionally add decorations such as bandages to their clothes, and the clerics have such elements in their daily attire as well,” Maurice said as he pondered, “You are at best likely to be treated as a death devotee with a more unusual demeanor.”
Listening to this introduction from the old gentleman, Vanna couldn’t help but blink, “These details …… are not something I’ve ever known. I only know the dogmas and related taboos of the other three divine churches.”
Maurice smiled, “When it comes to the specific customs of each city-state, it is difficult to understand without research.”
Duncan looked at the old scholar, “Are these the things that your ‘old friend’ has shared with you?”
Maurice was silent for a moment and sighed softly, “Yes – Brown Scott is a very good folklorist, he has traveled throughout his life to many city-states in the Midlands and the North, especially Frost and Cold Harbor, and he has written me many letters about the strange customs and beliefs here. ”
(End of chapter)